Tiki, a Polynesian term for carved wood amulets, figures and posts, first took hold after World War II when servicemen returned from the South Pacific, bringing home images of scantily clad natives and pounding drums that emblazoned the conformist 1950s culture. While Tiki collectibles were once relegated to garage sales and flea markets, today's trend has gone mainstreamÖand mass market. Macy's East opened a decorated "Patio Luau" department complete with patterned plastic plates. On the other end of the island, Kmart, Savon Drugs and Home Depot sell Tiki torches and figures for the yard. Ralph Lauren even sports a line of T-shirts with a wooden Tiki idol ingrained with "Polo." For the ultimate in Petiki, Bamboo Ben, who designs custom Tiki bars, builds Polynesian-style dog huts and litter-box covers, complete with thatched canopy.

Tiki artist

Tiki artist and consummate hipster, Shag, provides the illustrations for Tiki Drinks. His clean, tight graphic style, reminiscent of '50s and '60s commercial art, has also been a hit with Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and Forbes. Shag recently expanded into gallery work, and his latest piece, the Madonna of Kahiki, is nothing less than, well, shagadelic. The culture is as much lifestyle as it is art, and its revival may be an antidote to the frantic pace of a wired generation seeking comfort from a primitive haven at home. Perhaps the trend reflects a desire for a simpler time, tinged with a nostalgia that author Dennis Coupland, who coined the term Generation X, first described as a longing for experiences we never had, a hunger to be part of a previous generation.

Conclusion

Tiki is really about Tiki bars serving up flaming cocktails, and Gen X doesn't have a lock on the fad: a president or two has been known to partake in Politiki. Richard Nixon, for example, used to escape to Trader Vic's for some daytime tropical ambiance along with his favorite drink: the Navy Grog. Many bamboo-thatched bars and Tiki-toriums are vanishing, but Tiki drinks provides all that's needed for spirit lovers of all generations to set up shop at home. So kick back, hang a light and sip a drink.

Tiki bar construction
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Tiki bar shelf
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