Tiki Hunt '08

Wednesday | May 21, 2008

Thank the moai for rhinitis. If it weren't for my allergies, I wouldn't have hit Walgreens the other day looking for a bottle of nasal spray and accidentally come across the $1 pair of tiki salt and pepper shakers they were hawking in their seasonal aisle.

The serendipitous find reminded me it was tiki season and time to hit the local shops and see what kitschy merchandise was being offered this year. After all, the painters were finally done with their six-month-long recoloring of my apartment complex, making it the perfect time to restore my tiki patio, complete with some brand new finds.

So far in my quest, I've hit Big Lots, the Dollar Tree, Home Depot, Lowe's, Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann Fabrics, CVS Pharmacy, Michaels, Cost Plus World Market and Garden Ridge — some of them in multiples — in search of anything I considered to be of decent quality and design that might be included as part of a relatively tasteful tiki atmosphere.

I eliminated the cheap disposable decorations one might purchase for a haphazard hula party and, for the most part, skipped the usual thatch trim, tiki torches and bamboo chimes that can be found just about anywhere. I also skipped most of the ubiquitous, generically tropical decor, unless it, for one reason or another, struck me as somewhat original.

Everything else, I assembled into a tour of items I believe other tiki aficionados might be interested in collecting or adding to their own tiki space. Begin here to see what I discovered in Tiki Hunt '08!

(If you know of any good finds yourself, feel free to let everyone know in comments below.)

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