Summer Shows & New Tiki Exotica Collection

Well this summer flew by as usual!! And here we are...  almost into October with all of its fun Fall shenanigans.

These past few months were a crazy whirlwind of lots of work, shows, fun, and Tiki drinks. (I love me some good Tiki drinks).

We kicked off the festivities in Fort Lauderdale at The Hukilau in the beginning of June. What a crazy, rum soaked few days! This was our first time vending there, and it sure was a blast. Missing out on all of the super cool activities, pool parties, and daytime festivities was a bit of a drag, but we were kept entertained by the fabulous John and Janet Mulder of Eekum Bookum, who were our booth neighbors. We met so many fantastic people, sold lots of goodies, and made a bunch of new friends. Can't wait to go back next year!! 

Next up was Ohana Luau At the Lake in Lake George, NY. My absolute favorite weekend of the year. My husband and I have gone for the past 6 years now and every one just seems to get better. It is a weekend filled with fabulous friends, drinks, fun, pool parties, drinks, room crawls, and more drinks. The only problem is my liver hates me for weeks after the event... but its ok, he's a very resilient buddy of mine. (HA!)  This was only our second year vending, and it was even better than the first. Since we vend for only one day we don't miss out on too much... and it's nice that the vendor tent is situated outside by the pool so we are pretty much immersed in all of the colorful Tiki-ness.

Towards the end of July we participated for the first time at Retro-Fest in Lancaster, PA. This was a fun Rockabilly weekender complete with bad-ass classic cars, tons and tons of vintage vendors and a whole bevy of super cool folks. We met a lot of wonderful people, made some new friends, sold some jewelry, and had a great time. We only drove out for the day... which was about a 4 hour trip each way. Might need to re-think that next time and plan better.

August 11th was the annual Rust Riot car show run by none other than my hubby. Forecast for the day was rain and thunderstorms... so that was a huge bummer, since it scared off most of the people. The turnout was about half of what we usually get, but I'll tell ya... the diehards came out and we had a blast!! And, ironically, it didn't even rain!! Matter of fact the sun came out for awhile. Go figure. There's no telling what Mother Nature is going to hand us. 

The following weekend we went down to Asbury Park, NJ and vended for the first time at the Asbury Park Surf Festival. Once again, rain was in the forecast, so all the bands were moved off the beach and into the theater area. (this was the summer from hell weather-wise with all its rain and humidity!!). It was a great day... a ton of people showed up but you can't help but think the turnout would have been better if that yellow orb had been beaming down upon us. Our friends at Zombie Oasis were our booth neighbors and we had a great time hanging out, and slinging our wares. I even got to sneak a drink or two in at the theater bar and catch a few glimpses of some of the bands.

And last but not least we vended for the 7th year at Dead Mans Curve Wild Hot Rod Weekend in Mahwah, NJ. This, by the way, is another one of my absolute favorite weekends of the year (yes, you can have more than one favorite, ha!). Three straight days of vending is a lot of work, but it sure is fun when you see tons of friends and make new ones, and of course, sell a lot of jewelry! Was fun seeing Dee Snider and Horny Mike walking around, and of course, all the hundreds and hundreds of classic, customs, beaters, hot rods... you name it. The guys at DMC always create a memorable experience. It truly is top notch.

One of the best parts of the summer was that I finally, and I mean finally, launched my new Tiki Exotica collection!! I've been working on ideas for months, and it finally came to fruition right in time for the Hukilau in the beginning of June. Moai heads, Tiki heads, flamingos, monstera leaves, mermaids, pineapples, and more! Now that the show whirlwind is over for a  month or two I can concentrate on expanding the collection and added some super fun, cool new pieces with lots of colorful semi-precious stones. I've been stocking up on rose-cut stones, so keep your eyes peeled!