My name is Vance Klinke and I have a confession to make …
Introduction
In 2013, my beautiful wife Jenae and I were married in Las Vegas, and the day before our wedding a family member had recommended this really cool bar where we could hang out and relax before our rehearsal dinner. Little did we know we were walking into Frankie’s Tiki Room, where our lives were changed forever.
I was mesmerized and in awe over the decor ranging from carvings, bamboo, rigging, glass float lamps and more. Faint sounds of exotica played in the background while we sipped on many delicious cocktails. Wait, they have cool mugs you can drink out of and even take home? I was hooked! After arriving home, and determined to learn more, I began reading online articles, and books, and searching for others who have a true passion for the culture. This is where I joined the Facebook group, Sacramento Ohana and learned of Wendy and Dan Cevola.
We arranged a meet up at their house where we talked story and then they asked us, “would you like a tour of our home?” For those who have had the great pleasure of touring their home, it can be described as epic! I can still remember Dan setting up his jungle room and Wendy taking a picture of us as we walked through the doors. WOW! Our jaws were on the floor, and many would say that you could visit their house five times or more and still see many new wonderful displays of tiki art. And so, it begun …
During our walk through, I gravitated to art made by Mike ‘Gecko South Sea Arts’ Sourioelle. The mugs and bowls with vibrant colors along with his signature fata lava glaze caught my attention, so I reached out to Gecko directly on Facebook and purchased my first of many pieces – A Mr. Bony Skull attached to a boar tusk. It was a piece of art and mug that only a high chief would be worthy of drinking from. It is one of my most cherished pieces of art, as it was not only my first purchase, but it was also the beginning of a life-long friendship with him and his Ohana.
In addition to Wendy, Dan, and Gecko, I have met many local collectors over the years. Bullet Roberts and I created a great friendship. He too is passionate about Gecko’s art and I was able to add many pieces of art to my collection from Bullet, including Gecko’s other signature series, his Red Dirt Glaze. Finally, my wife and I enjoy visiting the Hawaiian Islands every chance we have and we always find time to meetup with Scott ‘Beachbumz’ Taylor and Rob ‘Maui Rob’ Hawes.
What is the story behind our bar?
Today, I have over 750 pieces of tiki art and mugs in the collection and it is ever growing. This year, I finished our tiki bar and display room called ‘Hale e Ke Kai’, which means House by the sea. Our display room and bar has a cultural feel of a Polynesian hut with tapa, reed, and bamboo, along with many glass floats, nets, and puffer fish lamps for my love for the sea. I wanted to display our art proudly where someone could walk into our display room and have the same experience that we had after visiting Wendy and Dan’s home. Where each visit you would see new pieces of art. I also find the art to be a creative outlet where I can hand build the display room (with the help of some of the shelving from a lifelong friend) and create the customized lighting with decor that represents the Hawaiian Polynesian feel.
Why do I love Tiki?
I am truly drawn to all things with a Hawaiian flare and that is why I gravitate toward collecting art and mugs from Hawaiian artists. Gecko’s work is my favorite based on his glazing techniques and bowls which are one of a kind. I love the fata lava and his vintage Kissed by Pele series. His Red Dirt glaze is amazing because he mixes actual dirt into the glaze. I also am very fond of his Sunken Treasure series. He uses special techniques to give the mug a patina that looks as if it was on the bottom of the ocean for years, with coral growth, clams, and barnacles attached. Finally, Gecko is one of the few artists who mixes mediums into his art and mugs where he uses shells baked into the art along with detailed hand painting.
Of course, I collect all the mugs from Frankie’s and can proudly say I have every mug produced directly from and for the bar. In addition to the art, what I love most about tiki is the culture. The laissez-faire and kicked back vibe where everyone accepts and embraces the culture for different reasons. No matter what it is, everyone is accepted. I love meeting people like myself who enjoy coming together to talk story.
What is your favorite drink and Tiki bar?
I tend to like drinks that are more fruit forward, while my wonderful wife enjoys more sour forward drinks. I love a great version of a Planter’s Punch as it reminds me of Hawaii. Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco has many tasty versions. I love a great Mai-Tai, and when I visit my favorite Tiki bar, Forbidden Island in Alameda CA, I also order an Island Mai-Tai, as I’m working on my Kill Devil rum list. Currently, I am about 85% complete with 20 rum tastings left before I move onto the 2.0 rum list. One of my favorite brands of rum is Plantation rum. The Stiggins rum with a hint of pineapple, and the 20-year rum are fantastic! When we visit Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas, I always order a Tiki Bandit.
Do I feel that music has an important role in creating a great experience?
Without a doubt, yes! I have a small TV behind our home bar where I can play the sounds of exotica music or even a ukulele. I want our bar to both have visual and an audio feel. In the future, I look forward to enhancing our display room and bar to combine both with small surround speakers to add sounds of ocean waves crashing, thunder, and rain. I would also like to add more effects to the room with strobing lights to match the music or audio to enhance the experience.
What does the future hold for our Tiki home?
As most fanatics with a home tiki bar, it is never finished and always in the works. We are very satisfied. As described above, I would like to add and enhance the sound and visual effects. I look forward to adding more detailed hand carvings in my shelving and also would like to add more carving to our display room. As many have done, it would be really cool to create a Facebook landing page dedicated to our home to provide updates and highlight new pieces of art added to the collection. I would like to add a signature tiki mug that is specific to our home bar and to open up our home in the future to the annual Sacramento Tiki Crawl.
Final Thoughts
We have been blessed and fortunate to meet many amazing people over the years, and for me it is all about the experience. My passion is focused more on the arts of Tiki, followed by libations. Polynesia can be defined culturally as ‘people who share common traits in language, customs, and society’. I hope to continue to meet others who share the same passion. I would suggest to newbies to learn quickly and refine your interest in collecting. If you are going to collect art and mugs, pick 3 to 5 artists and stick to it. As some will relate, we get obsessed and we want one of everything, which can complicate things. As people have asked for advice, it is “do you”. Collect what makes you happy. It is not about what you have … it is about what makes you happy. Display it with pride. Be inspirational and inspire others!
You and Jenae are so awesome and it’s great you get to enjoy this passion together! Very Cool. I hope to come see your collection some day!