CREATIVE LOAFING TAMPA ART PAPER , PRESENT HONG KONG WILLIE IN THE BEST OF THE BAY

Photo by ALEX PICKETT

BEST PLACE TO BUY $1 KITSCH & $10,000 FOLK ART: Hong Kong Willie’s.
Critics' Pick
BEST PLACE TO BUY $1 kitsch & $10,000 folk art: Hong Kong Willie’s
Exit 266, I-75
[map]
813-770-4794

trees to an old wooden bait house, along with a menagerie of surfboards, car doors and wooden sculptures strewn around the yard. This is Hong Kong Willie’s — a funky gift shop and Key West-themed folk-art gallery operated by a preservationist/artist collective. Inside the former 24-hour bait shop, you’ll find all sorts of one-of-a-kind Florida souvenirs made from recycled materials. There’s something for everyone, from $1 glasses of “Florida Beachfront Property” made from old Starbucks Frappuccino cups to worn wooden planks taken from old Key West landmarks and painted, the latter going from a few hundred dollars up to $10,000.