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Prior to Don’s birth, when
his father was in his early
twenties, he fell 40 feet
from a silo and broke his
back in three different
places. The accident left
him a paraplegic. Don’s
parents met at the hospital
where his mother worked as a
nurse and cared for him
after his fall. While the
accident was certainly life
changing, Don’s father
refused to allow it to
destroy his hopes and
dreams. Soon after his |
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Don Andrews
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recovery, bound
forever in a wheelchair,
Don’s father started his own
construction company. When his sons were
old enough he began teaching
them the business. With the
help of his sons, the
company stopped hiring
sub-contractors and did all
the construction work
themselves. Don and his
brother learned all there
was to know about
construction; from framing
to plumbing to electrical,
they did it all. Don recalls
how amazing it was to see
his father, while unable to
walk; yet climbing all over
the houses he was building.
His arm strength became
incredible. Don’s father
presented him with a very
important lesson….
And, it was that you
could do anything you set
your mind to! |
After
graduating from high school, Don and
one of his buddies left Marengo and
moved to Scottsdale, Arizona.
Using all the building skills his
father taught him, Don started a
handy man service.
| Several
years later, two well known
artists, Bill and Bernadette
Hughes hired Don to help
Bill construct several large
storage buildings on their
property. Once these were
completed, then together,
they built a 20’ x 20’
studio to accommodate Bill’s
extremely large paintings.
This studio not only needed
to meet Bill’s specific size
requirements, but also the
need for northern light
exposure. During this time,
Don married and he and his
wife, Shirley needed a
larger place to live so Bill
and Bernadette offered them
one |
a Bill Hughes painting |
| of their two houses on
their property. A lasting
friendship evolved between
these two neighboring
families. |
Don use to
watch Bill paint and observed how
physically taxing it was to
manipulate such large canvases. So,
Don decided he would design an easel
that would make it easier for Bill
to paint. It took close to a year to
develop a new counter balanced
easel. The first attempt was very
rudimentary, using tin cans filled
with sand, but with Bill’s
encouragement Don continued to
refine the design eventually
developing what is known today as
the Hughes Easel. After perfecting
the concept he applied for a patent.
However, thinking he was attempting
to patent a counter balanced
elevator, the United States Patent
Office rejected his original
request. Don, adding additional
details to his application,
reapplied and was granted the
patent.
The easel,
named after his good friend and
accomplished artist Bill Hughes,
became extremely popular and was
known throughout the artist
community as one of the best easels
available.
Don started by
producing five easels and placing
them on consignment in several local
art stores. One of the store owners
told Don he was crazy. After all,
how could he expect to sell an easel
for a $1,000? However, as it turned
out, the wife of that same store
owner bought the very first one.
Shortly thereafter, a gentleman in
Texas suggested to Don that he
should try to sell his easels at the
upcoming National Art Material Trade
Show in Atlanta. Don took three
easels to the show and came home
with 34 orders. In fact, a store
owner from back in Scottsdale,
Arizona bought the three easels he
had on display at the show.
When Don
returned home from the show, he knew
his new easel was a hit! Now the
question became, how could he
actually fulfill all the orders?
After all, he could only build two
easels at a time in his garage. Don
had to contact his customers and let
them know that it could be 60 days
or longer before their new easels
would arrive. They were willing to
wait.
He enlisted the help of his wife,
Shirley and also Bernadette Hughes.
They applied the stain to the wood
and assisted in other areas as
needed. It ended up taking about 3-4
months to construct 34 easels.
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However,
building the easels was not
Don’s only concern. Once
they were built they had to
be shipped. He contracted
with a local box company to
come out and design a box
large and strong enough for
shipping his easels.
Don is still in contact with
the first three individuals
who purchased his easels.
After the trade show orders
were filled, Don began
wholesaling the Hughes
Easels directly to art
stores and gallery owners.
However, eventually Don made
the transition from
wholesaling his easels to
selling directly to artists,
museums and galleries. To
save on shipping costs, he
discovered he could recycle
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| refrigerator boxes and
use them to ship all but the
largest of his easels. It
takes three refrigerator
boxes to make one of his
shipping containers. |
In the early
days, Don would melt the iron used
as the counterweights in his wife’s
cake pan on top of the stove. Today,
the weights are now produced for him
by another company. Over the years,
the entire process has been
perfected and streamlined. His
beautifully, handcrafted easels are
offered in six models and are
available in solid oak, walnut,
maple and mahogany. They are mounted
on locking casters or can be
equipped with wall mounted brackets.
The easel can be easily adjusted
horizontally or vertically with just
the touch of a finger. The largest
easel he currently produces has the
capacity to lift a 230 pound
painting.
Today, Don only displays at one show
a year, which is held by the
Portrait Society of America.
Don and his
family have lived here in the
Charlotte County area for the past
15 years. He and his wife, Shirley,
have three children, Jill, Bryan
and Brandie. Shirley is a teacher’s
aide at Liberty Elementary School in
Port Charlotte. Jill is married and
works at Busy Bee Daycare and has
two daughters of her own. Bryan is
also married and works as an
electrician and has one son. Their
youngest daughter, Brandie is
currently attending Edison Community
College.
Don enjoys singing and playing the
acoustic guitar with the “Higher
Ground,” a singing group with the
New Hope Fellowship Church. He and
his family participate in many
church activities that involve the
surrounding community.
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multimedia
easel |
Don is known as the artists’
angel for he has improved
the lives of hundreds of
artists. His easels are also
used by many museums
including The Museum of Art
in Raleigh, NC, The San
Francisco Museum of Fine
Art, The Indianapolis Museum
of Art, The Stanford
University Art Gallery &
Museum, The Museum of Fine
Arts Boston, The Smithsonian
Institution Portrait Gallery
and the J. Paul Getty
Museum. Some of his
customers over the years
have been well known artists
such as Jamie Wyeth, James
Howell, Sandy Wanbeny and
Allan Hermes. In fact, Allan
Hermes bought one of every
model that Don makes.
Because many of the artists
were so enthusiastic over
the easel, they were
responsible for spreading
the word of this great
invention. Artist, |
| Scot
Christiansen, a landscape
painter from Jackson Hole,
Wyoming has sold many of
Don’s easels himself. |
When Don is
spotted at trade shows it is not
uncommon for an artist to come up
and give him a hug while thanking
him for improving the quality of
their lives. The first time Don
received a hug, it surprised him,
but now it just makes him feel
privileged to be able to help his
clients in such a meaningful way.
A while back,
Don was contacted by a Phoenix
Rehabilitation Center about a lady
who had been crippled in a car
accident and was painting by holding
her paintbrush in her mouth. Don was
able to modify his easel so she
could maneuver it by using a stick
held in her mouth, thereby allowing
her to easily adjust her canvas as
she painted. Don has also modified
the Hughes Easel for an artist who
wanted to continue painting after he
became bedridden.
Don believes,
if you do what you enjoy, and have a
love and a commitment for it, then
it is not work. “If everyone strives
to make a difference in someone
else’s life, then the world would be
a much better place.”
Don is an extremely talented
craftsman and upon meeting him you
realize this friendly, unpretentious
man is really someone very special.
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Don’s large Punta Gorda working studio is like a small
manufacturing plant, but with
only one employee who does
everything; although, he
does
occasionally bring
someone in to help. His
easels stand silently at
attention like tall soldiers
waiting respectfully for
their shipping orders. In
addition to the easels, Don
has also created a Pallet
Pal which is an adjustable
unit used by the artist to
place paint, pallet and
tools on. |
Several years ago, Don received a
call from an artist by the name of
Allan Bean who wanted to come and
take a look at his easels. A couple
of hours later, a white stretch
limousine pulled up outside of his
building and a man stepped out
rubbing his eyes. Don invited him in
and gave him a tour of his working
studio while demonstrating the
various advantages of the Hughes
Easel. After the gentleman left, Don
looked at the business card in his
hand and quickly realized Allan Bean
wasn’t just any artist. Allan Bean,
the astronaut; was the fourth man to
walk on the moon! Don regrets he
did not recognize the name of his
famous visitor while he was touring
the shop. If he had, Don said that
he would have had a lot of questions
to ask Mr. Bean.
Today, Don is
busy building and shipping his
easels from Punta Gorda to artists
around the world. He recently
shipped his largest easel to date
(10’x10’); an easel of amazing
proportions.
With the strong life lessons given
to him by his parents, the loving
support and encouragement of his
wife and friends, who believed in
him and his dreams, Don has been
able to make a difference in many
people’s lives. He will never forget
what his father taught him…. You can do anything! 
Visit the Hughes Easels web site (
www.hugheseasels.com ) for
additional information
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