tiki-mug-bali-Hai_2932

Nothing better on a Sunday than to lay back sucking on Mai Tais, Fog Cutters, Shirley Temples or whatever else you want to fill this vintage Mr. Bali Hai Tiki mug with. Custom made for the Bali-Hi Restaurant in San Diego, CA. and patterned after the 6′ tall Mr. Bali Hai sculpture that greeted diners at the front door, these 6.5″ x 4.25″ mugs are the Big Kahuna of Tiki mugs, larger than most with a top of the head lid and holes for two straws for maximum Romantic imbibing.

Manufactured by Otagiri Mercantile Company, there are matching salt & pepper shakers as well as newer repro shot glasses.  All eight of my Mr. Bali Hais are full size and original.

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tickles-tapeworm

“Good day. Tapeworm of the Tickles. The stomach living within is for fun. Likes much the good food, Great friends are we to the extremity. Love me Tapeworm.” I LOVE bad translations and this 8″x3″ of plastic wonderfulness is among the best!
Tickles served as my billfold for the past four years until the plastic rebelled and one day little tapeworm-like rips appeared all over it. I reluctantly retired it to Kitsch Museum heaven but miss pulling it out to get my money and smiling as I dig intoTickles.

“Good day. Tapeworm of the Tickles. The stomach living within is for fun. Likes much the good food, Great friends are we to the extremity. Love me Tapeworm.” I LOVE bad translations and this 8″x3″ of plastic wonderfulness is among the best!

Made by Parasite Pals, Tickles served as my billfold for the past four years until the plastic rebelled and one day little tapeworm-like rips appeared all over it. I reluctantly retired it to Kitsch Museum heaven but miss pulling it out to get my money and smiling as I say hello to Tickles.

tickles-tapeworm_2820

sock-it-to-me-bottle-ashtray_9434

These squished beer and soda bottles were all the rage in the late 60’s when the phrase ‘Sock It To Me’ crossed the color line to become the reigning colloquialism of the era. I have tons of  ‘Sock It To Me’ memorabilia as well as squashed and stretched bottle art but none so perfect as this smokeables receptacle made by Houze Art, USA.

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corn-S&Ps_9451

Items in the shape of corn on the cob have a special place on the mantle of Americana Pop Culture. Whether plastic, ceramic, bowl, plate, S&P or cob holder, the texture of husks and kernels has fascinated mold makers since the beginning of time, elevating corn to the status of oranges and tomatoes as the foodstuffs most imitated in kitchen accessories design.
These S&P’s are devoid of any manufacturer’s mark but look to be late 70’s/ early 80’s. They have rubber stoppers, both slightly melted from being too close to corn boiling in the pot. I covet these more for their form than their function.

Items in the shape of corn on the cob have a special place on the mantle of Americana Pop Culture. Whether plastic, ceramic, bowl, plate, S&P or cob holder, the texture of husks and kernels has fascinated mold makers since the beginning of time, elevating corn to the status of oranges and tomatoes as the foodstuffs most imitated in Kitsch kitchen accessories design.

These 4″ plastic S&P’s are devoid of any manufacturer’s mark but look to be late 70’s/ early 80’s. They have rubber stoppers, both slightly melted from being too close to corn boiling on the stove. I covet these more for their form than their function as they always leave a nasty little trail of salt and pepper from what’s slipped through the meltage.

corn-S&Ps_9452

Toothpick-Charlie_9413

Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, toothpick holders were one of the state souvenir items of choice.  Though Toothpick Charlie is devoid of any markings other than his name,  identical trinkets were churned out and stamped with state names as frequently as  shoe shaped coin purses and carved wooden jewelry boxes.  

Charlie is made out of a tree limb and holds about 30 toothpicks when his mouth is full. He’s sat at my kitchen table with me for as long as I can remember.
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disco-dancer-keyring_2740

3″ round tortoise shell plastic keyring from 1979 with grooves like a vinyl record and raised gold Disco dancers whose silhouettes look more like they’re on their way to an Anne Murray concert than to Studio 54. The back has a glass mirror, long broken, that says “Hot To Trot”, as if that were a slogan of the late 70’s and not property of the Bobby Soxers three decades earlier. Manufactured by Bromac, which sounds more like a company that makes antacid than Disco products. All in all, everything misses the mark just enough to make this a Kitsch lover’s dream.

disco-dancer-keyring-bk_2737

garlic-salt-shaker

Garlic is about my favorite thing in the world. I drive up to Monterey a lot on the 101 and always pass 20-wheelers filled with the stuff coming from Gilroy, the Garlic Capital of the world. I match the speed of the truck for about 10 miles to luxuriate in fabulous garlic fumes…

This vintage 1950’s shaker, clearly distressed at the smell of what’s inside it, is NOT the look on my face but, rather, the plethora of friends around me who hate the stuff. 

Did you know that garlic is a species of onion?

Garlic salt shakers were very popular in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. They usually came with a companion onion salt shaker.

garlic-salt-shaker-cooks-tools garlic-salt-shaker-napco1

grn-thumb-pitcher_7488

I see lots of green thumb inspired objects but this articulated fat fleshy hand is one of the best. This kind of molded hard plastic stuff kills me. And the green paint hugs the thumb perfectly like one of those stretchy self-adhesive rubber bandages. Holds just enough water to take care of my matching plastic plants.