Our Origin
A Return to Meaning
From Founder Michael Esordi
As a child watching parades, I was drawn to what others overlooked. I noticed the backs of floats, often bare and forgotten, and wondered why that final moment wasn’t made beautiful. Even then, I believed every detail mattered.
Years later, as an adult attending Mardi Gras, something else stood out. The streets were covered in plastic beads, broken trinkets, and forgotten throws. It felt disconnected from the magic I knew parade culture could offer.
When I founded the Krewe of Krampus, I saw a chance to shift that narrative. We removed plastic beads entirely and introduced handcrafted, meaningful throws. Our signature lump of coal quickly became a symbol of that change. The krewe became a home for others who shared a vision of creativity, sustainability, and community.
But I wanted to go further.
With my background in glass, ceramics, and casting from Rhode Island School of Design, and access to a steady supply of locally crushed recycled glass, I began to experiment. I wondered what it would take to reimagine the most iconic throw of them all: the doubloon.
My first attempts didn’t live up to the vision. But when I opened the kiln and saw a perfect cast glass doubloon glimmering back at me, I knew I had found something special. It was beautiful, durable, and symbolic. That single piece became the spark behind Art of the Parade.
The future of New Orleans parades should be sustainable, shaped by artists, and full of meaning.
