23 reasons to go to the end of the road

End of the Road Studios in Walhalla is one of the coolest places you'll ever visit.  I now present you with 23 reasons to go:

1.  The building was designed by Stan and Robin, the husband and wife team who work here.  Stan and I were college roommates. 

2.  The main entrance shows you the combination of old and new, common and quirky.

3.  I hear they have awesome sculptures there mixed in with the landscaping.

4.  The beautiful gallery space is the middle area that connects the 2 working studios.  You'll need an hour or so to see everything in here.

5.  One of the things you'll see is the homemade lighting.

6.  Ok, this is shameless self promotion, but they also have some cool drawings to sell with those cool sculptures.  They take Visa.

7.  The guestroom.  You'll need some time here too.  That's one of Robin's deer heads on the wall with acrylic antlers.

8.  The ceiling in the guestroom.  Made completely of doors.  Awesome.

9.  Stan's studio.  The cleanest clay studio around. 

10.  Stan's birds.  These guys are everywhere and they are attached to the coolest objects you can imagine.

11.  Behind the bird, another great homemade light fixture.  You'll be inspired to make your own.

12.  Antique furniture and more drawings.

13.  Stan's birds.  They really are nice enough to mention twice.

14.  Pennies on the floor.  This is the kitchen and the floor is completely tiled in pennies. 

15.  The windows bring the outside inside.  But if you still want to go outside, there's seating available.

16.  The bathroom.  Robin's pop art pieces on the wall.  There's also a livestock watering trough as a bathtub.

17.  Another view of the kitchen.  More light fixtures and another great deer head by Robin.

18.  Robin's studio.  Yet another homemade light fixture. 

19.  Cool chairs and a monkey made by Robin.

20.  What do you do when you start running out of cool recycled siding for your cool studio?  You use license plates, of course.

21.  The clothesline.  Covered in some of Stan's mom's originals. 

22.  The rumor is that Robin cleared the woods by herself and Stan did the artistic landscaping. 

23.  Elvis.

The studio will be open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the summer and pretty much any time you want if you call ahead.  The next big sale will be in December but there' no reason to wait that long. 

You can find the End of the Road at 255 East Bear Swamp Road, Walhalla, SC and on the internet at www.endoftheroadstudios.com.  You can also call 864.506.6116 to chat with Robin about buying some stuff.  You could cover all your Christmas, birthday, Mother's day and baby shower shopping all in one place. 

I have unofficially appointed Robin to be my manager from this point forward.  You might want to mention that to her when you see her.