Back Porch Style

I met Conni at last year's Stitch craft show in Austin, where she purchased a book from me and enthusiastically told me about her new shop in Dripping Springs. We've been keeping in touch online through the winter and her shop is finally open. I stopped by the other day and was so charmed by the bright and juicy atmosphere she and her partner Valli had created there in the old stone house on the highway. The store's called Consuela. In it are warm wood floors, a couple of large well-stocked work spaces filled with fabrics, ribbons and buttons (which they use to create oil cloth pillows and bags and other decorative things for the home), and in the back a room filled with their sunny, stylish, artsy merchandise. My favorite thing about the shop is that every turn reveals something different. They also carry work by a smattering of independent artists and designers (me included). You can't find two things alike in there -- proof of these Texas ladies' creativity and passion for enlivening a shopper's experience. You can tell that they have a lot of fun and want to share it. Prices are reasonable; you'd expect to pay a lot more for most of the delightful handmade and vintage goodies they have. I just love this place and will definitely purchase gifts and stop for a chat whenever I'm in Dripping Springs. If you can't make it check out the website Conseulastyle. It definitely captures the flavor of this delicious new shop. The grand opening is Friday, March 28. Margaritas from 5-7!