BIO

Jewelry has kinda been my life.  In my wildest dreams I never thought that this is what I would be doing for my life's work... I have been doing this for a long time. 

My grandfather owned a jewelry factory and starting at about 8-10 years old, I spent my summers in his factory fascinated by the wax carvers and model makers.  My mother launched a very successful jewelry company specializing in Sterling Silver in the early 80s in Beverly Hills, CA.  I joined up in '88, went to the Revere Jewelry Academy in San Francisco shortly thereafter to further my knowledge of jewelry production, subsequently becoming the lead designer for the company.   This woman named Dorian (who happens to be a silversmith as well) was my boss to begin with having worked in my families business longer than I have.   She's now my wife, and STILL my boss! 
We have been creating jewelry together for over 30 years.

It kinda started with The Tikiyaki Orchestra and this ring.....

How I found The Tikiyaki Orchestra is a whole other story, but when I turned 50 I started playing the Bass guitar.  I realized that playing a musical instrument was something I really missed doing (since Marching Band in High School). I had struggled with Guitar since I was 12 and one day a friend suggested that I consider the Bass.  I started taking lessons and learning the music of Tikiyaki and it just fit me like a glove.  Around the same time, I realized that there was a revival of Tiki Culture and Surf Music that had been going on for a few years.  I used to go to Kelbos on Pico and Trader Vics at the Beverly Hilton back in the day and have always loved the imagery and the vibe and so I decided to throw myself a 50th birthday party at the Purple Orchid Tiki Bar in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Fast forward to The Golden Tiki in Las Vegas, one of my favorite Tiki Bars on the planet. I had always loved plastic swizzle sticks since I was a kid before I could even drink (no comments) and I was intrigued by the design of the swizzle stick for the Golden Tiki.  Having a knowledge of 3D modeling,
I decided to create my take on the swizzle stick for a pendant to wear, just to have a little something 'Tiki' to take with me wherever I went.  A reminder that I'd rather be in a Tiki bar listening to some great 'Exotica Music' and sipping on a perfect Mai Tai (NO PINEAPPLE JUICE!!!  NO GRENADINE!!!) than just about anywhere else.  Since I couldn't always see my pendant, I decided that I wanted to be able to see something tiki. I have always loved the Moai.  Its mystical and without explanation as to its existence.  I created my Moai ring and just threw a nod to The Tikiyaki Orchestra onto the side of it so it was always present with me, a reminder of the things I love.

After getting so many compliments on my Ring and my Pendant and looking around at what was out there in the marketplace.  I decided to test the waters by setting up a small booth at Tiki Oasis in San Diego in 2023.  The response to my collections were encouraging enough for me to launch this website.  The jewelry isn't for tikiphiles or for people who are overly concerned with authenticity or those who live a perfectly vintage lifestyle.  My jewelry is for people like you and me.  We love Tiki.  We love imagery and the themes.  We love the music.  We love a good Mai Tai.  And most of all we appreciate quality and just want a little reminder in our day to day lives that there is a place where we feel at home.  I'll be shocked if you're still reading this at this point, but if you are, Thank You for visiting The Silver Tiki. - Andrew