Our Palm Island delivery

As Nikki & I are getting ready to go on one of our get away long weekends to Manasota Key, I’m reminded of one of the best customer exchanges that we’ve ever had. Several years ago we were participating in the nearby Englewood art festival when we were approached by Steve & Gloria. They lived in Illinois but were visiting the art show looking for furnishings for the vacation home they had just purchased on Palm Island. As we came to learn, Palm Island (actually Knight Island) is a part of interconnected islands that include Don Pedro & Little Gasparilla Islands. It’s only 100 yards from shore but is accessible only by car ferry. The nearest “big” city is Englewood, 9 miles away.

At the show, Steve & Gloria purchased a cypress table & 2 of my table/lamp combinations, one of which they took back to their home in Illinois. In addition, they asked me to create a large oval driftwood dining  table & a small entry way foyer table. We agreed on a price & then Steve asked us if we would be interested in bartering the foyer table for a week at their beach home. Not knowing anything about this home, I was a little hesitant to commit but decided we’d give it a try.  Very , very wise decision!
They suggested that we deliver their pieces, spend the night & then come back later for a week in in August. So I finished up the 2 pieces & drove down in early July. The minute our car got off the ferry & we drove to their home, we knew that August couldn’t get here soon enough.
It was a challenge getting the dining table table & glass up the stairs, but fortunately Steve had arranged for a neighbor to help us.

Behind their home was Lemon Bay & across the street was the Gulf of Mexico. We enjoyed the entire week on a deserted beach & was joined by our son, Nick, on the weekend as he drove up from Miami barely catching the last ferry of the night.
If there are any other Steve & Gloria’s out there with a similar proposal, we’re listening.