About seven years ago…
l received an email from a guy in country north NSW. He had been collecting Tiki for a few years, as had l. He made the comment to me that collecting Tiki was a lonely game and l thought, yeah he is right. At that time l knew of about four other collectors here in Melbourne. l have no doubt there where more, l just l didn’t know them yet.
Well things have sure changed. The spread of the Polynesian Pop not only in Australia but worldwide is a joy to behold and l would have to say Southern California must be the heartland.
It seems there are more Tikiphiles per square mile there than any other place on the planet. I base this statement on no real statistics but by watching Crystal Cove Media’s great new DVD “So Cal Tiki”.
This is a really good overview of the scene and who are the major contributors. Starts with Tiki Oasis 8, then Jay Strongman talks about how he came to write Tiki Mugs, Cult Artifacts of Polynesian Pop.
Heaps of Holden Westland stuff on Tiki Farm and it’s history.
Also Crazy Al Evans speaks about his work and there is a retrospective on Squid.
104 minutes of pure Tiki.
A great watch if you long time lover of Polynesian Pop or new to it and trying to put everything into context.
Look out for…
- Holden talking about in 2003 the factory that was making the mugs in Mexico closed and disappeared over night taking molds, mugs and a sizable loan he gave them.
- Holden and Bamboo Ben in conversation about “Mugoomba” ,Tiki Farms private Tiki bar constructed in four days out of old Trade Show stands.
Cheers CN
This is a great DVD.Unfortunately the Tiki scene here in Australia is pretty much non-existent (although that is starting to change). Besides meeting someone every now and then who is into Tiki, we just don’t have the opportunity to attend functions and places that are seen on this disc. Unless you’re a high-roller who can afford to take time off and travel O/S regularly this gives a good insight into what we’re missing out on.