On 2011-06-27 13:00, bigbrotiki wrote:
I know of the fact that JonPaul Balak, house photographer for TIKI MAGAZINE, has been working on a Tiki Home Bar book for quite some time now. His decade-long connection to the Tiki Revival scene and his trips to American and European Tiki hot spots, coupled with his profession as a photographer make him the ideal author for such a tome. He is friends with many of the owners of the great backyard and basement Polynesias around the country. Plus JP's knowledge of classic Tiki history would ensure that the home hideaways would be presented in the proper context of the design sources that inspired them, down to the very detail.

I am very hesitant to believe that Schiffer would do a good job with such a book. They are a "Collectibles" publisher, and many of their books are poorly edited and badly art directed. Two examples for that are their "Hawaiiana" and "Hula Girls and Tiki Gods" books. I feel that ultimately those type of books do not fulfill the promise of Tiki culture, relegating it to collectible nerd territory. A simple showing off of how many toys you have does not inspire creativity. But a book on Home Tiki Bars should do exactly that.

Sven Kirsten, author of the "Book of Tiki" and "Tiki Modern"

On 2010-01-12 14:02, JONPAUL wrote:
Aloha Everyone!

After many years of having Tiki Central as an extremely important part of almost every aspect of my life,
I’ve finally decided to make it official.
And, I can think of no better occasion on which to do it than today, the historic 10th anniversary of Tiki Central!

It’s a bit strange to write an introduction for so many that I already consider some of my best friends, co-workers
and colleagues, but it’s also recently become crystal clear how many other Tiki brothers and sisters are out there
that don’t necessarily attend events, are far away, or just plain prefer to exist within the realms of an online forum.
Also, after years of taking (reading and digesting others’ valuable, informative posts), I feel that it’s important to
give something back. So, in the near future, it is my intention to share many of the things we’ve collected over the
years, including many of the photographs I’ve made that have never seen the light of day. I’d like to do my part to
help bring the pieces of the Tiki puzzle together as a contributing member of Hanford’s invaluable creation.

Here’s a huge congratulations to Hanford for 10 amazing years and a toast to many, many more!!!

Looking forward to finally being an official, contributing Tiki Central member!

Warmly,

Jonpaul

P.S. For those that I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting, here’s some brief background information...
I’m a photographer, photo editor, musician, writer and collector from Los Angeles that has been with
Tiki Magazine since issue number one. My work can be seen in Sippin’ Safari, Tiki Mugs:
Cult Artifacts of Polynesian Pop, the upcoming Beachbum Berry Remixed, the revised edition of
Tiki Road Trip, and I am currently working on a couple of Tiki Book projects of my own. I can be
heard playing bass with The Tikiyaki Orchestra, The Boardwalkers and The Insect Surfers and have had
the pleasure of filling in with The Disasternauts, 3 Balls of Fire, The Ghastly Ones, and others. Aloha!