Tiki King opens ukulele shop in Felton
Felton – Lisa Palm was walking from Felton Feed to Outback Trading Co. when she spotted something unusual in the window of what used to be a dress shop: A ukulele.
The shop didn’t have a sign, but she walked in and left with a birthday gift for her mom, who is 75 and plays the ukulele.
“We’re still working on the sign,” said Patrick Baron, owner of Tiki King’s Ukuleles of Felton, which opened the day after Thanksgiving at 6235 Highway 9 and plans a grand opening Saturday.
Baron, 47, of Lompico, rented the storefront to expand his 15-year-old online business specializing in all things tiki, the art inspired by the Polynesian isles.
It was a sideline at first, but he’s put more time in after being laid off from his tech support job at Plantronics two years ago.
He’s got something in every price range. Keychains, $5, necklaces, $14.95, wooden purses, $120, and paintings, $425. One wall is covered with ukuleles. Prices start at $26 and go up to $3,000.
“I’m a ukulele nut,” said Baron, who has made four CDs of ukulele music and typically wears a Hawaiian shirt to work.
His wife, who has been taking a class at Cabrillo College on running a small business, is the shop’s bookkeeper and organizer, and on the wall there’s a photo of his daughter, 9, with ukulele legend Bill Tapia, now 102.
