Shag: The Store – Palm Springs, CA

EDITOR’S NOTE: Shag: The Store is now located at 745 N Palm Canyon Dr.

Last year, the folks at M Modern gallery opened Shag: The Store in Palm Springs—the first permanent retail space dedicated to the artwork of Josh Agle. It appropriately keeps some pretty swank company, with Trio Restaurant right next door and vintage and mid-century design stores nearby.

The store has an impressive stash of prints, mugs, books and other stuff, with many items that were previously sold-out. From time to time they also have prints that are exclusive to Shag: The Store, like the one coming up for their first anniversary.

During our visit they were featuring Shag’s collaborations with Disneyland from 2002 to 2010, including the much-coveted mugs inspired by the Enchanted Tiki Room.

They also had merch from the Haunted Mansion and Disneyland 50th anniversary series. I was sort of startled to see a stationery set I own (and apparently foolishly used) going for nearly $200. (Though that price includes the cost of not having to time-travel back to Disneyland five years ago when it was originally being sold).

It was fun to marvel at rarities like these “Japanese exclusive” mugs from 2006. (In this case, the price of the set includes the cachet of coming from Shag’s own collection…plus the peace of mind of not having your mugs arrive in pieces due to the carelessness of an eBay seller.)

There was at least one deal to be had, though. For five bucks, I picked up a Shag vinyl CD case. (You know, for those almost obsolete shiny round things that play music?)

The neatest part of the store is this groovy backdrop wall with a Shag-style tiki where you can pose like you’re in one of his paintings. If you ask nicely they’ll even bring out a box of fun props like fezzes!

The Shag Store
725 N. Palm Canyon Dr.
Palm Springs, CA 92262
760-322-3400

EDITOR’S NOTE: Shag: The Store is now located at 745 N Palm Canyon Dr.

Home With The Beachcomber – Simi Valley, CA

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Tiki Sites and Stores and tagged with Home With The Beachcomber, Los Angeles, Shopping, Simi Valley, Tiki Shops January 12, 2011

As previously mentioned, I love Anthropologie, but not crowds. So whenever we feel the need to shop, my cohort Curious Laydee and I head out to the Simi Valley Town Center, an outdoor mall that’s usually all but deserted.

And a few months ago as we were about to enter our beloved faux-bohemian bazaar, she spotted Home With The Beachcomber just across the way. I hadn’t noticed a tiki store there before!

It’s a rather large space and it’s mostly filled with Hawaiiana stuff, like Hilo Hattie-type Aloha wear, prints of vintage air travel ads, and anything you can possibly imagine being printed with a hibiscus flower, palm tree or pineapple.

Not pictured here, but I did notice some nods to the modern tiki art scene—like framed Doug Horne prints. (You might recognize his art if you’ve ever been in our downstairs bathroom… ;))

There’s also a section devoted to the kinds of goodies you might bring back from a trip to the Islands, like coconut M&Ms, Waialua soda, Kona coffee, and chocolate covered macadamia nuts.

The name tipped me off that maybe the store is related to Don the Beachcomber, and they do actually stock their signature rum barrels, along with some hula girl mugs and the still ubiquitous Pink Panther themed ceramics designed by Shag.

I found further support of this possible connection in these Don the Beachcomber-branded mini tiki huts on display.

It was fun to browse, but most of the wares were a bit touristy for my taste. This would be the perfect spot to hit up, though, if you didn’t bring back enough souvenir gifts for people after your Hawaiian vacation. They’ll never know!

Home with the Beachcomber
1555 Simi Town Center Wy.
Simi Valley, CA 93065
805-584-3667

Wacko – Los Angeles, CA

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Shag, Tiki Sites and Stores and tagged with Los Angeles, Shag, Shopping, Tiki Shops, Wacko July 14, 2010

Wacko is a kitschy wonderland of a retail space that also encompasses La Luz de Jesus gallery, which I featured in my previous post.

The store is stocked with pop-culture paraphernalia like retro toys, posters, stickers, and Fluff stuff, not to mention tons of art books and other interesting tomes. Prepare to take your time browsing!