Dispatches from Austin: Busy-Being

Contributor post by Tracy Castro of Fair Morning Blue


Howdy from Austin! I have such a fun shop tour for you today. One lovely afternoon last week, I had a chance to peruse one of my favorite Austin bookstores, Domy Books. My day got even brighter when I discovered that the tiny back room at Domy is now a charming boutique - Busy-Being!


Amber Abramson, a curator from Los Angeles, opened Busy-Being as an online shop in 2004, and then as a brick and mortar boutique last October. Amber carefully selects a beautiful and ever-changing collection  of hand crafted jewelry, shoes, textiles, art and more. Almost everything here cannot be purchased anywhere else in town. 


These handmade LE FEU DE L'EAU wax candles are sculpted under water - and their fragrance is positively magical. Seriously - y'all need to experience these candles.

Aren't these painted antlers by Cassandra Smith amazing? I especially love the touch of metallic gold.

Be still my heart! These shoes by Beatrice Valenzuela are handmade by artisans in Mexico City. Don't they look comfortable - and yet so very stylish? I am especially smitten with the yellow leather mary janes on the left.

Busy-Being sells a fantastic selection of table linens. Here are some gorgeous, flax napkins block printed by textile designer, Rachel Craven. Oh - that red, zigzag stitched edge!

I adore the mix of indigo and neon pink in this Wendy Polish table runner. It inspires me to daydream about summertime picnics, fireflies and wildflowers - maybe even a margarita.

Busy-Being is currently exhibiting the work of visual artist Deedee Cheriel. I am attracted to the geometric designs in these paintings, and well as the sprinkling of bright colors against the neutral surroundings.

Shop owner, Amber, made this enormous God's eye. Here's hoping that she makes more to sell in the shop.

Wow. I can't believe that so much handmade goodness can fit in such a teeny little space. I hope you have enjoyed this tour - I wish I could show you every single thing! Many thanks to Amber Abramson for showing us around.


Busy-Being
913 East Cesar Chavez
Austin, TX
hello@busy-being.com

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Tracy Castro - a designer and rural Texas Panhandle native - has called Austin home for the last sixteen years. Tracy's new design venture, Fair Morning Blue, features seasonal cards, hand-stamped textiles, and whatever other whimsies come into her head and heart. Find Tracy on her blog, facebook, or twitter.

Jan Halvarson

9 comments:

JAMIE SAYS DREAM said...

What an inspiring post! Beautiful things in a style that I love right now. If I ever go to Austin (I live in Sweden) I will visit Busy-Being.

I was very dissapointed with Busy-Being's webshop thought. Tiny little photos and text, I got tired of looking around really fast :-( The things they sell deserves a better presentation.

Kickcan & Conkers said...

Wow! What an amazing shop! I love it all, some really unusual, modern finds.
A great way to start te week, thank you!

Tracy said...

What a sweet store! Those antlers are amazing.

Cactus Flower Clothing said...

beautiful! love the wooden wall hanging for jewelry display.

Ally Ann said...

I am thoroughly impressed. So many shops are popping up everywhere, but this one really does stand out.

valerie chen said...

busy being somewhat relates to how im feeling right now.. and yet theres a touch of calm in the pieces :) thanks for sharing!

Kreetta said...

Those shoes by Beatrice Valenzuela. They are great!

xo, Carmen said...

Fantastic store! I live in Houston and am in Austin all the time, so I'm definitely going to check Busy-Being out. Thanks so much for posting!

Busy-Being said...

Hi All! Just wanted to let you know that the new and improved Busy-Being website is finally live! Please check it out when you have a chance, www.busy-being.com

Thanks for all of your comments :-)
Amber (Busy-Being)