The journey of Wesley Wing, CEO of Tikimondo, into tiki art was shaped by an unusual convergence of creative influences, cultural moments, and personal experiences. For Wing, the story starts in September 1998 when Hurricane Georges moved through the Florida Keys and headed toward the Gulf Coast. According to Wing, the experience would ultimately mark the beginning of a path he has followed for nearly three decades.
After traveling to Key West to help repair storm damage on family property, Wing returned to St. Petersburg carrying a section of a fallen ficus tree that had come down during the hurricane. Back at his home, which sat on one of the city's higher elevations, friends gathered for what Floridians often call a hurricane party. Late that night, by firelight and armed with little more than a hatchet, Wing carved what became his first tiki sculpture. He recalls that the storm later weakened offshore, and the coincidence became part of a story his friends would repeat for years.
