Bob Lile and Lady, the most famous dog in Amarillo, sit in his gallery on historic Route 66. Dozens of visitors walk through the doors of the gallery daily, hailing from all over the world. While various works of art in the Lile Art Gallery garner interest from visitors, there is one item that attracts all eyes: Lile's special Cadilite Jewelry.
"I've been doing this a little over three years," Lile says. "I saw a guy online doing Fordite jewelry where he was making jewelry out of the paint from the old Ford plant in Michigan. I thought, 'I could do that with Cadillac paint.'"
Lile's Cadilite Jewelry has been an Amarillo staple for a little over three years and has been featured on numerous television programs, websites and publications. Every piece of jewelry is handmade by Lile and contains paint from the most famous Cadillacs in the world, which are buried nose-down at the Cadillac Ranch.
"I practiced and it took me about three weeks to make the first piece," Lile said. "I took some to a festival in Tucumcari and from there it just took off."
Today, Lile's jewelry can be found all over the world. Lile, 77, regularly mails out pieces of the iconic art all over the world. In total, the Amarillo-based artist says that he has mailed Cadilite Jewelry to thirty-eight states, eight European counties and places like Australia and New Zealand.
The jewelry also gained special interest statewide when it was featured in the Texas Country Reporter and on "The Texas Bucket List." Lile says that many of his sales still come from his being featured by those outlets.
For those who are interested in taking home a piece of Route 66 history, Lile makes pendants, necklaces, earrings, rings and double sided pieces in the Cadilite Jewelry collection. While his favorite piece is the necklace he made for his wife, he still has plenty of nice pieces of Cadilite that are waiting to find a home.
If you would like to get a piece of Cadilite Jewelry, you are asked to call the Lile Art Gallery at 806-664-3089 or email Lile at crocodilelile@live.com. Pieces start at just $149 and are the perfect gift for any aficionado of Route 66.
For information about the Lile Art Gallery on historic Route 66, please visit https://www.facebook.com/Cadilite/.
