These paper mâché sculptures by J. Paul Paxus would make the coolest, one-of-a-kind Mother’s Day gifts.

$20 pieces by local artist, John Metcalf. #atown #austin #texas #boutique #store #retail #art #paintings #johnmetcalf #gifts #homedecor #locallymade #handmade #awesome

New pillows to cuddle up with $45.95

Halloween stuff!

Little Green Gifts, owned by Clementina Altamirano, produces 100 percent recycled paper note cards with exclusive designs and unique packaging.

“What you see at the big box stores is recycled content stationery that’s made in China or Taiwan. We are local: our eco-friendly stationery sports original designs that reflect a natural aesthetic. The design illustrations complement our paper choices – we often choose speckled stocks, and paper choices are always 100 percent recycled.”

Little Green Gifts stationery is printed in Austin using non-toxic inks, and all the paper used is made in the USA. Even the packaging is sans plastic, with all the boxes and tags also made from 100 percent recycled paper.

“We plan to expand to other types of stationery in the future. Right now, we’re working on more designs, especially for the holidays.”

Paintings by new artist, Dani Brandimarte. $120-$250.

Elizabeth Stettler is an artist, librarian and professional organizer living and working in Austin, Texas.  She grew up in the Midwest and received her Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa where she focused in sculpture, printmaking and drawing.  She came to Texas to attend the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information and received her Masters of Science in Information Studies.  Combining her love of organization, the meticulous detail that comes with library work, and her talent for the visual arts, Elizabeth creates minimal, quiet pieces that focus on line and detail.  

Her woodcuts are cut and printed exclusively by hand; she starts with a birch veneer plywood block and then cuts out the negative image of the print using specialized U-shaped hand tools.  She then rolls on a layer of oil based ink and presses thin, Japanese paper on top, transferring the ink by rubbing the back of the paper with a wooden spoon.  No special presses or studio space needed, Elizabeth makes these in her kitchen!

If you are interested in a custom portrait or pet portrait, please contact her at: lizstettler@gmail.com

A little information about one of our very most favorite artists in the store, Tim Doyle.

Tim Doyle is an illustrator and print-maker working out of Austin, Texas. Growing up in the suburban sprawl of the Dallas area, he turned inward and sullen, only finding joy in comic-books and television and video games.

Moving to Austin, Texas in 1999 to fulfill a life-long dream of not living in Dallas, Doyle begun painting and showing in galleries in 2001.  He self-published a diary zine, ‘Amazing Adult Fantasy’ from 2001-2003.  Doyle has held many nerd-friendly jobs, including running a small chain of comic-book stores, as well as designing tee-shirts and art-directing the poster series for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

Doyle left ‘jobs’ behind and launched his company- Nakatomi Inc in January of 2009. In the Summer of 2009, Tim Doyle along with artist Clint Wilson built their own screen printing studio, Nakatomi Print Labs, in which they and other artists work out of.

Since then, he has produced art for companies such as Creature Design, The Astor Theatre, ABC/Disney’s Lost Poster project, Mattel’s He-Man art show in LA, has had artwork used by Lucasfilm/ILM, Hasbro, IDW, and really needs to finish that thing for NASA.  For reals.  Outer space stuff.

Doyle also provided all the visuals and character, alien, and vehicle design for the adaptation of the play The Intergalactic Nemesis into a comic book/ performance Trans-media thing, which debuted as a live-action graphic novel at the Long Center for the Performing arts on Labor Day 2010.  The play will be touring with Doyle’s art throughout the country late 2011-2012.

Doyle lives and works in Austin along with his wife and child, and an indeterminate amount of cats.  If you’d like a cat, swing on by, no questions asked. (He sounds serious)

New Artist Alert!

Fisk & Fern is a little paper and household goods business out of Austin Texas, owned and operated by illustrator and printmaker Laura Fisk. Her products feature funny little creatures & nature drawings which she then hand screenprints on a range of paper and household goods. There’s always some brightness, happiness, or silliness in whatever she’s making, and hopes to make people chuckle and smile. Growing up, she always wanted to make cards and be a cartoonist, and finally found her way back to doing just that. 

Her work has been featured on Daily Candy LA, The LA times home and style blog, Nymag.com, indiefixx, PaperCrave, and Oh so beautiful paper, among other wonderful publications (Go Laura!)

New Artist Alert!

Tiny Little Paintings by Felice House

Tiny Little Paintings are just plain cute. The Tiny Cupcake reminds us that life is sweet and Tiny Yoda helps us make wise life decisions. A Tiny Lemon freshens any room and what little (or big) girl doesn’t love a Pony. Whether you are looking for romance, or just a treat, look no further than Tiny Paintings.

What is a Tiny Little Painting?

Tiny Little Paintings began as Felice House original oil paintings. They are now available in “tiny” form as 2.5”x2” archival giclee prints on canvas in five frame styles, and for only $25 they make a perfectly unique gift for anyone.

House comes from a long line of artists. Her grandmother is an award winning Vermont weaver, her mother is an amazing painter and her father has worked in computer graphics since its inception. As a child she remembers sitting around during her mother’s figure drawing classes watching people draw. When she walked into her first oil painting class at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1998, holding a box of her mother’s old paints, she felt like she had gone home. She knew just what to do. 

House received a B.F.A from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2000, a M.S. in computer graphics from the Visualization Laboratory at Texas A&M University in 2006 and an M.F.A from the University of Texas in 2011. In between she spent time studying classical painting and portraiture at the Schuler School of Fine Art in Baltimore, MD. She has received numerous fellowships and scholarships and enjoyed a residency at the Vermont Studio center. Felice has been featured in shows across Canada, the North East Coast and Texas. She currently lives in Austin with her husband, fellow artist Dana Younger, and her step-sons Jasper and Wiley.

Just in! Dessert stands in various designs by Debbe Kucaj $12-$22

Laumer Art Works is a unique, Austin-original mother/daughter painting collaboration.  Atown carries a range of their fine art including gallery-size original acrylic paintings ($300-$1,900). We also carry the popular 5”x7” canvas collectibles ($20-$34) and 11”x14” prints ($80).

Abby Rose Mandel is an artist and high school art teacher, who moved to Texas from Michigan six years ago in search of warmer weather and new experiences.  She has a BFA in Art Education from Michigan State University with a printmaking concentration. Her art styles and mediums vary based on her moods and she loves learning new techniques and processes. Abby is continually challenging herself in her work, and enjoys working with many new processes, experimenting with both failure and success, until she find a way to make each new technique her own.    

Abby started selling Jewelry and other art forms on the side to support herself in college, and established her own business in 2009. She is an active member of Austin’s vibrant art community and her work has been seen on the EAST Austin studio tour and in various art galleries across Central Texas and nationwide. All of her artwork is made by hand, with love out of her Austin, TX studio.

With influences as varied as the folk art of Ozarks, the primitive scenes of the Mississippi delta, and the eclectic modernism of the Austin art scene, Eya Floyd has created a unique and vibrant body of work. Her jewelry and paintings shimmer with vivid colors and fine detail as she reveals a whimsical world of fantasy, and yet retains an introspective tone, with a depth that extends beyond the playful subject matter.

Her prints range from $20-$30. Eya also has two large framed pieces at Atown for $225 each.

Eya also has a beautiful line of eccentrically beaded jewelry. Prices range from $34-$161