View from our Booth


Destin, Florida

Posted November 26, 2009

Gulf Tour 2009

            From the Belgravia Show we drove back to the Ozarks and had about twelve days to work in the studio to get ready for our Gulf Coast tour which began at the Mattie Kelly Show on October 24^th at Destin, Florida.  We had not got a confirmation for the Three Rivers festival in Covington, Louisiana but proceeded with the hope that we would be taken off the wait-list.

            The scene back in the Ozarks was the typical bedlam of trying to replace things we sold at Belgravia and come out with some new pieces and touch something like home-life for a few moments.  The Missouri football Tiger’s season was already spinning out of control as Coach Pinkel was doing his very best to come up to the level of mediocrity that we all expect of him and the Kansas City Chiefs were still suffering from Herm Edwards defeat-at-any-cost syndrome.  So there was little help in the diversion department. 

            Except for the unlikely New Orleans Saints who proved to be a bright spot and something to read about within the drab shroud of everyday news served up from Washington.  The Saints are my “default” team in the NFC to support when the Chiefs are in the tank.  Of course, the Saints are usually as bad as the Chiefs so I have a few other “defaults” to fall back on but these are my main two interests.

              Kansas City and New Orleans have the hidden connection that few people outside the transportation industry know about.  The venerable Kansas City Southern railroad has connected the two cities since the late 1800’s. The trade from the Great Plains to the Port of New Orleans has made a lot of people rich over the years.  There was until 1969 daily passenger train service between the two cities on the “Southern Belle” perhaps one of the finest and most beautiful trains to ever grace the iron rails. 

            Recently the KCS has been “test marketing” a restored version of the original train complete with club cars and the heritage paint job.  You can see it rolling along as it cruises through Texas on an experimental run:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLeAiNlhadg

            After a frenzied stay in the Ozarks we were on the road again heading for the Florida Panhandle on October 20^th arriving in Destin the afternoon of the 22^nd; about 800 miles from Missouri. The weather was rough and got rougher Thursday night and Friday morning but by that afternoon it had cleared a bit for set-up.  The blustery weather died down a little and the sun came out.  The breeze then turned to the northwest and by Saturday the weather was nice but there was still considerable wind to deal with; note the elaborate tent tie-downs common to Gulf Coast shows in the photos.

            Destin is a beautiful show.  Right smack dab on the Gulf at Henderson Beach State Park with a wonderful view and fantastic Emerald Coast beaches to look at and lots of nice quality artwork.  The problem is that this truly beautiful show has been in the sales doldrums for several years now.  The crowd on Saturday was good and sales corresponded but on Sunday you could at times have thrown a bowling ball down the aisle and not hit anyone.  I just don’t know what the deal is but something is going to have to change or there will be problems getting quality exhibitors.  That being said we were very surprised and delighted to win a ribbon and cash Award of Merit in the judging competition.

             After Destin on Tuesday we drove west through a rippin’ storm that started at about Ft. Walton Beach and continued to near Pensacola.  When we arrived at Bluegrass RV Park just east of Foley, Alabama we were met by Tom Jackson (the owner) his staff and family with a very hearty greeting from people who make you feel welcome.  Bluegrass is nothing fancy but it is clean, safe, grassy, and open with easy access to Gulf Shores as well as shopping in Foley. 

            Annie’s old friend Jill Stock, her husband, “Coach” and their friends the Sipes had rented a condo in Gulf Shores so we got to see them a few times. We also stocked up supplies and rested for a week before moving.  The artist Joe Sheffield and his wife Peggy live nearby in Daphne and seeing them was an added bonus before heading off for two more shows.

            Next up would be the big Peter Anderson street festival at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  By the time we landed in Alabama we finally confirmed Three Rivers Art Festival in Covington, LA getting off the wait-list two weeks before the show date.  So the next couple weeks would be filled with shows and travel.

            We are blessed with several very nice friends who live in the Gulf South and usually get to see them.  Even though our friends Butch and Juliette Smith of Baton Rouge were scheduled to fly to Costa Rica they took the time to catch up with us in Slidell for dinner at the Boiling Point.  We also got to have a rare social visit at The Shed (a famous Mississippi BB-Q place) with a number of our artist friends after working “Pete”.  That was pretty cool. 

            The next day was scheduled for a day of rest after The Pete but that was changed by the weather.  Hurricane Ida was in the Gulf and they predicted it would be making landfall about 40 miles east of where we were camped.  I wasn’t too worried about this Cat I storm but we didn’t want to drive in it on Tuesday.  So we had to pack early and head out by noon and beat it over to Madisonville, LA.  When we got there we didn’t experience much rain, it just blew for a couple days but the storm surge did cause Lake Pontchatrain to back up into the RV park. (see pictures)

            The Fall produced generally good shows sales with the exception of Destin; although the definition of “good” has changed somewhat with the installation of the new administration in Washington.  Crowds were generally enthusiastic and friendly and the shows all went smoothly.  The only negative is that award judges at two shows gave ribbons to “buy-sell” booths (frauds that claim to make their work but instead obtain it commercially).

             The art jewelry category is particularly infested with “buy-sell” and it is an unconscionable scandal that shows cannot provide competent judges for these events.  With the increasingly expensive jury process and entry fees we pay a lot of money to get in these shows and deserve decent judges for the competition. Show committees are often very parsimonious when it comes to paying judges regularly selecting untrained or barely adequate people to judge these events.  I really don’t care which artist wins so long as it is someone who deserves it instead of an anonymous workshop in Eastern Europe or a Thailand knock-off of Le Vian. 



Looking at the Show from Henderson Beach



Booth Tie-Down Method Common to Gulf Coast Shows

Office With WIFI Set Up Under our Trailer Awning in Mississippi


Inside the Shed BBQ after the "Pete"


Lakeview from Slidell, Louisiana--I-10 Bridge in Background


Hurricane Ida Backs Lake Pontchatrain up into Fairview-Riverside State Park

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