Collector Annette Herrington has a love for the beach that has continued to grow through the years. When she and her husband, Phil, married in the 1970s, they honeymooned in Sea Island, Georgia, and since that time she’s always had a fondness for the sea, sun and sand. After the couple’s daughters came along, they passed their love of the shore on to them. “We often took summer trips to Sea Island and to Nantucket, and it only made me love the sea more,” says Annette. 

When the couple had the chance to purchase a condo of their own in Destin, Florida, they jumped at the offer. Soon after, Annette began making plans to decorate the condo with a theme that was authentic to the region, beginning with small vintage statues and novelties that were united by a common theme—the sea. “I really wanted the condo to have a vintage feel with small little touches that reminded me of the beach and all the things I love about it,” she says. She also wanted the rooms in her condo to be filled with bright happy pops of color. The accessories collection was the ideal way to bring her vision of a vibrant vintage look to life. 

“It’s such a whimsical collection and I never began it with the intent of taking it seriously,” says Annette. In fact, you might say her collection of colorful, beach-themed figurines, plates and memorabilia began on a whim. She and her youngest daughter were in Destin working on the condo and took a day trip to peruse local antique stores. The shops on this route proved to be quite fruitful and inspired the collection.Collector Annette Herrington has a love for the beach that has continued to grow through the years. When she and her husband, Phil, married in the 1970s, they honeymooned in Sea Island, Georgia, and since that time she’s always had a fondness for the sea, sun and sand. After the couple’s daughters came along, they passed their love of the shore on to them. “We often took summer trips to Sea Island and to Nantucket, and it only made me love the sea more,” says Annette. 

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Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, camera collector Hubert L. Smith Sr.’s career as a professional photographer is the sum of a lifetime of treasured memories and fascinating stories. Smith has served as president of the Arkansas Professional Photographers Association, photographed nine presidents, including JFK, traveled with former Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller as his personal photographer, presented one of his own published books to President Gerald Ford during a visit to the White House, made the cover of Time and The New York Times, had works published in Sports Illustrated, Life and Newsweek—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “I’ve been very lucky,” he says, smiling. “I’ll put it that way.”

Smith discovered photography as a teenager living in Lonoke. A photographer invited Smith to his dark room, and that was it. “I was hooked,” Smith recalls. Just a week after graduating from high school, Smith took a job at a Little Rock studio. From there, his career expanded and evolved.

A writer from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette gave Smith the opportunity to work with Rockefeller, with whom he became close friends. “I accompanied Governor Rockefeller to Washington for President Nixon’s inauguration,” he remembers, “where I had the chance to photograph the Rockefeller brothers together.” The Dem-Gazette, and then the Austin American-Statesman, also fed Smith’s intense passion for sports, particularly of the Razorback variety. He was on the sidelines at the 1964 National Championship football game, taking pictures of course.

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