It all began in one of Ohau's last remaining Tiki Bars...
Honolulu - Saturday, October 6th, 2001. I am invited by some coworkers to check out a performance by Don Tiki at The Hawaiian Hut. I had no idea who Don Tiki was - had never been aware of either the existence of Exotica music or the amazing Hawaiian Hut tiki bar. Everything changed when the band took the stage and a waitress brought me a mai-tai served in a Tiki Mug. The mug and show were an epiphany of sorts. I was enthralled by both the escapist/adventure nature of tiki and the way the mug I was sipping out of was not just a mug. It was an artifact - a relic - a touchstone that transports the holder to a fantastic place far away. I HAD to make my own, and the very next morning I called the only person I knew with a kiln and asked if I could come over and play with clay.
Sadly, in the years following the Hawaii Hut closed its doors (like almost every original Tiki establishment in Hawaii) - but I still have the mug I sipped from that night, and the mug I sculpted the next morning. Seeing them and holding them remind me of that night, the music, and the excitement of discovery. The VanTiki mugs I create take their owners far away from their every-day lives. They are portals to adventure - sip from them if you dare!