Contest now over. Congratulations to winner Jennie!! Thanks, everyone, for playing! ENTRIES NOW CLOSED.
The main reason for my recent Grand LA Tiki Adventure was to see the opening of The Art of the Tiki exhibit. The exhibit was fabulous, and the opening night party was insane! There is a hardcover book to go-with, and I picked up an extra copy to go a giveaway here on the blog. And of course, I had it autographed by Sven and Otto! Read on for entry details.
Sven wrote the book, there are tons of great photos, and there are essays by Shag, Otto and Jordan Reichek. Otto also gets author credit because he curated the exhibit. I have not had time to read my copy yet, but it looks like a must-have addition to the super-collectible Sven Kirsten library of titles!
The book’s description, from the publisher Last Gasp Books:
The Art of Tiki is a passionate study of the Tiki idol as an art form. For the first time, contemporary Tiki art is united and presented equally with what inspired it, original mid-century Polynesian pop. Author Sven Kirsten combines his first-hand experiences in exploring the birth of Tiki style with his intimate knowledge of the Tiki Revival, painting a vivid, visually arresting portrait of a unique, always new art genre. The Art of Tiki is published in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary Tiki Art Exhibition at La luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles.
How to enter to win this book:
- To win, you must be a subscriber to our newsletter (Yes, this is “what’s in it for the blog” — you can opt out at any time after the contest ends, or continue on for the stories and because we like to do giveaways every now and then!)
- Then, to enter, use the Comment field on this post below and tell us: What is making you happiest about your house right now?
- One entry per person. U.S. and Canada residents eligible.
- Entries close on Friday, Oct. 20, 9 a.m.-ish Eastern — that is, we will close the Comments field at that time.
- Prize: There will be one winner and I’ll mail you the book.
- Pam will choose the winners via the Random Number Generator at random.org. She will email the winner. [Tip: Be sure you enter your email address correctly in the email field of the Comment form.] The winner will have five business days to respond. If we do not hear from them, we will choose the next person who commented. Lather, rinse, repeat. We will post the winner’s first name as soon as all is confirmed.
- Terms of use apply.
Lindsay says
The thing making me the happiest is that my kids are growing up in one house in a wonderful (historic) neighborhood. Having moved so many times as a kid, this has become very important to me.
Christine W says
The thing that makes me happiest about my house is that the little blood sucker is almost paid for
Marjory says
The weather, has at last turned to fall so I can open my
windows and let a fresh breeze blow through.
Chris says
My living room! I love the color and all of the natural light.
Amy says
The new landscaping.
Twenty years now I have waited to pull up the silly, cracked curved side walk connecting the driveway/carport to the front door. Horrible!! My mid century modest 1957 atomic bomblette of an abode now has landscaping that harmonizes with its era and style. No more curves, rectilinear concrete with stones in between.
I am in love!!
Terri Bailey says
Happiness for me is the mahogany paneling in every room (including the kitchen and bathrooms.) It’s not as dark as you might expect because all the horizontal surfaces are light.
Cocoa says
My favorite thing about my house at the moment is that I have a wonderful set of Jadeite restaurant ware dishes that was my grandmothers that was given to her by her daughter in law’s (my late aunt) mother who had a diner where it came from. The plates are sectioned and I only have a few coffee mugs left. I still have a stack of the bread plates and monkey bowls. These are the things that I will be designing my dream atomic kitchen around when we get our dream house hopefully in the near future. When this happens, I will be consulting Retro Renovation hourly to find the authentic period materials to either preserve or restore what has been renovated back to its former atomicness.
Sue Davis says
I just bought a house so I’m thrilled to own my first home!
Al says
What makes me happiest about my house right now? The secret room. Definitely the secret room.
You see, most people in town know me simply as Dr. Tony Jones, the most popular and successful podiatrist in the tri-state area. But a man has few true friends. And fewer still know my secret identity. For when crime of a Polynesian nature happens, I shed the mild-mannered appearance of a wildly successful podiatrist, enter the secret room in my mansion, and I become… The Tiki Avenger.
It all started during the war. I was deployed to the Solomon Islands. And one day while digging a trench, I found a golden tiki necklace buried for centuries in the rich, volcanic soil. I figured it was worth some dough — maybe this would be me ticket to podiatry school!
Almost absent-mindedly I put the the tiki necklace around my neck and continued to dig the trench. Suddenly, I was digging with super-human speed and efficiency. Shovel loads of dirt flew 30 feet into the air. And I’d single-handedly finished the work of my entire company in a mere 20 minutes. The rest of my company looked at me with awe and respect. But the natives were distrustful. They started calling me, “Anak Laki-laki Bodoh,” which they said translated roughly to “The Tiki Avenger.”
Now I walk the streets of the urban jungle looking for tiki trouble. By the Jaguar God of Tonga, not a night goes by that I don’t have to bust up a crooked limbo ring or swoop in just in the nick of time to keep some poor sap from tasting a spiked fondue and waking up in the cargo hold of a steamer bound for Fiji. The work of The Tiki Avenger is never done.
Gretchen says
My kitchy kitchen, where the cookie jar, salt shakers, chalkware pot holder hooks, planters, and even the tea towels have faces on them and they are all smiling at me!