Welcome

I grew up a few miles from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Some of my earliest memories involve pirate mini-golf, the cave train, the sound of pennies being thrown into glass chalices, and people cheering as they won huge stuffed animals. When I was 10, we went on our first trip to Disneyland. I loved feeling like I was transported to a new world. When asked what I wanted as a souvenir, I ran to the shop across from the Indiana Jones Ride and handed my mother a life-size rubber skull. She always reiterates to me how she was a little concerned and almost didn't buy it for me. However, what she saw as a morbid souvenir, I saw as my next movie prop, or a display for my shelf; my own piece of adventure straight out of my favorite films. I never stopped going to Disney Parks and was lucky enough to go to school in Orlando where I went to WDW a measly 44 times in a year. Rookie numbers...

My love for adventure eventually lead me to pursue photography. I married my best friend in 2019 and together, we backpacked & explored many places from the tallest peak in the lower 48, to some of the most remote islands of the Marquesas. Having had the most adventure filled year of my life, I couldn't wait to continue the momentum and see the world. Unfortunately, 2020 had other plans. Quarantine fatigue hit fast and I grew restless. I woke up one day with the urge to make something with my hands. Why not make a tiki mug? Inspired by the tikis in French Polynesia, I grabbed some air-dry clay and started sculpting. The community was overflowing with encouragement and kindness from the likes of VanTiki, Coxswain Dunsel, TikiPop, William Wallace, TikiRob and many others.