Creative Inheritance

Along the Emerald Coast, creativity is an inheritance—shaped by hand, passed through generations, and rooted in the shared act of making something meaningful, lasting, and uniquely one’s own. For some families, it becomes a language spoken through wood, paint, and the rhythm of creation. For others, it becomes a legacy built not just with hands but with intention. And for a few, it expands into something even broader: a way of seeing, collecting, and sharing the world.

The Zoo Gallery
Curating Creativity

At The Zoo Gallery, creativity is gathered, layered, and thoughtfully placed. For Baxter Wilson, 41, his role is less about displaying treasures and more about shaping experience.

“I would say that we are an art gallery at heart,” Wilson says. “It’s always been a careful blend of curated artists and makers.”

Founded in 1979 by his parents, Roxie and Chris Wilson, The Zoo Gallery has long been known for its eclectic, whimsical, and colorful mix. It’s an offbeat destination where fine art, furniture, and unexpected objects coexist. Now the owner, Wilson carries that vision forward and is guided by instinct. “It’s a feeling … it feels like The Zoo Gallery,” he says.

That sensibility—part artist’s eye, part curator’s instinct—has shaped a space that resists definition. “We’ve always been true to what we like and have not tried to fit in a box,” Wilson says.

Much of that identity traces back to his mother, Roxie, whose approach to merchandising and display elevated presentation into an art form. Over time, Wilson has come to see himself as many things at once. “I feel like I need to be a little bit of all of them,” he says: artist, retailer, and curator.

Photo by Savvibelle Photography

But what truly defines The Zoo is its sense of family. Employees are not just staff but part of the story. Some relationships date back decades, including Robyn Stork, who has celebrated 30 years with the gallery. 

That spirit extends to the artists themselves. Longstanding relationships—some spanning more than 40 years—anchor the gallery, including New York–based furniture artisan Richard Dunbrack, whose imaginative work reflects the gallery’s enduring aesthetic.

A new project—an intimate event space known as the “Shxd”—will bring artists to the coast for residencies, exhibitions, and performances, further expanding The Zoo’s creative reach.

If some families build and others make, The Zoo Gallery gathers—curating not just creative treasures but connection, discovery, and a distinctly original point of view, reminding us that creativity, like inheritance, is shaped over time and made richer in the passing.

E.F. San Juan
Crafting Legacy

At E.F. San Juan in Youngstown, Florida, creativity lives in the grain of wood, shaped across three generations devoted to craftsmanship. What began in 1976 under founder Edward F. San Juan has grown into a multigenerational enterprise, now led by Edward A. San Juan, 62, with a team of 120.

“It was just the two of us,” San Juan says of joining his father, an experience that grounded him in the discipline of the craft while allowing creativity to take hold. Today, the business remains deeply familial: His wife, Mary Kathryn, serves as controller; daughter Lydia Peirce is a purchasing agent and broker; brother-in-law Buddy Czubaj is vice president; and his son Eddie San Juan, operations manager, carries the work forward, blending traditional craftsmanship with advancing technology.

Their work is both structural and sculptural—geometric windows that filter coastal light, mahogany doorways that anchor an entrance, statuesque columns that define a space. Their craftsmanship is embedded in daily life across the Emerald Coast, from the iconic Seaside Chapel to homes in Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, and beyond.

Photos courtesy of E.F. San Juan

While architects and designers bring the vision, San Juan’s team brings it to life. “We know what wood can do,” he says, translating ideas into forms designed to endure.

Rooted in respect for the material, the family approaches each project with reverence. Cypress, Edward’s favorite, is prized for its almost mystical durability, shaped by life in Southern wetlands and capable of lasting generations. Each piece, like each branch of the family, carries a history: strong at the core, shaped over time, and built to last.

Just as important as the work itself is the culture behind it. San Juan believes the company’s strength lies in living its core values—integrity, accountability, and care for others—which are an extension of their family values.

Moore Family Folk Art
Art as a Way of Life

Where the San Juans work with precision and permanence, Alan Moore, 51, embraces a more playful, free-form expression of creativity—one that begins with what others leave behind.

“I think I was just born that way,” Moore says, recalling a childhood spent turning discarded objects into something new. Today, the Niceville-based artist continues that instinct through Moore Family Folk Art, transforming salvaged materials—bottle caps, scrap wood, found objects—into bright, whimsical pieces. His work is sold online, in galleries nationwide, and at festivals including Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation Festival of the Arts and ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival.

For Moore, the process is the point. “I really enjoy the journey of finding things to make things,” he says. That journey—part treasure hunt, part creative release—offers a counterbalance to his day job in construction management. “Working with my hands is therapeutic …. This is my time to live in my own world.”

Photo courtesy of The Moore Family

Over time, that world expanded to include his family. Anchored by Lori, his wife of 27 years, Moore’s creative life became a shared experience with their five children, who grew up helping at art shows and contributing to the business. “I wanted them to understand that if you work really hard, there are rewards,” he says.

What they gained went far beyond technique. “They’ve taught me that creativity is everywhere,” Moore says, describing a home filled with music, art, and constant expression. Here, art is not just a product but a way of life.  

Feature image by Savvibelle Photography