Rain Barrel Village gives visitors a taste of old Florida and a photo op with a giant lobster

ISLAMORADA, Fla. — A holdover of the once numerous roadside attractions that lined U.S. 1 from Jacksonville to Key West, the Rain Barrel Village is collection of eccentric, colorful buildings serving as a home for artists and art sellers in the Florida Keys.

While the rustic outpost might be easy for travelers on the Overseas Highway to pass without notice, the giant lobster out front is not.

Rain Barrel Village, on an Islamorada island, promises visitors a unique experience filled with paintings, sculptures, jewelry, clothing, handcrafted goods and island-inspired souvenirs. Besides shops offering original artwork, the Village is home to Betsy, a 30-foot-tall, 40-foot-long (9-meter-tall, 12-meter-long) sculpture of a Florida Keys spiny lobster.

A family's heartbeat

Sande Keil, who owns Rain Barrel Village with her husband, said the Keys became part of her family's heartbeat after the Miami couple bought a vacation home on Islamorada in 1978.

''When the Rain Barrel Village came up for sale in 2007, I didn't see a business. I saw a way to continue our story in the Keys,'' Keil said. ''The Village already had a soul. I just knew it needed someone to preserve it and to help grow it.''

Named after the large cisterns that once provided drinking water to the Keys, Rain Barrel Village isn't just about selling souvenirs, it is about supporting a community, Keil said. As an artist herself, Keil is proud to support other artists, artisans and small business owners and give them a space where they also can build something real.

''We've poured love, hard work and intention into the Rain Barrel,'' Keil said. ''We've created something that reflects who we are.''

Betsy the Lobster

While artists make up the soul of the Village, the face is undeniably Betsy. She is among the most photographed landmarks in the Florida Keys, second only to the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West.

Jennifer Cullen, property manager and owner of a souvenir shop called the Tipsy Octopus, said Betsy definitely prompts people to pull over as they make their way down to Marathon or Key West.

''People love to take pictures with her,'' Cullen said. ''She's a great roadside attraction. We love her.''

Artist Richard Blaze completed Betsy in 1985. The fiberglass statue originally was commissioned for a local restaurant, but the business had closed by the time Betsy was done. The giant lobster was placed at another Islamorada attraction, Treasure Village, but she ended up in storage after the location became a charter school. Betsy was relocated to Rain Barrel Village in 2009.

After stopping to see Betsy, visitors can discover the cluster of small, unique shops, along with a garden area and two cafes.

Megan Stennes was visiting the Keys with her family in April and made sure they stopped at Rain Barrel Village on their way back to Palm Beach Gardens. She knew her mother would enjoy all the stores, which she discovered by accident on a previous visit.

''I just wanted a picture with Betsy, and then I realized that they had all the shops back here," Stennes said. "So we came in, and we actually were here longer than I expected to be.''

A community of artists

William Purser, owner of Sculptured Glass, has been at the Rain Barrel Village for more than two decades. Visitors can watch as he shapes molten glass into detailed figurines of fish, birds and other wildlife common to the Florida Keys.

He discovered the village while visiting art galleries in the Keys and liked the idea of being surrounded by other artists.

''We all have something in common, and doing your artwork is what it's all about, whatever your media is,'' Purser said. ''We all want the same things from our work. You want to progress, you don't want to stay stagnant. You just keep growing and growing.''

A place like Rain Barrel Village is great for visitors because the inventory is always changing depending on what the artists are inspired to create, he said.

''It's a type of place, if you've been here once, you'll probably be back,'' Purser said. ''You'll come back again and again to see what's new. We're always constantly making different pieces.''

Judith Chesher, owner of Art on a Whim, sells work from about 30 different Keys artists at her store.

''I try to find unique and different things, which is not hard because the Keys are full of artists doing all kinds of weird things,'' Chesher said.

The free-spirit nature of the Keys has a long history of attracting artists and those communities tend to strengthen and encourage each other, she said.

''It's a good atmosphere,'' Chesher said. ''The thing about the Keys is you don't usually get hassled. Just don't break any real serious laws, and you don't have to wear shoes.''