So, after a whirlwind weekend in Fort Worth, I headed down to Austin for SXSW. I was in Austin for 5 nights, 4 days, and between day parties and late nights, I did my best to find as much awesome handmade goodness as I could.
One of the best places I went to scope out handmade good was on South Congress Street. I didn’t get to go to as many shops as I had hoped to, but happily, I did make it to Parts & Labour.
Of course I could’ve spent my entire budget in Parts & Labour, but instead I did a lot of looking and just a little buying (had to save some $$ for that Tex Mex food!). Parts & Labour featured some awesome Austin crafters like Naughty Secretary Club and Sublime Stitching, and I also spotted some tea towels from quirky silk- screeners (and co-Funky Finds participants) Squid Ink Kollective. All of there items were naturally fantastic, but there was lots of other great stuff, too. One jewelry designer who really held my attention was Sarah Eastep of maneki designs.
maneki’s designs were all very gorgeous, flirty, and fun. Her website is really lovely, too. I am a big fan of the fox vs. rabbit necklace and, of course, of the owl bangle.
Another great jewelry designer I spotted at Parts & Labour was MetalsGirl. I couldn’t resist buying one of her small herb and resin pendants for a mere $10.
These adorable resin and herb charms came with a card that lists what each color and herb represents. I picked up a robin’s egg blue charm (one of my favorite colors!) with ginger, which the card says represents passion, power, and success. The lady working the register told me to be sure to check out the MetalsGirl website, and I suggest you do the same. She has lots of other charming necklaces and some really, really fun bottle cap key ring designs on sale for only $5 each.
The same night I went to Parts & Labour, I stumbled into a party called South by San Jose. There were lots of clothing vendors set up, but the one that made me part with my hard earned dough was South Side Sanctuary.
I got a really awesome treehouse/ beard/ hoot owl shirt (see below). South Side Sanctuary has a lot of awesome tee shirts as well as scoop neck tees and over sized tees. These shirts are something you should definitely check out!
While I was at the Slim Cessna show at Habana Calle 6 on 6th street, I noticed there was an artist set up across the crowd of people, so I made my way over to check it out and I was super glad I did. I found mukee design selling his very clever jewelry made from reclaimed skateboards. Talk about ultimate upcycling!
I had a nice talk with the crafter (He’ll be at Renegade Austin in May) and was an excellent sales man! I was very happy to pick up one of Mukee’s necklaces.
As you can see below, I got some really good buys while in Austin.
I also had the enjoyable experience to be next to Jenny Hart at the Standard Recording SXSW day party and I whispered her secret code word and got a embroidered journal as a prize. She and I also swapped wares, and I got a set of the Sublime Stitching Cowboy Cool patterns. I am super happy with all the great goods I scored while down in Austin, TX.
Next year I’m going to do my best to make it to the 78404 Artisans Market on SoCo. I wish I could have made it this year, but the weather was really bad that day and we had a day party. I’m looking forward to the chance to attend next year and discover tons more awesome handmade goodness in Austin.