Hawaiian Tiki Imports

I’ve been dying to drop in on this place for ages, what with the teeny exterior, the unfurled breezy flower print shirts flapping in the wind out front, the giant Tiki statue building talisman guarding the place near the door. I just knew that there would be a good story in it, at least, and when I had cause to gather up some supplies for a rooftop luau, I made a beeline for this shop in hopes of discovering more. And whoa, did I ever.
I’ve mentioned to others that it’s a little like a Tiki bomb went off in here, as grass skirts, mugs, shirts, coconut bras and tiny hula girls dot the joint from stem to stern. When I entered, the proprietor was perched on a dated wicker couch with a boom box and about a half dozen stacked Hawaiian CDs and was flipping through them with casual abandon. She mentioned that her son was out on the road, as part of their Hawaiian dancing performance business, and listed off about a dozen states and places where he’d played recently. Word was that he came out to UT from the islands, Mom followed, and now it sounds like neither of them ever left.
Unless you count that on the road time and whatnot.
It’s a fairly lo-​fi operation, and sounds like they’ve scaled back from the amount of inventory they used to carry at a previous location. But you can still dig up plenty of goodies here, and given these scalding days we’re seeing lately? A mai tai and a some breezy luau attire sounds just about right.

Hawaiian Shirts, Leis, hawaiian salt… and a wide assortment of tropically themed goods.
They also run a polynesian-​themed entertainment company, and do catering? How about a Unilocal sponsored luau?
I tried on several shirts, but didn’t end up buying anything… will be back though… every man needs a loud, bright, offensively brash hawaiian shirt in order to annoy the women in his life.

Seriously, have you ever been to an all Hawaiian store? Or better yet, one with a section of authentic Native American merch, too? I came across this kitschy tiki store on accident, while I was lost and desperately trying to find a highway. It didn’t dissapoint, although the prices are a little steep and everything is poorly organized. Stuff is just scattered everywhere, even blocking parts of the store.
The owner/​designer of this fun store is Kanani. Sporting a colorful tie-​dyed top and nose ring, she walked me through the store and gave me the back-​story on the items that caught my eye. She also asked me if I wanted to be a «wench» for the Victorian Street festival, or something like that, because they partake in a Pirates of the Carribean theme. Kanani and her friends of «Tropical Productions» organize luaus with tropical bands, dancing and catering (
).
Kanani makes a lot of the Hawaiian and Native American jewelry sold here from brass and plastic beads, shells, wood and other organic materials. I really, really wanted this large bead-​adorned suede Native American Necklace she made, thinking it would go perfect with a ‘70s top, but it wasn’t for sale. However, she can make them for about $ 150 a pop.
Kanani told me the coral necklaces that range from the hundreds to the thousands were found at different levels of water, determining their color. After browsing through several costly «boroque» corral necklaces, ranging from $ 1000 to $ 2000, I found the pefect Christmas gift for my mom: a chunky, red corral necklace that looked like it was ripped of a Tahitian woman. She DID bargain with me and I ended up paying just over $ 200, rather than $ 300 as she originally asked. She said she hooks up first-​time customers, but you didn’t here that from me.
If you go make a point to check out her pure-​breed Ethiopian cat. It’s small, long-​necked and smarter than any pet I’ve ever met.