AUSTIN, Texas — The holiday season is upon us. Before you head to the b-box stores to get your shopping done, here's a list of 10 places where you can get gifts for everyone on your list, while also shopping local.
With thousands of original works from local and regional artists, the Blue Genie Art Bazaar features the work of more than 200 artists. Find paintings, photography, prints, sculpture, body-care items, clothing, ceramics and more. This year the event is open from Nov. 22 through Dec. 24, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 6100 Airport Blvd.
Open Dec. 13 through Dec. 24 at the Palmer Events Center, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar is a fine-art shopping destination that features national and local award-winning artists, live music and two full bars. You can find the artist gallery and performance line-up on the event website.
A Town, located at 5502 Burnet Road, is home to the work of more than 200 local artists and designers. Items that can be found include women’s and men’s apparel, unique gifts, beauty products, jewelry, children’s clothing and supplies, home décor, pet goods and more.
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Room Service Vintage is a 3,500 square foot space packed with home furnishings, clothing, toys, art and more. Room Service items sell fast, so check out its Facebook or Instagram to keep up with current items. Also, according to its website, you should ask for a key to the bunny bathroom, which appears to be covered from top to bottom with vintage bunnies.
BookPeople is located on the corner of Sixth and Lamar. It's been the leading independent bookstore in Texas since 1970 and features multiple floors of books, cards and great gifts for people of all ages. If you want to buy something extra-local, within the bookstore, it has a local section dedicated to local authors. It also has events daily, including author events, storytime for kids and book club meetings.
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Right across the street from BookPeople, you can find Waterloo Records, an Austin staple and independent record store that’s been open since 1982. It has an extensive collection of records, CDs and more for any music lover. Waterloo Records also has in-store performances and vinyl happy hour.
Austin Art Garage started as “just two guys that wanted to make it easier to find and purchase original art without entering a world of debt,” according to the website. You can shop online or visit the gallery located on South Lamar. You can see all the prices and styles available on its website.
The name pretty much describes what you can find: uncommon objects. It’s an antique collective of one-of-a-kind things. The website says there are 24 antiquers that currently show and sell their treasures. They have their “Uncommon Flea” the last Sunday of every month from 10 a.m to 3 p.m., where their backyard is transformed into a marketplace.
Keeping Austin Fun Since 1987 is Toy Joy's slogan. At one point it was voted as one of the top 10 toy stores in the world by USA Today. This place is loaded from ceiling to floor with toys and collectibles for all ages. It has multiple locations, including a store at the Austin airport.
While South Congress does look different now than it used to years ago, there are still some local shops you can check out. Triple Z Threadz, Allens Boots, Limbo and Little Limbo are all places where you can check items off your gift list while shopping local.
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- Local boutique trucks: Food isn’t the only thing you can get on four wheels. Fringe and Flair and Lin Marie Boutique are two fashion trucks that you can find and buy from locally!
- Etsy: Did you know you can specify where you want to buy from? After you visit etsy.com and select what type of gift you want (clothing, jewelry, art) you can narrow your search. Under “Shop Location”, where it says “Custom”, type in Austin, Texas, and the search will narrow down to only Austin creators.
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