Florence,Colorado: Sandy Dale's The Gnarlies Have A Party

Sandy Dale is one of Florence's most cherished artists with her magical creations, The Gnarlies.

So I was delighted to be cantering down Main St. and see a whole window display of the adorable creatures.

For those who don't know about Sandy Dale and The Gnarlies, my sympathies, but you can get up to speed by reading this previous blog post: http://truestoryclub.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-magical-world-of-artist-sandy-dale.html

Sandy has her own studio at 220-A W. Main St. in Florence, which is open by appointment or chance.

But recently a group of The Gnarlies decided to have a party in the window at Florence Antiques, at 103 W. Main St., which is open seven days a week.

You all know how hard it is to take a picture of a window display through glass--so please excuse all the glare and car reflections in the background.

Isn't this little dude winsome? He makes me want to break out into a hula. But that might start an earthquake in Florence, so I'll just sing Tiny Bubbles quietly.

Now this Gnarlie with his cloven hooves is totally adorable. And he's ready to make music at the party too. Between him and furry fellow with his ukulele or guitar....we've got a jam happening.

This Gnarlie is riding a wonderful vintage style horse. Apparently he's riding--and on his way to the Gnarlie party.

When I asked the owner of Florence Antiques (Larry Nelson) if these were the beloved Gnarlies I spied in his window he said yes.

Now, I couldn't get pictures of all of them due to the window glare. And it would have taken too much heavy lifting to get in the back of the window to take pictures. But trust me--it's a Gnarlie delight and party you won't want to miss.

Larry also told me he had put a few steampunk accessories and hats(not pictured) on the Gnarlies (in anticipation of Florence's steampunk festival in April). He said he wasn't sure how the artist would react.

I promised not to say a word. Tee hee! But I never said I wouldn't write a word or two. He suggested that she'd find out soon enough.

I think it's quite obvious that it was not Larry Nelson that steampunked The Gnarlies up a little, but they did it themselves, when no one was looking. We've got to love those impish Gnarlies.

And these Gnarlies are available for purchase of course.

If you want to see even more Gnarlie delights, check out their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/TheGnarlies-148314498558258/

Florence Colorado: Start Spreading The News

Let's face reality. Most small towns in Colorado (or anywhere for that matter) don't have big advertising budgets.

Florence is the official antiques capital of Colorado. True. But how many people really know that?

What I do know is that visitors to Florence are often the ones who attempt to spread the news far and wide about what exactly is in Florence.

Today a regular visitor to Florence stopped by ye olde antiques shop and told me she took a nice pile of brochures to her hometown of Colorado Springs. Now I won't mention if she took it to the Chamber of Commerce or the Visitor's Bureau or a similar organization. I know. But around here we don't kiss and tell. We just kiss.

All this lady hoped to do was spread the word about Florence. She has no connections to Florence other than she loves to visit regularly from her home in the Springs, about half an hour's drive away.

She was told that unless she was a member of the organization, she would be unable to leave any brochures.

This enthusiastic Florence booster was undeterred and told two volunteers at unnamed organization that she'd leave them some brochures for their own use. She then asked them if they knew what was in Florence. No, neither of them knew.

Of course, my jaw dropped. I lived in the Springs for over 20 years and knew about Florence many moons ago by virtue of hopping in my car and exploring--without reading an ad or brochure or word of mouth.

                        DON'T TELL ME YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF FLORENCE, COLORADO!

So, thanks to the customer today, who told me her story about spreading the news of Florence, Colorado.

And don't you dare tell me you haven't heard of Florence, Colorado. Either read the rest of the blog for just a glimpse into the town. Or go to the Florence Chamber of Commerce page. Or Google Florence. You'll be surprised that a town of under 4,000 has so much going on.