From colorful handbags and geometric earrings to custom jeans, Texas-made items never go out of style. For more gift ideas, see For Those Who Like to Take It Outside, For the Little Ones and Furry Friends, For Foodies and Fabulous Hosts, and For the Hard-to-Please.
Silk Scarf
Silk Diaries
TM General Store
$46
Austin’s Kylee Barnard uses botanicals like rose petals and eucalyptus to turn her silk scarves into saturated prints (think sophisticated tie-dye) that can be wrapped around your neck or hair as an easy accessory.
Custom Jeans
Ciano Farmer Denim Co.
Starting at $95
Using vintage Singer and Union Special sewing machines, designer Ciano Farmer makes selvage denim and duck-canvas jackets, jeans, and bags in his rudimentary studio in Denton, where even the pencil sharpener is old-school. Although they can take eleven to eighteen weeks to make, custom dungarees are a denim fanatic’s dream gift (worth noting: trade workers, such as welders and carpenters, get a discount).
.025B Earrings
Her New Tribe
TM General Store
$218
Austin duo Ashley Stovall’s and Stephanie Duncan’s statement jewelry is made with ceramic clay and formed into geometric shapes for a sculptural look that’s already gained fans and supporters like Vogue, which featured the limited-production line earlier this year.
The Everything Bowl by Era Ceramics, $44
Era Ceramics
$44
Smithville-based ceramicist couple Lindsey Wohlgemuth and Dimitar Karaytchev have made sophisticated dinnerware for restaurants like Austin’s Uchiko and Dallas’s FT33. Their signature speckled style strikes just the right balance of elegant and earthy.
Laptop Bag
Prolific leatherworker Odin Clark makes everything from stools and personalized coasters to belts in his Coppell studio. This handsome laptop bag in vegetable-tanned harness leather is finished with a suede lining.
Laos Robe
Mirth Caftans
TM General Store
$145
Inspired by their love of India, Houston sisters Erin Breen and Katie McClure have built their Mirth label around caftans, dresses, shorts, and cover-ups, all designed in simple neutrals and bold block-print patterns. Their newest robe, available in two colors, is made for lounging in style.
Mini Circle Ring Bag
Ceibo
TM General Store
$90
Houston’s Maria Cadena, who named her label after the ceibo tree—found in her native Ecuador—designs vegan leather handbags and accessories in punchy colors. Her Mini Circle Ring bag fits all the essentials.
Cups
We first spied these fine stemless wine glasses at the expertly curated Crow Museum of Asian Art shop in Dallas. The line is a collaboration between Dallas artists Brooks Oliver and Clayton Collie, who use traditional ceramic techniques with modern 3D printers and CNC (Computer Numeric Control) machines to make pieces in many shapes.
Vadabet Diamond Initial Charm
VADA
$590
Vada’s personalized custom charm, using 14k gold letters with white diamonds, is handmade in its Austin studio. Founder Kate Caplener’s rings, made from surprising materials like acrylic and traditional pearls, add to the mystique of the hip line.
Austin Senators Hat
Ebbets Field Flannels X STAG
STAG
$54
From the late 1880s to the mid-1960s, Austin had a baseball team called the Senators, and this was their hat, a design that Ebbets Field Flannels revived for STAG, the buzzy men’s shop that first opened on Austin’s South Congress Avenue and has expanded to locations in Dallas, Houston, and Venice, California. Everything from this collaboration with Ebbets, like a smart zip-up work jacket and retro jerseys, was made for gifting to the sports nostalgist in your life.
Texas Pennant
What started with Manready Mercantile founder Travis Weaver making candles on his stovetop has grown into one of the most popular shops in Houston’s Heights neighborhood. It’s constantly stocked with more than a hundred made-in-the-USA vendors. His Texas-themed offerings, like this pennant, hit all the right marks—hip yet classic, but never overly kitschy.
Wildflower Clutch
This wildflower clutch, covered in vibrant embroidery by artisans in Peru, is sold through brand ambassadors by Austin-based Noonday Collection, a fair-trade fashion business that sells jewelry and accessories from makers around the world. Noonday founder Jessica Honegger recently published her first book, Imperfect Courage, about entrepreneurship and her personal story.
June’s Candle
Boy Smells
By George
$29
Austin’s June’s All Day is constantly abuzz, from early-morning buckwheat crêpe breakfasts to late-night dance parties. Matthew Herman, a longtime friend of restaurateur Larry McGuire now based in L.A., and his Boy Smells partner, David Kien, decided to capture the energy of the cozy restaurant with the June’s Candle, made with coconut and beeswax.
Read more: Introducing Our 2018 Holiday Gift Guide
Texas Monthly serves its readers with occasional product roundups reported by senior editor Lauren Smith Ford. After she makes her picks, the Texas Monthly General Store acquires some of the items for its inventory. For your convenience, we’ve provided links to the store where applicable. For the other stuff, the links go directly to the retailer. We sometimes make a commission from sales that occur from those links.
A shorter version of this article originally appeared in the December 2018 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “The Art of Texas Gift-Giving.” Subscribe today.
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