old road gallery in tavernier
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the giant lobster on the drive down to the keys had a baby and it's called The Old Road Art Gallery. Said giant lobster, also known at The Rain Barrel Artisan's Village, is a staple visual landmark on any drive through Islamorada, it's a multi-vendor artisan space that houses artists in a variety of mediums.
The Old Road Art Gallery is a little off-shoot, a few miles closer to Key Largo (I'm not sure if that's the way to describe directions in The Keys, but I feel like it makes sense), started by some artists who were previously at The Rain Barrel.
I have to stop into every little artisanal place I can find, especially on vacation. If it says "handmade," "one of a kind," "artisanal," "ceramic," or anything else that you did once in art class and never thought twice about trying again - I'm there. So, when I was sitting in Tavernier having a late breakfast at Made 2 Order and scrolling through the internet trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my day (the good life folks), it took no more than thirty seconds on Trip Advisor to decide it was worth the time to stop at The Old Road Art Gallery - it had all my buzzwords in the description.
What's surprising at The Old Road Art Gallery, is the amount of things that you'll actually want to buy. Even a kitsch connoisseur like myself can admit that there aren't usually a lot of things you want to bring home and incorporate into your home. Not so at The Old Road Art Gallery, the first thing that caught my eye, and my eventual purchase, was a handmade brass doorbell - an actual doorbell, a bell to hang next to my front door. The doorbell at my house has never worked, I rely on my not-so-attack-dog to alert me when someone is at the door, but now the light chime of a mid-century style bell, made in The Keys will let me know there's someone at my door.
Other little trinkets I would have happily taken home, had I not blown close to a hundred dollars on a doorbell, include birdhouses, manatee magnets, wind chimes, table bases of petrified wood (I'll be back for this) and a mermaid door handle (will also be back for this!).
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88888 Overseas Highway, Tavernier