Danielle Mann is a tiki mug maker from Brisbane Australia and her work is truly incredible!
The name of her company is Black Lagoon Designs and she pulls influences from old school tiki bars, mid-century and the female form.
Her plan for the future is world domination! I think it’s safe to say that she already conquered the tiki scene in Australia. Watch out USA, you’re next!
Here is Danielle’s story …
What is the tiki scene like where you live?
Danielle- The Tiki Scene in Brisbane, Australia is pretty small – with die-hard fans of probably around 15 people, which is a tight knit group, there are also little clusters of tiki peeps in Melbourne, Sydney and a few in Perth also. Brisbane has one true tiki bar, Jungle in West End, which has been around for a few years now and hosts traditional Polynesian dancers every month or so along with a Rum Club and the Miss Tiki Brisbane annual festival, which is always a fun night. The Jungle is small but mighty and the Brisbane Tiki Sceners love it and support it as often as we can and it’s well loved by the general public as well.
What brought you into the ‘Tiki lifestyle” and how long has it been part of your life?
Danielle- I became obsessed with all things tiki after seeing a documentary on Tiki culture about 10 years ago, it was like everything I’d ever loved rolled into one documentary! Tribal art, Vintage fashion, exotica and surf guitar music, cocktails! I was hooked! (I can’t for the life of me remember which one it was now, but it had Crazy Al in it – that was probably part of the obsession! Ha! He knows I have a big crush on him and luckily my husband doesn’t get jealous!). I’ve been lucky enough to have made it over to the states four times now, three of those times for the Tiki Oasis festival in San Diego (I even got married at the festival!) and the 4th time to attend the 21st Anniversary Tiki Art Show in Hollywood which I was lucky enough to have a piece of art shown in and included in the book, I’m forever indebted to Sven and Otto for asking me to be a part of that – I’ll remember the opening night to that art show for the rest of my life.
Can you give a little history of how you got into making tiki mugs?
Danielle- I’d been a ceramic jewelry designer since leaving high school and loved that medium so I thought I’d try my hand at making a tiki mug for a friend’s Christmas present and I thought it worked out pretty well. Oh wow, my first mugs were baaaaaaaaaaaad! Ha, I laugh at them when I look at them now but at the time other friends seemed to like them so I moved away from jewelry designing and started hand building ceramic tikis and selling them. I’d post a photo online when I had some finished and people from the Tiki scene in America were very encouraging and supportive and I’ve chipped away at bettering my skills and learnt the art of making ceramic molds and it kind of all grew from there.
Who or what would be some of your influences?
Danielle- Wow, where do I START?! Van Tiki is a legend, Tiki Tony’s style is awesome, Derek Yaniger is brilliant and there are SO many more Tiki artists that I could list that would take up your entire blog! But I also love taking inspiration from Mid Century Modern architecture – there’s a bunch of new designs to come which are heavily influenced by that. I also love the female form, which I guess is why I’ve done a lot of lady head/bodice work.
What is your favorite Tiki drink? Why?
Danielle- It changes all the time but my current favourite is the ‘Missionary’s Downfall’ Our friends Greg and Kiki hosted us for dinner one night in Palm Springs and whipped us up a heap of these and my husband Evan and I have replicated the recipe at every cocktail party since. The mint is so refreshing.
What does the future hold for you and Black Lagoon Designs?
Danielle- World domination! Ha! What I really hope for Black Lagoon Designs is to turn this into my full-time gig one day. I realize that’s a big dream because many artists never get to that stage but I’ll keep my fingers crossed and my head down and keep sculpting away. I’d eventually like to work with some production team’s in the states so that getting my work to the States doesn’t kill everyone on the postage – it’s brutal and I can’t thank my supporters enough for still buying my art in spite of the shipping costs.
Anything else you would like to add?
Danielle- I’d just really like to thank Eric Allred and of course yourself Ray. I am so grateful that you would take interest in my work and appreciate you spreading the tiki love. I hope to catch up with you both on my next trip back to the states!
Here is the Black Lagoon Designs Etsy Website
And Instagram page