Beeline Creative Inc., found the perfect mix of Tiki and Geeky, their barware is high quality but also serves it’s audience with accurate mugs and tiki drinkware. We sat down with President and Founder Brandon Giraldez to find out how Beeline makes the best Geeki Tiki’s in the business.
Q. Beeline Creative started with Hugh Hefner and is now making amazing geeky tiki mugs… can you tell us how it all started and how you went from Playboy to geek culture?
Our first product was a Hugh Hefner Bobblehead Doll and at the time, Bobbleheads were seeing a resurgence in Pop Culture. I had collected Bobbleheads on “Bobblehead Night” from various stadiums in Northern and Southern California and grown quite fond of them. When I saw Hugh Hefner at a bar in Hollywood one night, I ordered him a Mai Tai (Hef’s Favorite Drink). He thanked me for the drink on his way out and I told my buddy, “I should make a Bobblehead for Hef… I bet people would dig it.” Turns out they did.
I started adding additional product categories to our company’s portfolio which included Plush, Action Figures and Beer Steins. What sets us apart from other companies is that all of our products have a fun, unique and innovative twist to them that aren’t usually seen in that category. i.e. When we made Anchorman and Pulp Fiction action figures, they were larger than the traditional 1:6 scale and included a Talking Feature, which was something not too common at the time.
When we developed our line of Beer Steins, they were figural in nature and included a head-hinged lid. When Lucasfilm signed off on our line of Star Wars Signature Steins, we knew we had created something special. The steins were more of a ‘Holiday/Gift-able” item as they were closer to $50.00 and collecting the full series was quite an investment. I wanted to develop a line of collectible mugs that were more affordable and that fans could collect more easily. It was at that time that we brainstormed licensed versions of tiki mugs. The first concepts we sketched were for Darth Vader and it was something we refined for weeks until we had the design just perfect. Shortly after we had a proof of concept, I needed a name for the brand and “Geeki Tikis” was born.
Q. Your tikis have a perfect mix of defining the character but also making them tiki, how do you find the right mix of both?
The key is making sure that the character is still recognizable, while embodying our “Signature
Q. You are taking on huge geeky universes with thousands of different characters, how do you decide who makes the cut?
At the end of the day, I go after licensed properties that I am passionate about, most of which stem from my childhood i.e. Star Wars, Gremlins, Garbage Pail Kids along with more recent Pop Culture juggernauts like Game of Thrones and Rick and Morty.
Once we have a line that we want to develop, we then mash up the licensed characters with our ‘stylized tiki elements’. If there’s a line or character which we don’t think will translate for the brand, we won’t move forward. On some occasions, i.e. Game of Thrones, our stylized designs have character likeness so they will also need to be routed through the actors for their sign off. To date, everyone involved has been very receptive to the brand, which has been great.
Q. Beeline is making amazing bobbleheads and highly detailed action figures, can we expect more of this in the future?
Although our recent focus has been on the Geeki Tikis® brand of products (Ceramic Mugs, Mini Muglets & Tiki Tumblers), we do have plans to develop new products outside of the drinkware category. All of our products are very “Toyetic” in nature, whether it’s a Shotglass, Snack Bowl or Beer Stein. Action Figures and toys in general are a big passion of ours and something we will continue to develop and expand upon.
Q. Your website also gives out some recipes, how many days in the office are spent “testing” the recipes?
Hahaha, while all of us at Beeline enjoy a good tiki cocktail, we work with ‘professionals’ in this arena and don’t typically concoct our own tiki drinks. We’ve collaborated with some of the nations best mixologists who specialize in tiki cocktails, so that we can offer something truly special to those interested in our tiki mugs and tiki cocktails.
Most recently, we partnered with our friend Jason Alexander who owns/operates “Devils Reef” in Tacoma, WA. Devil’s Reef is a Nautical-themed Tiki and Rum Bar. Jason is a HUGE Rick and Morty fan. He developed 10 original cocktails, which he now offers at his bar (served up in one of our Geeki Tikis) for those who request it. We offer our followers new tiki-themed cocktails on “Aloha Friday’s” and post them to our website when available. One day, we plan to develop a cocktail book which will expand on this interest of ours further.
Q. Any plans to make complete geeky drinkware sets? Like maybe a Luke shot glass inside a Tauntaun stein?
The Geeki Tikis drinkware sets are definitely something that we’re interested in developing further and we have some fun stuff in the works. Our first drinkware set was our 2017 Star Wars Celebration Exclusive which was a 41oz. Jabba the Hutt Geeki Tikis mug which came with a Salacious B. Crumb “Mini Muglet”. The latest sets include our 45oz. Rancor Geeki Tikis mug which holds a Jedi Luke Mini Muglet. We also have a Millennium Falcon Punch Bowl Set which will include Mini Muglets for Chewbacca and Han Solo. As we continue to develop new items within the Geeki Tikis brand I.e. Mini Muglets, Swizzle Sticks, Coasters we’ll find innovative ways to tie them in with other products. At the end of the day, we want to develop something that a.) makes sense and b.) has our fans saying “HOLY SH*T I HAVE TO HAVE THAT!”
Q. Is there a particular set of tiki mugs you are especially proud of and why?
Ohhhh that’s a tough one. We’ve had such a fun time developing tiki mugs for hundreds of characters, all of which I’m passionate about.
A few of my favorites are the “Horror-themed” Geeki Tikis i.e. Jason, Michael Myers & Pennywise. These were fan favorites and something unique and different for us. We’ll be introducing new characters in the Horror Series later this year.
We also have a new line of Garbage Pail Kids, which are turning out fantastic. I was curious how the characters would translate to our brand and I am excited to share these with our fans. Being a kid of the eighties, I only wish I could have sipped my chocolate milk out of an Adam Bomb Geeki Tikis mug back in the day!
I am also very proud of the new Star Wars 18pc Mini Muglets set we are debuting at SWC this week. This set is a HUGE passion project and something way out of left-field, yet so freaking cool! The Mini Muglets are approximately 3” and hold 2oz of your drink of choice. Another fun feature is that they’re stackable, allowing you to create Tiki Totem Poles and mix-n-match combinations; Dark Side, Light Side, The Ice Planet Hoth, etc.
I would love to continue developing Mini Muglets for a number of other characters in the Star Wars Universe, as it will give fans the opportunity to collect a large number of characters while not running out of shelf space.
Q. What came first for you a love to tiki’s or a love of all things geek?
All things “Geek” definitely came first, as I grew up with most of the licenses we now develop product for. That being said, I was introduced to “Tiki” fairly early in life at 18 years old when I visited my first tiki bar “Trader Dick’s” in Reno, NV. I was instantly drawn to the ambiance of the tiki bars, the designs of the tiki mugs and all things tiki culture.
Q. Any future characters you can tell us about?
We have some very cool Star Wars items now in development for San Diego Comic-Con. These will be First to Market Releases which we can’t wait to share. We also have some great Summer and Holiday items for Rick and Morty, Scooby-Doo and Classic Batman!
Q. Where can our readers find Beeline Creative next?
Following Star Wars Celebration, fans can come see us at San Diego Comic-Con (July ’19) and New York Comic-Con (Oct ’19). We also will be launching a Shop-in-Shop mid-June in the heart of Hollywood, which will often host special events and first to market releases. For the latest and greatest updates please follow our Instagram @beelinecreative.
