Butterflies 'n things

Peter's love of insects began when he was about 15 years old, growing up in Central Wisconsin. He gradually turned his butterfly hobby into a small business by selling his butterfly ornaments and apothecary jars to gift shops throughout the state.

Upon moving to the west coast of Florida in 1977, he had several ventures alongside his dad, including an import business, several gift shops, and a manufacturing operation producing wooden Christmas ornaments sold nationwide. In 1987 Peter started bringing his butterfly creations to many of the art and craft shows throughout the state.

Helen spent several years in Shreveport, LA and southern Illinois in retail for Casual Corner and Hecht's. When her daughter Amanda was born, she took painting, ceramic, and interior design classes. With a love of color, and an eye for detail, jewelry was the logical medium for art and craft shows.

Helen started her business in 1985, while living in Southern Illinois, with hand-painted items and collage jewelry. Her small consignment store featured work from 45 artisans from several states. Craft shows were in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Arkansas. Many a weekend Helen and Amanda took their handcrafted jewelry on the road, learning along the way.

It was on a trip to Florida in 1993 where destiny stepped in. Peter and Helen met at a craft show and as they say "here's the rest of the story". In 1994 Helen and Peter became show coordinators and managers for Huff's Promotins Art & Craft Shows. They have set-up mall shows in centers from Jacksonville, FL to Boca Raton, FL and Naples, FL and many centers in between. Currently their schedule is about 32 shows a year plus a cart at Christmas.

As Helen likes to say, "We are very fortunate, we love what we do and take great pride in the fact that we create a beautiful treasure!"