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Thrifting for Tiki in the urban jungle |
bigbadtikidaddy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 429 |  Posted: 2010-03-04 10:08 pm Permalink
yao ming!!
unbelievably great score!
now the real question, how much?
not that it matters...i'd pony up for those pretty big.
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Brandomoai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 05, 2008
Posts: 310
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
| Posted: 2010-03-04 11:05 pm Permalink
Carl, sounds like you were at Chows in Dorval? I have a friend staying in Montreal right now and I just told him to check that place out the other day to see if they still had any interesting mugs kicking around, not that he would have been able to recognize those beautiful pieces of history from the Orchids mugs... That's a once-in-a-lifetime score! Did you leave anything behind??
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2010-03-04 11:07 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2010-03-04 16:27, Carl Ulrich wrote:
Located pretty much between these 2 thrift stores was a chinese looking restaurant with the word "tiki" in it's name.
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Congrats. Since urban archeology is about more than acquisition, what was the full name of the place, then? Did it have a cool sign? I assume you did not take any pic? Hmmm...I cannot believe that John Trivisonno and the Montreal Tiki Appreciation Society ( http://www.maitaionline.com/ ) would not be aware of it.
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Carl Ulrich
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 04, 2010
Posts: 21
From: Montreal
| Posted: 2010-03-05 11:18 am Permalink
I got 'em for real cheap, but of course, I don't plan on reselling 'em anyways!
Monsieur Kirsten, I've actually been aware of the now defunct (to my knowledge, anyways) Montreal tiki appreciation society for some time now, and actually picked up a couple back issues of Mai Tai just recently. That's what freaks me out. Considering the amount of research others have conducted in the area long before I got serious about it, I was completely shocked to discover this place, sandwiched right between 2 thrift stores, no less! To be fair, the owner told me they'd just relocated to the neighborhood a year or two ago, but if memory serves, they'd been open since around '82...which I believe would just about coincide with the closing of the Montreal Kon-Tiki. That's how they probably got the mugs, as well as the lamps (the pictures didn't turn out...)which are identical to ones I've seen a local, overpriced Kitsch store advertise as "hailing from the Kon-Tiki restaurant". I tried to get more information out of him, but seeing as neither his English or French speaking skills were very developped (not to mention the dinnertime rush they were having), fiigured I'd stop by another time for the real scoop.
I did document the facade as well as I could with my trusty camera phone.
And here's a scan of the crumpled up business card (I of course saved a couple fresh ones for good measure!)
Also, did't they rip off the logo from Kon-Tiki as well? Hmmm...
Super exciting times!
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2463
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2010-03-05 11:57 am Permalink
Here's a question from a curious non-collector.
Is it acceptable Tiki behavior to purchase Tiki objects (mugs, Tikis, shields, etc) out of a non-retail setting? I thought that removing these treasures out of their native environment precludes others from enjoying them.
Just asking. 
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Carl Ulrich
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 04, 2010
Posts: 21
From: Montreal
| Posted: 2010-03-05 12:06 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2010-03-04 23:05, Brandomoai wrote:
Carl, sounds like you were at Chows in Dorval? I have a friend staying in Montreal right now and I just told him to check that place out the other day to see if they still had any interesting mugs kicking around, not that he would have been able to recognize those beautiful pieces of history from the Orchids mugs... That's a once-in-a-lifetime score! Did you leave anything behind??
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I sort of recall reading something about Chow's, but haven't yet made the trek... Longeuil is a little closer for me! Seriously, pickings in this area are kind of slim, so I got greedy! Hope your friend finds something for you!
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Carl Ulrich
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 04, 2010
Posts: 21
From: Montreal
| Posted: 2010-03-05 12:28 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2010-03-05 11:57, JOHN-O wrote:
Here's a question from a curious non-collector.
Is it acceptable Tiki behavior to purchase Tiki objects (mugs, Tikis, shields, etc) out of a non-retail setting? I thought that removing these treasures out of their native environment precludes others from enjoying them.
Just asking.
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That's definetely a valid point. In my defence, the restaurant in question doesn't even serve tropical drinks anymore- the place is now bring your own wine. I ultimately think these objects now find themselves in a loving home, where they'll serve as centerpieces to a growing collection, as opposed to being unused, and hidden away in a corner behind the counter of a Chinese restaurant.
Then again, maybe I'm just being selfish....
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Formikahini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 1491
From: Houston, Texotica
| Posted: 2010-03-05 1:46 pm Permalink
It looks like a slippery slope,
but
I have to go for the if-they'll-sell-'em-to-you-then-buy-'em camp.
Because if they'll sell them to you, they'll sell them to someone else, who might keep them - or might just toss them on eBay.
They're still gone from the place - a place, as Carl pointed out, that isn't even selling drinks out of them anymore. So if someone's gonna get 'em, might as well be you!
In other words, as long as you're not stealing them, I say fair game.
Kinda goes along with offering an amount offline on eBay.
If they wanna sell Ren Clark's personal home tiki bar for a FRACTION of what it would have gone for, so be it!
Everyone else may be bummed that they didn't get there first, but as long as the stuff isn't being destroyed (which may well have eventually happened to the Montreal bowls), then the good thing happened:
The stuff was saved and is being appreciated by someone who loves it
AND who shares pictures of it with the rest of [jealous] us!
F
_________________
"Zazz captivates felt."
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2010-03-05 11:15 pm Permalink
Thank you for the pics, Carl! "Bring your own wine" !?  That is about as far from the Polynesian cocktail tradition as you can get! I agree that in this case it is really difficult if one is depleting and existing Tiki temple of mana or if one is saving precious relics from neglect and eventual discarding. The latter seems to be the case here.
This dilemma has an eery parallel in ethnographic field collecting in the early 20th century, where explorers took South Sea idols from native sites with the argument that they were only used once for a ceremony and then left to rot, and thus they were preserving an art form for future generations. Will future descendants of Tiki restaurant owners eventually demand restitution and repatriation? 
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2010-03-06 06:48 am Permalink
nice find....for years i have trolled the many chinese restaurants here in chicago and have had quite a bit of luck...certainly nothing on this scale as your find, but i have often been pleasantly suprised by what i find in the display cabinets at the check out counters in some of these places....it's helps to comb old yellow pages books to find older asian restaurants that still might be around too......
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Brandomoai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 05, 2008
Posts: 310
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
| Posted: 2010-03-07 7:02 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2010-03-05 12:06, Carl Ulrich wrote:
I sort of recall reading something about Chow's, but haven't yet made the trek... Longeuil is a little closer for me! Seriously, pickings in this area are kind of slim, so I got greedy! Hope your friend finds something for you!
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I'm sure no one on TC has heard of this Tiki Sun place, but that would make a very interesting story if they bought up decor, mugs, and who knows what else from the Kon Tiki when it closed. Sounds like it's definitely worth investigating! When I heard your description, I just assumed it was Chow's. Someone had a similar story from a few years ago: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=13696&forum=2&hilite=montreal
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Carl Ulrich
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 04, 2010
Posts: 21
From: Montreal
| Posted: 2010-03-12 8:55 pm Permalink
I'm sure no one on TC has heard of this Tiki Sun place, but that would make a very interesting story if they bought up decor, mugs, and who knows what else from the Kon Tiki when it closed. Sounds like it's definitely worth investigating! When I heard your description, I just assumed it was Chow's. Someone had a similar story from a few years ago: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=13696&forum=2&hilite=montreal
[/quote]
I'll definetely be going back to investigate, been itching to do another zine for awhile anyways... could definetely make a good story!
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uncle trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2005
Posts: 1532
From: Kalamazoo
| Posted: 2010-03-13 05:11 am Permalink
Getting to be that time of year. Spring has nearly sprung and with it means spring cleaning. Here in the north country it's an annual practice not just a saying. This means larger donations to the thrift stores and garage and yard sales. All good hunting grounds for the thrifty Tiki hunter. In my area it's also the time when the antique stores start to rotate the stock more as the owners get new finds from these same places. I'm always looking for Thriftiki sitting on the shelf waiting for me.
_________________
"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2010-03-16 12:21 am Permalink
Observing and understanding the communal customs of the local natives is a good practice for successful field collecting!
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ka'lenatiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 13, 2009
Posts: 184
From: redding ca.
| Posted: 2010-03-16 07:53 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2010-03-13 05:11, uncle trav wrote:
Getting to be that time of year. Spring has nearly sprung and with it means spring cleaning. Here in the north country it's an annual practice not just a saying. This means larger donations to the thrift stores and garage and yard sales. All good hunting grounds for the thrifty Tiki hunter. In my area it's also the time when the antique stores start to rotate the stock more as the owners get new finds from these same places. I'm always looking for Thriftiki sitting on the shelf waiting for me.
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I agree, starting to see some of the thrift stores setting up summer party sections. Just picked up a nice coco joe's on a party end cap.
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