Oceanic Arts

Located in Whittier, California in a nondescript warehouse, Oceanic Arts has supplied many a Tiki nut with more mugs, tiki heads, and bamboo accents than they could want. OA has supplied tiki type decor for many movie sets, parties, and the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World.

On a recent visit, I snapped a couple of photos of some of the more unusual things to be had there. I was really impressed with their collection of pufferfish lamps...something I could never have in my house, because my cat would probably destroy it.

Take a look:

Let's Get WASTED!

A recent trip to Las Vegas led me to one of my favorites, Frankie's.  

It's nearly impossible to get a good picture inside of Frankie's.  It's dark, it's smoky, and you're drunk.

Speaking of drunk...drinks are $9 each there and they are STRONG. It's impossible to get drunk for cheap anywhere in Vegas, but I would say that after my second drink at Frankie's, I had a pretty damn good buzz going. 

The Top Left Shelf

This shelf has some of my favorite mugs. Some are vintage, and some they just don't make anymore. 

This is a "Ming" mug.  No markings.  These are common and was pretty old. Possibly served at a Chinese food type place. 

The GREEN GASSER from Frankie's Tiki Room in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I love this mug. They don't make it anymore.  Designed by Sophia Brewer for Tiki Farm. The rear view is below. I love love love it. 

Munktiki 2013, 83/100. "Little Liklik" by Paul Nielsen. It's a huge mug.

Munktiki Alibi Room, 2013, 49/100.  This bar is in Portland Oregon and is next on my list to visit. 

Munktiki "Yokai" 99/100, unknown year. Yokai are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. 

Rear view of the above three mugs. The backs are just as nice as the fronts.

Two of my vintage mugs. Left one is labeled on the bottom "Orchids of Hawaii, Japan, R-2".  No year.  I got this one in a lot of vintage mugs.
The one on the right has no labels whatsoever.  Someone wrote on it in silver pen, I think it says "Warren"...Warren, wherever you are, I am keeping your tiki mug safe. 

On the left, Munktiki Stacker, 2011, 33/150 and 62/100 (for the bottom only?)
In the middle, Munktiki mini Fugu fish, out of their vending machine in the Alibi room. 2011, 40/150
On the right, Trader Vics, manufactured by Tiki Farm. 

Top Left Shelf of THE TIKI CABINET

Starting with the top left shelf of my Tiki cabinet...here is the first installment. This is good for me to do too, one day I will never remember anything about these mugs.

Tiki Farm, 2011.  Appears to be some sort of tiki eating small children. I think it is called "Happy Cannibal". What cannibal wouldn't be happy?

Labeled Johnnie Velour, 2014.  Handmade, purchased at the International Tiki Marketplace at Don the Beachcomber's in Huntington Beach, CA.  Some sort of Tiki Bob knock off. I liked the glaze.

Munktiki, Oregon.  2010, limited edition numbered 18/25. You hardly see this one around.

Munktiki "Googie Googzilla" from 2006, numbered 66/100.  You hardly see these.

Munktiki, stacker sized, numbered 89/150. 

Tiki Farm, designed by Flounder, 2013.  I think Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago uses these with their name on it. 

Munktiki, says 704 underneath, and Munktiki is written backwards. "Coconut Monkey".  They make a lot of these with different faces.  

"Bearded Clam" Tiki Farm 2008.  Sold at Frankie's Tiki Room is Las Vegas. Someone broke the mold, we were told, so maybe there won't be any more of these.  She's got...a huge bush and big tits. There's no other way to describe it.  The drink by the same name is awesome.

"Tiki Caliente 3, Palm Springs" Designed by Doug Horne, manufactured by Tiki Farm 2011.  Limited, not sure to how many.

Tiki Farm 2008, "Bombora Blast" designed by the Pizz for Frankie's Tiki Room, Las Vegas Nevada.  They don't sell these with the brown tiki guy anymore. Rare rare rare. You can get a drink by the same name, it's pretty good. 

"Deville's Pad, Perth Australia"  Manufactured by Tiki Farm 2009, designed by Derek Yaniger.  Even though Tiki Farm is in San Clemente, you cannot get one of these anywhere but Deville's in Perth.  Don't ask me how I got mine, or how much I paid. You don't want to know.  None for sale on eBay right now, but the average price I've seen it for is over $100.   Pretty rare. 

But First, an Ode to Bahooka and RIP Rufus.

The Bahooka restaurant in Rosemead, California shut down March of 2013.
It was a fixture in many people's lives, for birthdays or other celebrations.
Originally built in 1967 in West Covina, it was moved to Rosemead in 1976.

My friend Amy and I were sure to visit it before it closed for good.  I took a few pictures, and while they aren't the greatest, they are the only way that I have to document what I saw that night. We waited over 2 hours to sit down and eat.  The glory of what Bahooka once had was gone.  I was so glad to see it a final time.

As for Rufus, the pacu fish that you see me looking at in the photos...It is too painful for me to write about or talk about. He was over 40 years old and was known to eat carrots, and he even appeared in the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with Johnny Depp.

The new owner of the property was supposed to preserve Rufus' tank and build around him.  And then, he was gone.  The new owner refused to say where Rufus had gone, but the worst is suspected.  It was thought that he was too old to survive a move.

Anyhow, here is an article about Rufus. The drawing of him looking out at the wreckage of Bahooka makes me choke up.

The mystery continues, WHERE IS RUFUS??

I welcome myself to my own blog!

Ok, so I was sitting around with many things to do, none of which I wanted to do.

And I realized that one of the things I've been wanting to do is to make an inventory of all of my TIKI MUGS.

I have spent a small fortune on these things.  Not many people understand why I like them. But some people do...

A recent conversation I had with another tiki aficionado in Las Vegas made me realize that I have some mugs that can never be replaced and are highly desirable.

Anyhow, what better way to share my mugs with everyone. This is a new endeavor for me...making a blog, the photography of each mug...be patient with me.  K, thx, bye.