It was a little after 2 a.m. one September morning when a vision came to Van Staub: He would sell art - art dedicated to fish and he would call his shop The Art of Fishing. No lie.

"It literally woke me out of sleep. I say 'vision,' but it wasn't religious, although Jesus Christ was a fisherman. I knew I wanted to do this. I knew what I wanted to call it ... it was all there."

In November 2003, his vision once thought to be a fleeting case of midlife crisis - became a dream come true, turning Staub's boyhood passion for fishing into a career as a gallery owner of fish art.

The Art of Fishing bridges the typical gift shop and gallery. Staub's purpose: to lure them in.

"I really didn't want to have that gallery look. I didn't want to scare people. I want them to come, and once they're in they are pleasantly surprised. It's like taking your medicine and sugarcoating it," he says.

The Houma native was 47 when he decided he was tired of working for others, having been a jack-of-all-trades (he did stints in construction, prop management and for a time headed up a wood manufacturing company in Harahan). It was time for Staub to do something he truly enjoyed.

But didn't the leap from the world of manufacturing and construction to the world of art seem intimidating? Not really, thanks to his wife Sandy Staub, an interior designer with local firm Chrestia Staub Pierce.

"Her lifestyle is a big influence on my lifestyle," says Staub. "If it wasn't for her, I'd be ignorant about art."

Initially, Staub's wife thought a fish art shop had no place in the market. But as the couple visited with various art distributors, they saw how fish pervaded the market. Sandy Staub became more and more involved.

Quick Start

By mid-October, Staub had negotiated a lease for the former site of a health food store. Snagging the spot on Magazine Street was a combination of doing the homework and being at the right place at the right time. Because of his work in construction and his wife's interior design background, they were able to get the shop ready in just 30 days. Staub wanted to be ready for the Christmas season, and he was. And sales for that first month exceeded his projections. "Although we pulled it off, I wouldn't recommend doing it this way," he says.

Naturally, Staub sees the fish art fitting comfortably with the local culture and its ties to seafood. It was on the Gulf Coast - Grand Isle, in particular - where Staub fell in love with fishing. Every summer and several weekends during the year, Staub and family flocked to their beach house on the island. He fished whenever he could and was on the beach constantly. He loved the hunt, reading the waters and figuring out where the fish would be.

"It's like retail: reading the customer, trying to figure out what the customer may buy and then getting great satisfaction when someone buys something they really like," he said. "When you go out looking for fish, you have great satisfaction in catching and boating the fish. The passion is almost the same."

These days, when Staub has a free Sunday, he takes day trips to Venice and chases blue water fish and tuna.

Bait For Visitors

The people who come through the doors of The Art of Fishing are mostly out-of-towners, tourists traversing the shop-filled Magazine Street and looking to take something home. Sometimes, they are collectors looking for hand-carved duck decoys made by people from Houma and Dulac.

From the shop's exterior, it may not be obvious what makes The Art of Fishing distinct. But inside it's a different story.

On the walls, green day fish heads from Vietnam hang like moose heads, along with watercolor paintings of fish. There are outdoor items like fish Tiki torches. For the frugal, the shop has inexpensive earrings and jewelry boxes.

Fish is the norm here, but other water-related inhabitants like -ducks and sharks also adorn various objects d'art.

Staub's favorite piece is a sculpture by Lafayette artist Kelly Guidry, one of three Louisiana artists The Art of Fishing features. Guidry, kindly nicknamed the chainsaw artist, uses the machine to carve wood, metal and copper into huge abstract fish sculptures. These sculptures are the most expensive in the gallery, costing $1,400 to $1,500.

Raku sculptures of another local artist, Linda Berman, are smaller and less abstract, but just as colorful. A hot pink reef sculpture by Robert Post is a favorite with children.

Even before The Art of Fishing opened its doors, Staub had expansion on his mind. He is looking at the Florida panhandle, outside of Destin.

"This store would work with any large city that has a good income base because it's home decor that would appeal to a broad range of buyers," he says.

Staub says the journey into his new career has been fun - and educational. "Even at my age, I'm still learning, " he says.

Adapted from BizNewOrleans May 2004

The Art of Fishing
(504) 891-4370 ● 5519 Magazine St. ● New Orleans, LA 70115