Jennifer Perkins' Shopping Guide to the Blue Genie Art Bazaar in Austin

If you live in Austin and have a love of handmade goods, then you have heard of the Blue Genie Art Bazaar. This year is extra special because it is the 10 year anniversary of the bazaar.  My name is Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club and I will be your host for today's post about Blue Genie and let's go ahead and get the fact that I am biased towards the show out of the way right up front.

Sure I realize not everyone's taste is as eclectic as the kitschy wreaths, cat heads and tin can robots you can find in my booth at the show - but I promise there is something for almost everyone.  Sure there are lots of the things you would expect to find at a "craft show".  Handmade jewelry, T-shirts, baby onesies, soaps - you know the drill.  The things you will also find that you might not have been expecting are ceramics (cool ones), living wall art made from plants, paintings, prints and even giant pieces of sushi.

Blue Genie is a juried show selecting only the best artists in Austin.  Locals might recognize names like Chia, Darla Teagarden, Mark Joiner, Amy Barber, Moxie, Ornamental Things, Baby Bolt, Hot Pink Pistol and of course the Blue Genie guys themselves.  You can't take a driving tour through Austin without spotting a Rory Skagen mural or a large piece of sculpture that the guys did sitting atop a business.  I happen to be the proud owner of one of their larger than life glitter covered popsicles.

The show runs through Christmas Eve so you still have a chance to go and get your shop on.  7 days a week you can bask in the glory of a kitschy Christmas.  Head down to Marchesa Hall at Lincoln Village (6226 Middle Fiskville Rd. Austin, TX 78732) 10am daily.  Be sure to tell em' Naughty Secretary Club and Design Crisis sent ya.

Birds is the Word Again

So it's 9:30 on Monday night and I've just gotten off the plane from my trip to Albuquerque, where I got to check out more than a few awesome Bart Price houses (alas, still not from inside).  Congratulations to both Sherri and Freshly Found for their laser-like accuracy in Friday's where in the world contest, you made my decision tricky so you will both win bracelets from Naughty Secretary Club. Hooray!! Anyhoodle, as I mentioned, I'm fresh off the plane and have just returned to my computer after 4 days of work-free-best-friend's-wedding-bliss.  Despite my begrudging return to the real world, all is not so bad as my inbox included brand new pics of the newest Birds Barbershop taken by our own Ms. Erin.

You may remember that Erin took these pics of Birds on East Sixth just a couple of months ago.  The newest shop has a 3D mural created by local party planner extraordinaire and all-around badass, Luther Himes.  Psst... remember those 3D party pics I posted last week?  See, it's all coming together, right?

My favorite part of the shop is the 35 foot long wall with the black and metallic silver chevron stripe.  I had originally suggested a wide, angled stripe, then Joel Mozersky suggested we make it a chevron while at lunch one day.  I gave the design to our painter who then suggested that we put it at an angle.  So, it was a 3-way collaboration.  Yay!  Collaborative success!

Oh, unfortunately, at the last minute they had to put that ugly AC in.  But at least it's nice and cozy in there now.

That AC is a godsend since every other wall is a floor-to-ceiling window.

Did I mention the Free Skill Crane?

And the free Lone Star?

I love the back shampoo room, these chairs sit across from the big chevron wall.  The black high-gloss stripes running up the wall were a quick solution (suggested by yours truly) when no back splash had been planned for the sink, those shampoo bottles get messy too, so the wall directly behind them needed to be protected as well.

I found this light on ebay, it is my one true love

I also designed these 3D glasses, they're mighty special from the front as well, guess you're going to have to stop by the shop to see them.  For those of you in Austin, it's at 1902 South Congress, Just north of Magnolia Cafe.  You can also visit their site (designed by lil ole me) HERE

Where in the World Is K-Dawg

Guess what faithful readers?!  It's that time again!  I'm out of town at my bestest (non-bloggy) friend's wedding and you dudes get to guess where I am.  What do I have for prizes this time?  Well, operating under the assumption that Erin was sick of carrying that baby around in her tummy,  I was going to offer up her unborn child (after birth, of course) but, surprisingly, she's not into it.  My cats are also off limits, so you'll have to settle for something totally badass, sorry.  The winning guesser gets THIS AWESOME BRACELET from NAUGHTY SECRETARY CLUB.  Hooray! So, here's the deal, I'm posting pictures of houses by a certain architect that has designed homes throughout this city.  His designs have been sprinkled across a couple of states, but the majority of them are in the same city as lil ole me.  This one's a tricky one, but anyone who has passed through this bizarro town (that I love!) has seen these bizarro houses:

I've never seen the inside of these homes, so I was delighted to find this interior shot of the home pictured above (too bad about that furniture, though):

Above is the architect's personal studio, below is an interior shot (yes, we are still in the same city):

And, just for fun, here are a couple of interior shots from some of his other homes, these may not be within the winning city limits, but they're pretty, so, whateves:

I know, right!

And, just to tempt your tummies one last time, here's a shot of la grand prize from Naughty Secretary Club:

Happy guessing, homies.  Winner will be announced on Monday afternoon in the comments section of this post.  First person to guess the CITY (not just the state) correctly wins.  If you can name the architect, you get extra love, but that's all.

PS. While you're racking you brains trying to guess where I am, might I suggest checking out the prize giver's blog HERE