With the promise of receiving many gifts in return, this headlong rush into the temples of consumer culture hardly looks like the selfless goodwill to all mankind, but a few bookstores around Austin are offering the opportunity to participate in the truly noble exercise of helping the needy and downtrodden this season....

Flyer from Blue Genie 7th Annual Blue Genie Art BazaarDecember 5th through December 24thMonarch Event Center (6406 N. I-35 #3100)FreeSunday-Thursday: 10am-10pmFriday-Saturday: 10am-MidnightSunday, December 24th: 10am-6pm[info]Blue Genie Art Bazaar, Austin's annual holiday shopping destination for locally-made art and various one-of-a-kind gifts, returns tomorrow for its seventh run. This year, they've outgrown the Blue Genie space and are moving to the Monarch Events Center up north, in Lincoln Village. Running from tomorrow morning through Christmas Eve, the......

Photo courtesy lagarconne.comAustin/NYC production team, The Witty Pioneers, are producing a fashion feature for Lucky magazine in Austin on Thursday, Dec. 6, and they're combing the area to cast some real women from our fair city. It involves a brief time commitment and the requisite hair, makeup, and wardrobe treatment with the end result being a prominent portrait in the March 2008 issue. They're looking for local ladies who are: 18-35 years old Sizes 2-8......

Photo by Veronica Meewes on flickrAs expected, this year’s Stitch was both fun and overwhelming. We tried to take it all in, circling around the booths bundled under Austin Convention Center many, many times. However, it really is impossible to experience everything thing unless you dedicate at least three hours to paint a Carlo Rossi jug, sew a sweater at First Samples, watch the runway show… and then, of course, shop! The latter was easy.......

Poster by City On Fire Stitch AfterpartySaturday, November 10thThe Mohawk (912 Red River)10 pm, $5[info] If you attend The Stitch Fashion Show and Guerrilla Craft Bazaar at the Austin Convention Center you're gonna leave with a bellyful of terrific Austin homemade couture. You're also gonna be sad that it's over. To extend the experience, sometime tomorrow around 10pm you should find your way over to the Mohawk for the afterparty. DJ Abominatron (Indirect/Blue Noise) and......

Photo by Fort Cloudy on flickr StitchSaturday, November 10Austin Convention Center (500 E Cesar Chavez Street)Doors at 4pm, Fashion show 9:30pm, Tickets $10[info] | [tickets]We figured we'd end our Stitch Preview series by interviewing Matthew Stinchcomb, who does PR for Etsy. We learned that the online store is kind of a big deal in the DIY world. Several Stitch vendors sell their homemade wares on the site so it'll be a treat to meet the......

Photo courtesy Ornamental Things StitchSaturday, November 10Austin Convention Center (500 E Cesar Chavez Street)Doors at 4pm, Fashion show 9:30pm, Tickets $10[info] | [tickets]Austinite Natalie Tischler's reworked vintage jewelry, Ornamental Things, has a strong magnetic pull on us every time we walk into Parts and Labour. It's always hard to decide what's cooler, the button rings or the dangle-y earring and necklaces she creates from things found at flea markets. Natalie's bringing her beautiful pieces to......

Photo courtesy 31 Corn Lane StitchSaturday, November 10Austin Convention Center (500 E Cesar Chavez Street)Doors at 4pm, Fashion show 9:30pm, Tickets $10[info] | [tickets]31 Corn Lane is all about girls wanting to have fun. It's the brainchild of three sisters—Teeter (the youngest), Amy and Heather Sperber (the latter two are identical twins who rock out with The Boxes). We've loved their pony necklaces, novelty totes and bright floral print belts ever since we saw them......

Photo courtesy Jessica Plymate StitchSaturday, November 10Austin Convention Center [map]Doors at 4pm, Fashion show 9:30pm, Tickets $10[info] | [tickets]Jessica Plymate revives the art of appliqué in super rockin' way with Aorta Designs. Gone are the days of mom's innocent poodles sewn on skirts. Jessica's animals are hardcore; drinking wine and smoking cigarettes. What is your design/art background? This is where I have to confess I have no formal training in design, art or anything. I've......

I Like Applejuice is the playful and witty work of Travis Nichols. Travis wears many hats as an artist, writer and a rocker. He's also been profiled in VegNews Magazine as one of the "25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians!" Where else do you sell your work? I sell stuff at Parts & Labour here in town, and also on my website. I also have an Etsy store that has current art for sale, as well. What......

Freshie and Zero is made with love and a hammer. Beth Porter is bringing her jewelry line down from Nashville again for the second year in a row. Although she only started her business a year and a half ago, she won last year's $1000 Stitch Grant. Beth says her jewelry is "light and modern, delicate and feminine." Her irregular, one-of-a-kind earrings and necklaces are made from sterling silver or gold filled wire formed into......

We remember Austin Tinius over a year ago, peddling his Burger and Friends line at Circa 77, a boutique in Denton, Texas. Everything was made with a light-hearted, punk-rock sense of humor—from acid colored T-shirts silkscreened with line-drawings of Playboy models posing with a grizzly bear, to Star Wars-inspired wallets and purses. We knew he was on to something. Sure enough, Burger and Friends (finally) got some attention shortly after last year's Stitch. Austin......

We haven't made it to Project Runway at Moxie and the Compound, yet, but we've heard it's fun. Last week's winner Malissa Long sent us a picture of her creation (see right); the challenge was to design a piece only using a white knit fabric. This week the challenge is to design a dress for the Shiki customer. The Moxie version of Project Runway is similar to the Bravo show, although there's a local twist......

La Luz is having a Halloween fiesta tomorrow. The new-ish South Austin boutique is inviting the public out for live music by The Early Tapes, refreshments, a spooky photo booth, games, prizes and activities. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m. at 2009 S. 1st St. Explore the treasures of India with Marigold's Fall Festival today at 6 p.m. If you've never heart the rhythms of tabla and sitar, check......

We're looking forward to Stitch. It's probably the most anticipated fashion-show/craft-bazaar in Austin, recognized by so-hip-it-hurts Nylon magazine as "a runway show that's as much about the community as it is about the clothes." And it only gets bigger and better each year. We're not just blowing smoke up your Simplicity pattern skirt. We think this year's Stitch is going to blow your DIY mind. After flipping through the six-page press release, we learned that......

Chicas, it's your time to get girlie. Birds Barbershop is hosting its second annual Ladies Night with Austin Tidbits at its new location on Burnet on Thursday. If you have two X chromosomes, treat yourself to a few Birds Berry Beauty cocktails (think of umbrellas and bright colors) and achingly sweet treats by Hey Cupcake! and Luxe Sweets. Enjoy the "ladylike" sounds of Michael Hooher and Zykos' Catherine Davis behind the turntables. And get......

It’s National Massage Therapy Awareness Week. Who knew? Not us, until we heard about Massage Harmony’s week of discounts and freebies. If you want a complimentary 10-minute massage or a gift certificate for $10 off, go to Massage Harmony or the Borders (both in the West Bank Shopping Center) on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Austinist readers can also enter to win gift certificates for free massages after the jump. Derrick Amoriko, owner......

First there was Keep Austin Weird, then Keep Austin Wired, Keep Austin Corporate— and, starting tomorrow, Keep Austin Good. The first annual “Don’t Lose a Good Thing, Keep Austin Good” is sponsored by Los Angeles lifestyle magazine GOOD, and described in a press release as “part party, part information exchange,” bringing the spirit of fun and the commitment to Austin’s quality of life together. Vendors and local businesses will hand out information about community......

OMG, Barkitecture! Done laughing? Okay, if you love your dog bring your furry friend to 2nd Street District area tomorrow for Barkitecture Austin 2007 – a silent auction for dog-houses built by 20 of Austin’s architects, builders and designers. All proceeds go directly to Animal Trustees of Austin, Lucky Mutts, Austin Dog Rescue and Blue Dog Rescue, which find homes for stray dogs. Bidding starts at noon at Lofty Dog, there’s a live photo......

We are pleasantly surprised to hear that former UT alum Elisa Jimenez is a contestant for the upcoming season of Bravo’s Project Runway. We chatted up this uber-creative lady earlier this year at an in-store fashion-show/performance during SXSW at Factory People, where she sold several hand-stitched jersey dresses and tops. Trained as a sculptor and with a background in making large-scale marionettes, Elisa became an “accidental" fashion designer after someone discovered her at a......

Just when we thought Birds Barbershop couldn’t get any more creative, they give us two more awesome reasons to walk in and rock out. Starting today, the Burnet location is hosting “Bubblegum Humpday Happy Hours” every Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. DJ Super K is breaking in the turntables with his collection of bubblegum and saccharine-sweet pop 45s from the 60s. Even if you're not getting your hair cut, shake your tail-feather and sample......

D’Ette Cole incorporates found objects items in every aspect of her work. You could say this is her signature, but D’Ette’s style is not easily summed up. “It’s Texas flavor without being hokey,” she says. “No cowboy boots hanging on the wall.” What does pop up in her art and décor are elements of surprise. One of D’Ette’s newest projects transforms empty plastic water bottles into hanging light displays, which almost looks like a......

Saturday and Sunday, October 6th and 7th Hey you, big-spender: if you missed FactoryPeople's last pop-up store (at their former 1325 South Congress location), take a look-sy at the jewelry by Crumley, designed by Austinite-turned-New Yorker Brian Crumley. Crumley pieces are favored by stylists for both national and international photo shoots and runway shows. Guests can chat up Brian from noon to 6 p.m. and sip Crumley Cosmos—a raspberry champagne cocktail—while grooving to some......

Saturday and Sunday, October 6th and 7th Hey you, big-spender: If you missed FactoryPeople's last pop-up store, take a look-sy at the rockin' jewelry by Austinite Brian Crumley (now based in New York). The Crumley trunk show is from noon to 6 p.m. Guests can chat up Brian and sip Crumley Cosmos—a raspberry champagne cocktail—while browsing through sample on the new fall lines. Enter to win Crumley's handsome Banquet Amulet, a large hand blown glass......

Tribeza's Fashion Show was the ultimate mixer, attracting well over 300 people last Friday night at the Blanton Museum. During the hour leading up to the show, crafty DIY designers chatted up boutique owners and journalists in the VIP section, while impossibly slim women, wearing everything from vintage hats to shorts and sandals, sipped cocktails under the museum terrace. We arrived early to sample complimentary hors d'oeurves of the raw-fish variety, prepared by Truluck's, Starlite,......

Two-time Austin Chronicle Best of Austin tattooist (and really badass chick) Karen Slafter is now pumping ink at Resurrection Tattoo on South Lamar at Oltorf. She's got a bigger, private room now with more space to work her painful magic, and the guys and gals at Resurrection make sure the place is uber-clean and always friendly. Long-time Karen customers and tattoo n00bs alike should check her out at the new location. Karen works Mon-Fri 12pm......

Moxie and the Compound wants to wet your fashion whistle with its own Project Runway-inspired competition. Both Marques Harper and Stephen Moser mentioned they're judging the event. But who do you think promoted it better? Remember Factory People, the hip store on South Congress that closed this summer? Of course you do! They're still around, promoting parties and selling their shamelessly cool clothing online. But if you want to see Factory People's latest looks......

After a long, hot summer, it’s time to check out Austin’s new fall fashions and get in the mood for shopping. Tribeza’s Fourth Annual Style Week is right around the corner—Wednesday through Sunday, to be exact—and there are plenty of fun events open to the public. Style Week is kicking off with a happy hour at By George’s South Congress location, where you can nibble on goodies from Cissi’s Market and peruse the flirty fashions.......

In April we captured hot local looks for spring, asking local boutique owners to create outfits based on their new stock for the season. We had so much fun doing it that we asked other store owners to come up with cool ensembles for fall. This time we cast our net a little farther by choosing four old and new boutiques in different regions of Austin: By George on North Lamar, Solid Gold off......

North Austin peeps don't have to go south of Riverside Drive—or even 45th Street—to get their hair cut at Birds Barbershop. A second location recently opened at 6800 Burnet Road. The new store adheres to co-founders' Michael Portman and Jayson Rapaport's "Walk In, Rock Out" philosophy that inspired the original South Lamar store, providing Lone Star beer and live music entertainment on top of $19 Shortcuts and $39 Ladybirds. Birds North has an outdoor......