Pua Gets Shagged

My Desk

Charlie's Desk

The Mug Rack

Charlie's Aquarium

Shag's "In Search of Tiki"


As I've shared in past posts, House of Tiki has gone through a rough couple of years. Thanks to some of our loyal Tiki Ohana, we've been able to keep our noses above water. Recently, we moved House of Tiki (again) to a smaller, more accessible and visible location. We were, for a year, in a warehouse location, and our place was next door to ShagMart. Piet Agle, Shag's bro, handles biz there, and was a very cool neighbor. Piet was kind enough to get Shag to sign one of his books for Averie when she graduated this past year, a gift that she treasures.

Anyway, when we moved the store, it was pretty rough. Wes worked day and night, sometimes 16 hour days to get us out of the old, and into the new, within a week. We were only "closed" for 2 days, which is a phenomenal feat. It was an Ohana effort, as all we had were Wes, myself, Charlie, and our kids, and one of Wes's friends to pack everything, unpack, and be ready for biz. We did it expecting no compensation, but as something you would do for ohana. That is the Aloha Spirit I was raised with and the very spirit I have always seen in my friend Wes.

The day after we re-opened, Wes said that he had to go and do an "install," which didn't seem out of the ordinary because he does a lot of tiki-style installation work for places like Trader Joe's, various tiki bars, and other clients who want that "look" for their homes. So, naturally, I stayed to man the shop.

Knowing that we had just transformed Averie's old room into an office/tiki room, Wes decided that we needed a special addition. Little did I know that he and Piet had worked together on a "mahalo" surprise for us. He saw Shag's new serigraph, "In Search of Tiki" and said that he knew the instant he saw it that it was meant for Charlie and I because of the couple in the canoe; a Polynesian girl and a Haole (non-Hawaiian...okay a white guy...I was just trying to be PC) man. Wes went to Piet who got him the art, and then went to my house to do the "install", all without my knowledge. When I got home that night, there in our Tiki Room/Office, in what was once a blank spot above Charlie's new aquarium, was this beautiful work of art with a note that said.."You've Been Shagged!" I was completely floored and needless to say thrilled. I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd be lucky enough to get "Shagged". Especially not by my boss. With my husband's consent.