SALOON PILOT TRIVET: 5.9 inches in diameter, a hot plate in the shape of the infamous Saloon Pilot cracker, held over from the whaling era and still popular today. ALA WAI “HAWAIIAN TILAPIA” TRIVET: 5-1/2.7 X 4.3 inches, a blue and white sardine can replica 51 used as a trivet or turn it upside down and it can be used as an ashtray. Photos: Clyde Chee Clyde Chee
BOTTOM OF TILAPIA TRIVET: (Ashtray use) Original packaging for Tilapia Trivet. Photos: Clyde Chee 52 Mejiro Ceramics
MISC. CHAPTER 11 Remember the old days when you dined at a Chinese restaurant and at the end of your meal, you got a fortune cookie with a message inside? Well, the Mejiro Fortune Cookie message carrier does all that! A fine collectible made to perfection much like the actual fortune cookie. The Mejiro Fortune Cookie made with a blank pink or yellow slip of paper on the inside, so you can send your own messages to your friends or someone you love. These fortune cookies were very hard to make and very limited; it can also be used as a paperweight. This collectible piece is very unique and has its own identity. The small New Year’s mochi paperweight, a tiny version, designed with a tangerine on the top with one leaf on each side and based with a gold paper on the bottom. When you are in the mood for some shaved ice, how about starting your own collection of Mejiro shave ice toothpick holders? They come in various flavors and you don’t have to worry about it melting. These cool collectibles are a miniature representation of a cone shaved ice complete with a wooden spoon and straw. The top part (ice part) is the lid and the cone part is the container that sits on a clear plastic cylinder stand. This is very hard to find as a collectible because of the various parts. A lot of hard work and craftsmanship went into making this piece. The base cylinder part was cut and sanded to perfection. The Vienna sausage chopstick rest was very hard to find because they are small. They are like the actual size of a real Vienna sausage that comes out of a can—a comparable replica of the real thing. The BBQ Stick Abacus brings back the time when we used to eat BBQ meat off of a stick during Hawaiian Time at a carnival or any special event. This unique collectible looks just like that with a surrounding calculator with the meat parts as counters. There were several Sugar Mills that were made with different phrases such as “Puu Ka Teeth” having a hole in your teeth after eating too much sugar. The “Pau Hana” sugar mill, people working at the mill and finally getting off from work. The sugar mill is a replica of an actual sugar mill. There were several that were made with a green roof that was harder to retrieve. The Butterfly Candle Holder is a rare piece and almost impossible to find. This candle holder has butterfly-shaped cut outs and will glow in the dark—the only one known to have been found and made in the early eighties with the Mejiro magic touch. Clyde Chee 53
FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE CARRIER: An oval-sized fortune cookie that can be used as a message holder that comes with a yellow message slip. (Some may be found with pink slips); it can also be used as a paper weight. NEW YEAR’S MOCHI PAPER WEIGHT: A tiny version of the traditional New Year’s mochi topped with a tangerine-like top, complete with leaves and gold-based paper. Photos: Clyde Chee 54 Mejiro Ceramics
SHAVED ICE TOOTHPICK HOLDER: This toothpick holder looks just like a strawberry-ba- nana shaved ice cone complete with straw; “wooden spoon” and clear stand. The top opens to reveal toothpicks.(not included). Photo: Ken Tanaka VIENNA SAUSAGE CHOPSTICK REST: Two inches in length, Vienna sausage with a slight curve that serves as a chopstick rest. It is pinkish in color. Photo: Clyde Chee Clyde Chee 55
HAWAIIAN BBQ STICK CALCULATOR: 5x3 inches, an abacus handheld “calculator” consisting of BBQ meat pieces sliding on a BBQ stick. Photos: Clyde Chee SUGAR MILL “SUGAR” HOLDER: Similar to the sugar mill bank, this sugar mill is capped with a plastic stopper on top of the stack and made with different phrases such as “Pauhana”. BUTTERFLY CANDLE HOLDER: Six inches in height, 3.4 inches in diameter on the top and bottom. This blue- colored candle holder with butterfly cut-outs will glow in the dark. 56 Mejiro Ceramics
PUPPY BOWLS: Both bowls are 8” on bottom and 7” on top and 7” deep. Photos: Clyde Chee Clyde Chee 57
NOTES ©Copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission. 58 Mejiro Ceramics
CONCLUSION As I move forward with the idea that I have created in writing this book, it gives me great pleasure to share with you what I have come to love—the Mejiro experience. I hope you will find the photos and short narrative stories interesting and enjoyable. Maybe someday you may want to start your own collection. Every Mejiro ceramic piece has a purpose for general use. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ilene Wong and Wayne Maeda of Mejiro Enterprises for allowing me to share their works of art with others who have read this book and enjoy learning about these unique ceramic pieces. Photo: Clyde Chee For more information on Mejiro ceramics, go to [email protected] Other hard-to-find items wanted: Clyde Chee (808) 387-1652 Clyde Chee 59
CCCLYDE CHEE $17.99 PRODUCTIONS 60 Mejiro Ceramics
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