New Orleans doesn’t really introduce itself.
It reveals itself slowly.
In sound first—a trumpet somewhere in the distance, a rhythm that seems to follow you as you turn a corner. Then in light—the soft glow of gas lamps against worn brick, balconies draped in iron and green. And then, almost all at once, in everything else: food, laughter, history, humidity, music, memory.
It’s a place that feels layered. Lived in. A little unpredictable.
And completely alive.
Years ago, we became part of that rhythm.
Sarasota is where our story began—back in 1993. But in 2015, we opened a second gallery in New Orleans. And from the beginning, it was clear: this wasn’t just another location. It was its own chapter.
New Orleans has a way of doing that. Of reshaping things. Of giving them a different tone, a different pace.
Somewhere inside that chapter, Big Easy - Exclusive Spiritile #1 was created.
Houston Llew designed it as an exclusive Spiritile—something that would only ever be available in that one gallery, in that one place. The one place that could honor it best - that captured the spirit of the place the gallery was a part of. It was the very first time Houston ever did this.
Our story board for Big Easy:
Wrapped around the sides of the tile is a simple line:
“Everything in New Orleans is a good idea.” - Bob Dylan
At first, it feels playful. Maybe even a little reckless.
But spend enough time there, and it starts to make sense.
Say yes to the second line of music drifting down the street.
Say yes to one more drink, one more story, one more turn you didn’t plan to take.
Say yes to a place that doesn’t ask you to control it—only to experience it.
That’s the spirit the piece holds.
Not just the image of a streetlamp or a familiar corner—but the feeling of being there. Of letting go a little. Of stepping into something that doesn’t need to be explained to be understood.
It lived in the gallery. It belonged to that space. It was something you discovered while you were already there, already in it.
But like so many things, that chapter came to an end.
In 2021, we closed our New Orleans gallery.
And with that, Big Easy was retired.
It’s no longer just an exclusive tied to a place.
It’s a piece of that place, from a moment in time that doesn’t repeat itself.
There won’t be more of them made. There isn’t another gallery where you’ll come across it unexpectedly. What exists now is all there will ever be.
We still have a limited number of Big Easy Spiritiles available.
Because whether you’ve been to New Orleans or not… you recognize something in it.
The pull of a place that invites you to loosen your grip a little.
To follow the music.
To say yes.
And maybe that’s what this piece really holds.
Not just a city.
But a spirit.
