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Swanky’s Blather

If it’s Swank…

Ephemera

This Week Miami 1959

While collecting way too many things related to the Mai-Kai as part of my book research, I bought this great 1959 weekly tourist magazine for the Mai-Kai ad. I got a lot of other great stuff as well. Gotta love…..

Knoxville Then & Now – Westwood Motel Kingston Pike

 I have been meaning to add this motel on Kingston Pike for a long time. We dropped in to try Archer’s BBQ and so I took some pictures and added it today. A relic of the 50s that stands today,…..

Crazy Al Creates New Mai-Kai Memories Series Molokai Maiden

 Only the mastery of Crazy Al could recreate this amazing carving from the Mai-Kai. The latest piece in the Mai-Kai Memories Series is the Molokai Maiden. An unreal smaller version of the iconic masthead in the Molokai Bar. It takes…..

1968 Mai-Kai Calendar

1968 Mai-Kai Calendar    Just added, thanks to a loan from a fan of the site, the 1968 Mai-Kai calendar!

Mai-Kai Black Velvet Rescue

From the early days after we moved Hukilau to the Mai-Kai, I had heard about a black velvet painting of Mireille Thornton. The painting had been vandalized and the description of the damage made it sound horrible. Mireille was current…..

1972 Mai-Kai Calendar

The 1972 Mai-Kai calendar is now online.

Mai-Kai Calendar Girls – 1969

 Now online is the fantastic 1969 Mai-Kai calendar. This one features sisters Leila and Andree and their cousin Liva. HERE

Etiquette for Young Moderns

Gay Head. Just sayin’.

Redmon Court – Knoxville Then and Now

Another addition to Knoxville Then and Now is the Redmon Court. Not exactly confident I found it. You decide. Redmon Court  

Ridgeview Motel – Knoxville Then and Now

A New Year’s resolution was to add more to the Swank Pad, and so we have an addition to Knoxville Then and Now! This is the Ridgeview Motel in Clinton. See the place now at the site: Ridgeview Motel.

2013 is 1963 All Over Again…

  As a public service, let me bring to your attention the fact that the year 2013 is exactly the same as the year 1963. So you can re-use that 1963 calendar this year, and you can print out the…..

DYI Ice Volcano for your Mini Mystery Bowl

If you don’t yet own the Mini Mai-Kai Mystery Bowl, well, go get one HERE. Follow along regardless. To make the ice volcano that goes in the center of the Mystery Drink, here is my plan. If you have your…..

Swank Pad’s Mini Mai-Kai Mystery Bowls are here!

I am excited to announce what I hope is the first of my “Mai-Kai Memories Series”. This is an individual sized Mystery bowl designed after the 1950s original. They are on sale now at the Swank Pad Productions website and…..

Swanky – Knoxville’s “Tiki King” in Metropulse

 We were a bit shocked to find that Knoxville weekly indepenant paper Metropulse had made me the cover story this week. And I was very pleasantly surprised to find they did a really great job on the article that captures…..

Mai-Kai Calendar Girls

In an effort to turn blog posts to web pages, I have started with the Mai-Kai calendars. This also gives me a chance to share a bit of history along the way. If you are interested in helping with this…..