Tag: Art

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New Mai Tai Glass and Cocktail from B-Rex is Out of this World

I have a collection of glassware from Brian Rechenmacher, the artist known as B-Rex, who also did the logo and header for UltimateMaiTai.com. For the first time in a couple years, B-Rex has issued a new double rocks / Mai Tai glass, dubbed “Out of this World.” The white print design features birds and whimsical idols, hallmarks of his design aesthetic. Glasses can be purchased individually or as a set of four for a discount.

The glass is best paired with the new volume two of Tropical Libations, a keepsake menu with nine original cocktail recipes including the Wrath of Keahi, Merchant Grog, and B-Rex Daiquiri. Notably in this collection is the recipe for a cocktail called Out of this World, the perfect cocktail companion for the new glass. These look great in your home bar and none of the recipes call for particularly exotic ingredients. Stocking up on Planteray OFTD rum would be wise.

As many of you know “Out of this World” is more or less what “Mai Tai” translates to in Tahitian, and indeed there are Mai Tai nods in the recipe for that cocktail (hint: yes, you’ll need Orgeat). But this includes ingredients that you’d never put in a Mai Tai, some quite far afield.

I think that since Brian keeps the recipe secret in his marketing materials, I’ll do the same. Suffice to say that Brian is keeping the tradition of cocktail excellence going, using his experience as a former bartender at Trader Sam’s and Forbidden Island to great use. The cocktail is juicy and spicy with a hint of cherry flavor, so consider getting Tropical Libations vol. 2 and trying it out for yourself.

The new Out of this World glass and Tropical Libations volumes 1 and 2 are now available on artofbrex.com.

You can also check out B-Rex at next weekend’s marketplace events at Pau Hana Studio in Oakland on Saturday Nov 16 or at San Jose’s Dr. Funk on Sunday Nov 17.

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Pau Hana Studio Open House in the Oakland Hills

We had a grand time yesterday for the first of two open house events for the new Pau Hana Studio in the Oakland Hills.

The project is the brainchild of Laura and Woody Miller and the venue serves as a production studio for Woody’s burgeoning mug and tiki art business. Pau Hana will also host arts and crafts classes on various topics including ceramics, mugs, plant hangers, and tiki lamps. The space includes warm accent touches, skylights, and a wonderfully colorful tropical pattern on the back wall. Some of Woody’s lamps and other art from the defunct Kon-Tiki Room at Palmetto are present to make the space inviting and also providing a showcase for Woody’s diverse portfolio of projects.

Pau Hana includes a great deal of storage for Woody’s various tiki mug projects. We saw mugs in various stages of production including the fabulous event mug for the Sacramento Ohana Home Bar Tour event, and another one that this author thinks is even better and set to debut at a San Francisco tiki bar in the near future. Stay tuned… There’s also storage for wood and other materials.

The registration for some upcoming classes are sold out, but look for more classes to be announced soon. Pau Hana will be hosting another open house on Saturday August 17 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, 11144 Golf Links Rd, Oakland, CA.

Woody and Laura Miller
Mrs. Mai Tai made this with stamps
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Saul’s Own Punch at Trader Vic’s

Had a great time on Sunday for the Holiday Bazaar and Brunch at Trader Vic’s Emeryville. So many great vendors, and we bought from several. There were two rooms of vendors and it seemed like business was booming. The mug release for the Tiki Diablo mug seemed to be pretty successful, though we didn’t partake.

For brunch I tried the monthly special cocktail, Saul’s Own Punch. An original cocktail from Vic’s longtime bartender, featuring Red Wine, Citrus, Honey, Passionfruit, and Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum. Longtime readers know I’m not big into wine but this was just the right amount for a rum-soaked Sangria. The Kulua Pork Hash was pretty amazing, too.

Service was pretty good at Vic’s, especially considering it was a packed house. We were seated by DJ Otto who provided a varied mix of retro and retro-inspired tunes. And we got to sit by the window on a picturesque afternoon in Emeryville. Good times at Trader Vic’s.

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Trader Vic’s Hawaiian Bazaar & Brunch

We skipped brunch but it is always fun to check out the vendors at the Hawaiian Bazaar at Trader Vic’s Emeryville, one of the few tiki marketplace events that take place in Northern California.

We caught up with some local favorites who we’ve purchased from before, including Woody Miller, B-Rex, Sweet Siren Designs, and Tiki Lounge Lights. All had some great stuff, though we were most impressed by the Greg’s amazingly cool peacock chair lamps.

There were some new vendors at this event. Rob and Jeanine Allspaw brought their Mischief Motu carvings up from Southern California for the first time that I can remember, and we scored a few items for our bedroom walls. Oakland artist Kelly Jo Mullaney had some interesting shirts and paintings – and many of the designs have hidden elements. Tiki Makaio was showing off some wood coasters and bottle openers that have vintage designs – and he does custom work too. Check them out.

Can’t go to Vic’s and skip a Mai Tai. Mrs. Mai Tai had been meaning to try the Guava Tai, a sweet variant that for sure you’re not going to miss the guava in. I went my favorite, the San Francisco Mai Tai – the standard Mai Tai with 151 float.

Nice to catch up with some folks out on the back patio and in the marketplace. It was a beautiful sunny day in Emeryville.

Tiki Makaio
Sweet Siren Designs (with Wayne Stonecipher)
Woody Miller
B-Rex
Kelly Jo Mullaney
Mischief Motu
Greg Smith from Tiki Lounge Lights
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Tiki Modern

Thanks to local tikiphile Monty Dunnington for selling me his used copy of Sven Kirsten’s Tiki Modern, and for offering it at a fair price. This completes my Sven collection, including the Book of Tiki, Tiki Pop, Tiki Style, and Sound of Tiki.

The book is long out of print, which is truly a shame since it is a really interesting look at the tiki art of the 1950s-1960s and it’s place amongst the larger Mid Century art movement and aesthetic. The part that reads most interesting to me, a decade after it was published, is the neutral tone of the text. It is almost like an anthropologist describing a culture on its own terms, not one made with modern sensibilities. It does not denigrate, nor celebrate, the art and architecture described in the book. It just describes it so that we can understand it.

Which isn’t to say that those current sensibilities should be ignored. Just that I appreciated the neutral tone. And there are a lot of fabulous images in the book as well.

Anyway, thanks to Sven Kirsten for the books over the years. 

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New B-Rex Swag

So nice to see Brian and Mary Rechenmacher Trader Vic’s mini-Bazaar on Sunday. So many nice products, but I had to purchase the Collins glass set inspired by the Enchanted Tiki Room and also the cool new Camp Mug. Those are still available from the B-Rex store, so check it out and get those cool glasses and other items before they sell out.

It was so nice to have a quick toe-dip for indoor conversations and to check in with life changes and where everyone is heading. Thank goodness for the vaccines.