ABOUT TIKICOOL

A REFRESHINGLY COLORFUL & INTOXICATING RESPONSE TO AN ALL TOO TEDIOUS WORLD…

TROPICAL EXOTICA’S

COMPLEX LEGACY

There are as many sources for the origins of Tiki Culture as there are islands in the tropical seas of the world. From the beginning of time humans have harbored secret desires for broader horizons, and dreamt of passion & adventure outside of the humdrum of every day mortal existence.

The unknown & the exotic have always held a romantic appeal and a sense of mystery, and it’s an intoxicating feeling.

Fantastic stories of far-flung tropical destinations & strange native rituals began being told on the European continent.  As far back as the Seventeenth century explorers, Navy expeditions, and seagoing adventurers brought back tales of the strange, the unusual, and the forbidden.

By the Eighteenth century the first detailed maps of the Caribbean and the South Pacific were being created, and adventure stories from these places became entertainment in the colonial era.

Fast-forward to the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth century, a time when much of the ‘exotic’ world was well known, but still held great mystery. Global trade became established, and book publishing, radio, and the fantastic new medium of motion pictures came into existence.

And thanks to heroic authors like Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, and Jack London suddenly stories of far-flung exotic places became a popular element of both news & entertainment.

American involvement, first with the Spanish-American war and the Philippines, and then World War II, had US military personnel traveling to points all across the Pacific & Asia from the shores of Southern California and Hawaii.

This was a period of exploding international awareness of all things tropical, and truly the original era of what we know today as the kitschy appropriated faux Polynesian/tropical Hollywood remix called Tiki Culture.

THE BIG KAHUNA

Given his career as a major apparel designer since 1968, and as an intrepid explorer of tropical paradises around the world, Richard Arthur Love is super qualified to head up TikiCool brand.

He’s spent half his life sailing around, surfing, & living on the best beaches of the Caribbean, Latin America, the South Pacific, and Southeast Asia – and has called the most beautiful islands & resorts known to man his home.

His maternal grandfather was instrumental in launching  Ernie Gantt’s original Don The Beachcomber Hollywood tiki bar in the 1930s, and in 1970 owned the Don The Beachcomber in Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach.

Richard’s mother learn to surf from the Kahanamoku Brothers in Waikiki in 1947,  and after sailing private yachts across the entire Pacific, from California to the Marquesas & Tahiti, he’s intimately familiar with every aspect of  polynesian culture.

One of the original inventors of what’s known as ‘Action Sportswear/Surfwear’, Richard understands the nuances of designing & fabricating casual fashions for lovers of beach culture style.

Starting in 1970 he amassed one of the most complete collections of original Hawaiian Aloha shirts, and has lived in & helped design & build  tropical resorts worldwide.

During his many years living in Barbados & the West Indies ‘Don Caribe ‘ became close with the Ward family who owned Mount Gay Rum Distillery – founded in 1703, and the world’s first professional house of fine rums – and he remains a lifetime aficionado of exotic cocktails.

As a lucky kid in the 1950s he came to an early association with Tiki Culture at the height of its orginal worldwide popularity.

Richard has never lost his fondness for making cool & wonderful things that radiate the color, the sensuality, and the mystery of the tropical isles.

TIKICOOL’S CORE MISSION 

The core agenda of TikiCool is to provide the Tiki Culture Community with colorful, witty, and Delightful ways to enjoy & show off their personal connection to the bliss of all things Tiki…

TIKI COOL IS A PURE SOURCE  OF CREATIVE, ARTISTIC, & NOSTALGIC DESIGNS TO UPLIFT EVERYDAY ALOHA. 

Vision

In a world long impacted by the impersonal chaos of nature and the seemingly endless tribal wars of mankind humans have always sought some sort of pleasurable diversion from the drudgery of life.

Tiki Cool’s core vision is a mission to uplift & delight despite it all, and to help add a sense of colorful delight & intoxicating playfulness that comes with all the things that make exotica & retro Tiki culture so much fun.

Creativity

Tiki Cool is woven of a full on remix of the old & new, the borrowed & the original; a pure graphic homage to the strange faux Polynesian theatricality of the Tiki Culture of old Hollywood, the post war heyday, and the fresh new wave of twenty-first  century Tiki culture.

Our designs are founded on the talents of creative souls who have actually lived the tropical life in the most exotic corners of the world.

It’s a collection of crazy misfits & creative adventurers behind all of this. What Else!

Sustainability

What once felt like a massive planet physically beyond human discovery we now know is very much a tiny world lost in infinite space. Literally a outpost in a vast cosmic desert.

We’re all on our own out here, and if we don’t take responsibility for conserving what is here then we’ll all be going down with the ship.

Tiki Cool practices this. The Hawaiians called it PONO – living with respect for life & the world, and it’s what we embrace today.

Delight

The entire core spirit of Tiki culture is living a life of sensuous delight & sybaritic joy, and that’s what Tiki Cool is all about.

If you can feast, dance, drink, play, swim, surf, with total abandon then you’re actually still alive & accomplishing something of real value.

Serious aspirations for material wealth and being practical are often at odds with what it means to be truly human.

Real wealth is playful connection with nature, and the community of family & friends – and that’s really where it at.

It’s Worthless If It Doesn’t Have Aloha!

Top Reasons Why Everyone Loves TikiCool!

TikiCool Designs Reflect Timeless Tropical Motifs & Retro Mid-Mod Vibes.

We love remixing classic motifs, and our designs cover every classic tropical design theme in existence.

If it’s vibrant, kinda tipsy, or classic then we’re into it. Wearing a bold South Seas graphic talisman is a dynamic & delightful public gesture.

Why not spread the Aloha?! We do it every day  & think you should too…

TikiCool goods meet our personal standards of design, durability, value, and consistent quality.

Sure, it has to be reasonably priced, but we don’t compromise, & never put our name on or deliver anything that sucks.

We Guarantee TikiCool Products because we’re way more  into making people feel the Aloha than making a buck.

TikiCool designs are printed using energy efficient DTG technology & 100% biodegradable inks, & often using only all-natural fibers.

It’s everyone’s responsibility to care about the Earth Ohana & to ensure things don’t get any more out of balance than they already are.

We care, so you can share the Aloha…

Surfing somewhere in Fiji or swilling Mai Tais in Panama? We’re happy to ship TikiCool cargo just about anywhere on the planet.  

We ship our tops in lightweight & durable bags to keep it clean & the costs low, and send TikiCool Gear in crunch-proof boxes.

See our FAQ page for full Shipping Info.

WORKING TO SPREAD THE ALOHA / HELP US DO IT!