South Portland artist makes luxe gift list
A South Portland artist who outfits real insect specimens with watch components is gaining national notoriety after his work was selected as an extravagant gift by Neiman Marcus.
The luxury retailer has released its annual list of the top fantasy gifts for the holiday season, which includes a piece by Mike Libby, the founder of Insect Lab. Libby takes real bugs, like ladybugs, grasshoppers and spiders, and adds gears, springs and other parts from antique watches, sewing machines and typewriters, according to his website. The result? A robot-like insect straight out of science fiction.
For the Neiman Marcus list, Libby has created a limited-edition series of nine pieces, an African flower beetle with wings spread and a body full of tiny mechanics. Each piece comes in a glass dome on a walnut base, and goes for $8,500.
Other items joining Libby's robot beetle on the fantasy gift list are a customized cupcake-shaped car, for $25,000, a whiskey-making tour at Maker's Mark's distillery in Louisville for $7,500, and a $250,000 sport aircraft for two that requires a pilot's license.
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