Jade Banana Telegram: Tiki from Northern Ireland

Another dispatch from the Banana Hammock Tiki Hut. This week I’m sipping on a Jungle Bird and listening to jungle birds. Quite the combo if you ask me.

I went for the absolute classic recipe: 1.5 ounces Appleton Estate 8 Year rum, .75 ounce Campari, 2.0 ounces pineapple juice, .5 ounce fresh lime juice, .5 ounce demerara syrup. (I know, not quite the right variety of rum. Let me know what you recommend!)

Moving on before I finish my second JB, from week to week I’m going to share cool finds. Whether it’s mugs, barware, artifacts, decorations, music or YouTube videos I want to share. So shoot me a note if you find something cool.

A few weeks ago, this particular mug caught my eye on IG and I thought it was an absolutely brilliant idea for a mug. Andrew Cooke aka Kookietiki created his homage to certain Tom Hanks islander film. Perfectly executed.

I reached out to Kookietiki to learn a little bit more about him and his work. He’s actually from Belfast, Northern Ireland where he reminds me was the Titanic was built.

Kookietiki spent a lot of time as a car body repairman and describes himself as a complete gearhead. Airbrushing motorcycles was his pathway into an applied art degree, which then led to his jump into ceramics. Kookietiki sees a lot of crossover with Kustom Kulture, which features a lot of tiki-inspired art.

Kookietiki’s interests in the aforementioned Kustom Kulture, old movies and classic monsters all blend into his work. While Belfast has a limited tiki community, Kookietiki credits trips to Florida (including a trip to Universal Studios) where he had the opportunity to meet others in the community.

The inspiration to create his Bob mug came after watching a certain island surviving duo’s adventure in the Pacific. Kookietiki’s drive for originality, and some help from his Instagram followers, pushed him to create his own version of the blood-smeared companion, but tiki-fied.

The tiki community has been life changing to Kookietiki. He’s inspired that his work sits in homes around the world, including the US. And with any true artist, his work directly supports his family (including his wife who helps him with the administrative side of selling).

Andrew “Kookietiki” Cooke’s Bob and other work can be found at kookietiki.art. He can also be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kookietiki/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kookietiki/ 

Big thank you to Andrew for offering a glimpse into his experiences and passion for tiki.

Lastly, and update from me. I am hard at work with my ‘sketches’ aka design miniatures. Not sure when I’ll be able to show off a mug, but needless to say I’m working on it!

However, I will have SOMETHING to share in the next couple weeks. Though it’s not ceramic, it’ll be a great for drinking cocktails. Subscribe to follow along!