2015 Tiki Gift Guide for the Holidays – $20 and Under

Now that Thanksgiving is done, it’s full speed ahead to the holidays. In this annual gift guide, I like to spotlight a few fun tiki finds from the last year or so. They’re fairly easy on the pocketbook, too, since they’re all $20 or less.

1. Snappy Holidays Cards and Gift Wrap by Sophista-Tiki

Seattle-based artist Dawn Frasier aka “Sophista-Tiki” brings some mid-century modern flair to the festive season with her “Snappy Holidays” cards and wrapping paper. In her Etsy shop, you can pick up a set of three cards plus a dozen gift tags for $6.50. Meanwhile, the matching gift wrap rolls ($15) in red, green and white can be found on Spoonflower. (Bonus: Spoonflower is offering free shipping just for Cyber Monday!)

2. Beachbum Berry’s Tiki Cocktail Picks from Cocktail Kingdom

Got some amateur (or pro) bartenders on your shopping list? Help them up their garnish game with Beachbum Berry’s Tiki Cocktail Picks ($11.95 for 36-pack; bulk discounts available). These hot pink spears are modeled after the logo of tiki mixology guru Jeff Berry, complete with his signature straw hat. They’re the latest product from Cocktail Kingdom’s “Tiki” collection, which also includes a Navy Grog ice cone kit, Pearl Diver glass, skull barspoon and swizzle cup.

3. Ken Ruzic Coloring Book

Coloring books are no longer just for the Crayola crowd. It seems like people of all ages are using them as a creative outlet and de-stressing tool. This coloring book from artist Ken Ruzic presents 22 black-and-white drawings adapted from his tiki art, including the inspiration for a piece from Tiki Farm’s 15th anniversary exhibition. It’s for sale for $20 from Wacko / Soap Plant / La Luz de Jesus Gallery’s website.

4. 2016 Tiki Matchbooks Calendar by Tom Hofer

Tom Hofer creates paper collages designed to look like giant vintage matchbooks. (Bootlegger Tiki in Palm Springs has one up on the wall.) For the past few years, he’s offered “Tiki Matchbooks” calendars featuring his art along with dozens of images of the matchbooks that inspired him. The 2016 version is available on his web site for $15, including shipping (or two for $25).

5. The Martini Kings “Palm Springs Serenade” Red Vinyl

Everything seems to be red and green this time of year, so why not your vinyl, too? Dionysus Records recently released the final run of The Martini Kings’ “Palm Springs Serenade” album, this time pressed on red 180 gram vinyl. Featuring a cover illustration by Shag, the album is a compilation of the combo’s favorite jazz-lounge-exotica tracks from their CD releases. You can order the LP for $17.95 (including a digital download code) at Dionysus Records’ website.

2014 Tiki Gift Guide for the Holidays

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with Books, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Gene Rains, gifts, Holidays, Krampus, Music, Presents, Shopping, Tiki, Tiki Mugs November 25, 2014

Get a head start on your holiday shopping with this year’s round-up of some of the best tiki-related goodies from 2014, including books, bitters and more.

1. SanTiki Moai Masks by Bamboo Ben

Bamboo Ben has created the escapist settings for many tiki bars, such as Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas and Tiki No in North Hollywood, to name a few. For Christmas, he’s gotten into the festive spirit by making SanTiki Moai masks ($25, plus shipping) and also some Shrunken Grinch Heads. I hear there will be some for sale at his booth at the International Tiki Market Place at Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach on December 6th, but you can also contact him via Facebook about ordering.

2. Krampus Mug by Munktiki

Now this is some Black Friday shopping I’m on board with! On November 28th, Munktiki will release the fourth and final glaze of this year’s Krampus mug. (Pictured is the red and black style sold earlier.) This terrifying creature from Bavarian folklore punishes naughty children during the Yuletide season. There are 25 of these super limited editions ($80) and they’ll be available for purchase on Munktiki’s web site at 6 p.m. PST.

3. Tiki Pop book by Sven Kirsten

As mentioned previously, this year author Sven Kirsten (The Book of Tiki/Tiki Modern) and Taschen published a new tome, Tiki Pop: America Imagines its own Polynesian Paradise ($40). It’s the companion book from the recent exhibition at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. Make sure you have a sturdy coffee table to support this hefty edition filled with incredible images and fascinating history. Also of interest to tiki fans will be the book Kahiki Supper Club: A Polynesian Paradise in Columbus ($16) by David Meyers, Elise Meyers Walker, Jeff Chenault and Doug Motz. Many of us never got the chance to visit that Ohio oasis before it was bulldozed in 2000, so this is as close as we’ll get, alas.

4. Horror Infused Better With Bitters Gift Set

Horror in Clay — who you may know from the Cthulhu mug Kickstarter success story — has followed up with a few neat new products this year, including the Innsmouth Fogcutter Tiki Mug ($40) and Horror Infused: Fiendishly Tropical Bitters ($13.13). Made in partnership with Bittercube Bitters (the gentlemen also responsible for the Torpedo Room in Minneapolis), these are small-batch cocktail bitters “tentacle-crafted with care” featuring flavors of molasses, grapefruit, allspice, cinnamon and vanilla. They even come in a gift set ($20) with stickers, swizzles and coins.

5. Far Away Lands: The Exotic Music of Gene Rains CD

When you need a respite from carols, mix things up with some Gene Rains, the vibraphonist considered one of the “Big Three” of exotica music in the 1950s-60s along with Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. His music had never been available on CD until this past July when Real Gone Music released “Far Away Lands: The Exotic Music of Gene Rains” ($15), which includes songs from his three albums. (Check out episode 68 of DigiTiki’s Quiet Village Podcast to hear some of the interesting stories behind the making of this compilation.) Featured on the cover art is the lovely MeduSirena the Fire-Eating Mermaid (in her human form) from the Wreck Bar in Fort Lauderdale.

Vintage-style Matchbooks & More at Raymond Lawrence Palm Springs

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Tiki Sites and Stores and tagged with Palm Springs, Shopping, Tiki, Tiki Mugs, Tiki Shops, Travel April 15, 2014

(Editor’s Note: Raymond Lawrence Palm Springs has since closed.) During Palm Springs Modernism Week we spent most of our time attending lectures, film screenings and walking tours — not to mention imbibing at Tonga Hut Palm Springs — but we did manage to make some time shop in the Uptown Design District on North Palm Canyon Drive. This area is home to vintage stores (like Dazzles), designer boutiques (Trina Turk), art galleries (Shag: The Store) and more. One place we discovered this time around was Raymond | Lawrence, which hosts dozens of different pop-up shops all under one roof. There’s a wide range of interesting wares, from souvenirs to clothes to home decor to art. I love this concept!

The Palm Springs Modernism Committee had its own section and one of their items for sale was this set of vintage-style reproduction matchbooks ($10) from historic Palm Springs hotspots and local landmarks, including the Chi Chi Starlite Room with its logo copying Edgar Leeteg’s famous painting “Hina Rapa.”

There was even a tiki display featuring the “I Lava Tiki” collection of colorful ceramics produced by One Hundred 80 Degrees and designed by Carolyn Kopecky. (She’s the one who designed that amazing sunken ship mug for Psycho Suzi’s.)

A few years ago, designer Todd Oldham collaborated with dinnerware company Fishs Eddy on a series of dishes and glasses featuring the wildlife-inspired art of Charley Harper.

Of course, I was drawn to this pufferfish sauce dish. (Perhaps you’ve noticed a theme around here.) These are just a few of the retail temptations to be found at Raymond | Lawrence. I can tell this will be another spot we return to again and again to see what’s new.

Raymond | Lawrence
830 N. Palm Canyon Dr.
Palm Springs, CA 92262
760-322-3344

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Reviews of Tiki Bars in Palm Springs

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Tag Archives: Shopping

2015 Tiki Gift Guide for the Holidays – $20 and Under

2014 Tiki Gift Guide for the Holidays

Vintage-style Matchbooks & More at Raymond Lawrence Palm Springs