Motu Mikey Tiki
Motu Mikey Tiki
From French Polynesia to the Idaho Panhandle, one local couple has turned a love of travel and drive to be creative into an homage to Tiki culture.
BY SYDNEY FLUKER
When COVID-19 shuttered the world around us, Michael “Mikey” Gribbin found himself itching to do something with his hands.
“We were feeling trapped, I felt like I wanted to make something with my hands, because I was so used to taking landscape photos and having a creative outlet that way,” Mikey says.
Inspired by his honeymoon travels to the Marquesas Islands, an archipelago in French Polynesia, Mikey decided to try and make a sculpture based on what he saw there. With encouragement from wife and business partner Emily Gribbin, he gained a following through documenting his journey on Instagram, from his first attempt with air dry clay to his recent collaboration with Marquesan artist Tangy Taupotini (IG: @cannibal.art.marquesas).
The Gribbin’s had found themselves knee-deep in the world of tiki.
Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. A large facet of tiki culture is mug making, which the Gribbin’s connected with through Instagram.
“There’s no real trade secrets or anything,” Mikey says, as bigger tiki creators have shared with him advice and insights into the trade after just a direct message.
Mikey admits that when he first began making tiki mugs, cultural appropriation was an unfamiliar concept. Initial pushback from a follower made him reconsider his craft and enact practices that lift up the Indigenous artists and traditions that originally inspired him to create. His website boasts lengthy descriptions of the inspirations behind his mugs to open the door for people to explore that culture themselves, he says. The couple also sets aside proceeds from each mug to donate to a relevant cause that uplifts Indigenous voices, most recently the First Peoples Fund.
“My goal with each new piece that I make — I want more of myself to shrine through while sticking true to some motifs and educating people about the indigenous cultures that inspire the process,” Mikey says.
Having been together for eight years, the two know how to use their strengths to their advantage. Mikey, who enjoys the creation process, sculpts and molds the initial mug. Emily, who tends to enjoy the calming nature of repetitive actions, pours, glazes and paints the mugs based on Mikey’s original design.
“We’re both very creative, but Michael has this part of him that needs to be fulfilled creatively, whereas I’m very good at repetition,” Emily says.
“I call her the shipping department,” Mikey says with a laugh. “I don’t think I would [ship anything] if I was by myself, but Emily’s like ‘I love it, let’s do it, I want to ship two million things.’”
The couple naturally makes a good team, with the two of them choosing to pair up for their side hustle in wedding photography and videography.
“We’re best friends,” Mikey says. “It’s easy to do everything together.”
Outside of tiki-making hours, Mikey works full-time in advertising out of Spokane Valley, while Emily likes to stay busy with creative enterprises like wedding photography and videography, writing, needle crafts and making swizzle sticks for their mugs. She also shoots content for Motu Mikey, preferring to work with film photography.
Prior to ceramics, the Gribbin’s spent their weekends in nature, hiking to find the perfect shot. While they still like to get outdoors, the mug making process takes priority most weekends.
But the two of them take it all in stride, together.
“Getting to do something creative and artistic with your best friend — I can’t really think of anything better,” Emily says.
Learn More at www.motumikey.com