Funk 4x6
Gypsy Me!
510 2nd Street
Cedar Key, Florida
352-543-5001
A great spot for antiques and memorabilia. This building was put together with two old buildings and moved to this spot.
Gypsy
From "High Heels to a Hornet's Nest"
by Michelle Pearson
Gypsy's actual, colorful business card reads "everything from Hornet Nests to High Heels," because her shop has those and everything in between, but Gypsy herself went from "high heels to a hornet's nest." And, Gypsy, herself, brings much color to the City of Cedar Key.
People are often delighted when they first meet Gypsy, since her appearance does not disappoint ... for, the noun "Gypsy" has been defined as "person who moves to a foreign place;" two synonyms for the noun "Gypsy" are "casual" and "changing;" and images that come to mind when one hears the word "Gypsy" are colorful, artist, and nonconformist. Linda Miller, better known as "Gypsy" delivers on all accounts.
"Linda Miller," as she was previously known, had it made. She was living the good life in Chicago with a killer career for which she dressed to kill, wearing high fashioned designer suits and alligator pumps. Yet, she despised winters ... she abhorred how her expensive umbrella was turned inside out by the blistery cold wind as she waited for the bus.
Then, one day, as she sat with her pampered feet on the desk in her suburban home, an article in a magazine caught her eye ... an article about "Cedar Key." She thought, "Maannnn, that sounds just like a dream.... No stop lights. It doesn't matter which side of the street you park on.... It just sound[s] delightful." She told herself, "You know what?! I'm going there.... No more bull.... No more panty hose." So, while visiting a friend in Ocala, she asked her friend to bring her to Cedar Key.
"Oh, you'll just hate it!" her friend exclaimed.
But, Linda was persistent. As they crossed Bridge #4, she got goose bumps. Then, as they turned the corner onto 2nd Street, she saw a little white shack, and immediately fell in love with it. No one else even saw the place anymore ... even the realtor just across the street from it didn't know what white building Linda was inquiring about ... the realtor Carmen Proctor, had completely overlooked it for years. But, Linda, had a vision that she "would paint the building pink, that [she] would call the place 'Gypsy Me,' and that [she] would start out with all the things [she] had collected throughout the years." She did just that.
First, though, Linda had to go back to Chicago to plan, and make the move. Yet, when she phoned down, she couldn't reach anyone. No one answered. She truly wondered if she had died and that Cedar Key had been heaven. Then, she finally reached Henry Brown who explained the reason she could reach anyone was a bad storm.
"Gypsy," as she would soon be called, then bought the building from the well-known Cedar Key artist Bill Roberts and his wife. Susie Day, or "Big Mamma," had suggested the name "Gypsy" after Linda's arrival, and the name has stuck ever since. Why not?! She was a "person who move[d] to a foreign place" and she had "chang[ed]." It was Susie's daughter, Carmen, who first designed a logo for her. Gypsy said the logo was stunningly beautiful, but it was "too perfect." That is when Gypsy herself sat down and sketched out the simple, and free-styled logo she uses today.
With the help of her carpenter Rick Pancake, his wife, and some friends, the little white shack was transformed into the quaint pink building of today. The wisteria, honeysuckle, and grapevines that now beautifully encase the structure like a colorful "hornet's nest" came from friends, as well. Many have been fascinated with hornet's nests in the wild, and wish they could take a look within. Of course, Gypsy's charming hornet's nest holds no danger, but allows for the curious to be drawn safely inside for close examination.
While "rehabbing" the building, she was asked what she would sell. That's when she thought about a real hornet's nest she had, and then thought of a pair of Italian, butter softened high heels. She declared, "You know, I'm going to sell 'everything from hornet's nests to high heels.'" And, it stuck.
Since she moved here, there has been "'no more bull, no more panty hose,' and no more masks." She says, "I don't think I've worn cosmetics since." In fact, she pictures herself in a robe and curlers now leisurely entering her shop from the beads that separate her apartment in the back. Thus, my title: "From High heels to a hornet's nest."
Gypsy no longer wears the heels, and she is the queen of the delightful and inviting pink hornet's nest of Cedar Key's Second Street.
Antique Store Ad Sign
2nd Street
Cedar Key, Levy, Florida
9/24/09
2:19:52 PM
4x6
Funk 4x6
Gypsy Me!
510 2nd Street
Cedar Key, Florida
352-543-5001
A great spot for antiques and memorabilia. This building was put together with two old buildings and moved to this spot.
Gypsy
From "High Heels to a Hornet's Nest"
by Michelle Pearson
Gypsy's actual, colorful business card reads "everything from Hornet Nests to High Heels," because her shop has those and everything in between, but Gypsy herself went from "high heels to a hornet's nest." And, Gypsy, herself, brings much color to the City of Cedar Key.
People are often delighted when they first meet Gypsy, since her appearance does not disappoint ... for, the noun "Gypsy" has been defined as "person who moves to a foreign place;" two synonyms for the noun "Gypsy" are "casual" and "changing;" and images that come to mind when one hears the word "Gypsy" are colorful, artist, and nonconformist. Linda Miller, better known as "Gypsy" delivers on all accounts.
"Linda Miller," as she was previously known, had it made. She was living the good life in Chicago with a killer career for which she dressed to kill, wearing high fashioned designer suits and alligator pumps. Yet, she despised winters ... she abhorred how her expensive umbrella was turned inside out by the blistery cold wind as she waited for the bus.
Then, one day, as she sat with her pampered feet on the desk in her suburban home, an article in a magazine caught her eye ... an article about "Cedar Key." She thought, "Maannnn, that sounds just like a dream.... No stop lights. It doesn't matter which side of the street you park on.... It just sound[s] delightful." She told herself, "You know what?! I'm going there.... No more bull.... No more panty hose." So, while visiting a friend in Ocala, she asked her friend to bring her to Cedar Key.
"Oh, you'll just hate it!" her friend exclaimed.
But, Linda was persistent. As they crossed Bridge #4, she got goose bumps. Then, as they turned the corner onto 2nd Street, she saw a little white shack, and immediately fell in love with it. No one else even saw the place anymore ... even the realtor just across the street from it didn't know what white building Linda was inquiring about ... the realtor Carmen Proctor, had completely overlooked it for years. But, Linda, had a vision that she "would paint the building pink, that [she] would call the place 'Gypsy Me,' and that [she] would start out with all the things [she] had collected throughout the years." She did just that.
First, though, Linda had to go back to Chicago to plan, and make the move. Yet, when she phoned down, she couldn't reach anyone. No one answered. She truly wondered if she had died and that Cedar Key had been heaven. Then, she finally reached Henry Brown who explained the reason she could reach anyone was a bad storm.
"Gypsy," as she would soon be called, then bought the building from the well-known Cedar Key artist Bill Roberts and his wife. Susie Day, or "Big Mamma," had suggested the name "Gypsy" after Linda's arrival, and the name has stuck ever since. Why not?! She was a "person who move[d] to a foreign place" and she had "chang[ed]." It was Susie's daughter, Carmen, who first designed a logo for her. Gypsy said the logo was stunningly beautiful, but it was "too perfect." That is when Gypsy herself sat down and sketched out the simple, and free-styled logo she uses today.
With the help of her carpenter Rick Pancake, his wife, and some friends, the little white shack was transformed into the quaint pink building of today. The wisteria, honeysuckle, and grapevines that now beautifully encase the structure like a colorful "hornet's nest" came from friends, as well. Many have been fascinated with hornet's nests in the wild, and wish they could take a look within. Of course, Gypsy's charming hornet's nest holds no danger, but allows for the curious to be drawn safely inside for close examination.
While "rehabbing" the building, she was asked what she would sell. That's when she thought about a real hornet's nest she had, and then thought of a pair of Italian, butter softened high heels. She declared, "You know, I'm going to sell 'everything from hornet's nests to high heels.'" And, it stuck.
Since she moved here, there has been "'no more bull, no more panty hose,' and no more masks." She says, "I don't think I've worn cosmetics since." In fact, she pictures herself in a robe and curlers now leisurely entering her shop from the beads that separate her apartment in the back. Thus, my title: "From High heels to a hornet's nest."
Gypsy no longer wears the heels, and she is the queen of the delightful and inviting pink hornet's nest of Cedar Key's Second Street.
Antique Store Ad Sign
2nd Street
Cedar Key, Levy, Florida
9/24/09
2:19:52 PM
4x6