Texas, one city in.
Twelve shops so far, all of them in Austin — home goods on East 11th, clay on Burnet Road and South Congress, two nurseries, and a market on both days of the weekend.
A big state, and we have exactly one city of it written down. Better one city honestly than five from a screen.
Texas is the size of an argument, and we are one city into it. Everything on this page is Austin — twelve shops, researched from public sources, none of them visited yet. We would rather say that plainly than pad the map with towns we have never stood in.
The Austin list sorts into four categories. Home, vintage and furniture is the biggest: Take Heart and Apartment F facing each other across East 11th Street, Uncommon Objects out on Fortview Road in South Austin, and Austin Joinery building furniture up in Pflugerville. Clay gets two — Austin Pottery on Burnet Road in Allandale, Ceramigos down south. Gardens get two more, Barton Springs Nursery and Shoal Creek Nursery. The rest is provisions and markets: Antonelli's Cheese Shop in Hyde Park, Parker + Scott in Crestview, and the two farmers markets, Mueller and Downtown.
Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, the Hill Country towns — they come when we have something real to say about them. Until then, this page stays honest about its size.
Three to open with
Take Heart
A home goods shop on East 11th Street in East Austin — and Apartment F is directly across the road.
Uncommon Objects
A one-of-a-kind emporium of transcendent junk, on Fortview Road in South Austin.
Austin Pottery
A pottery studio and gallery on Burnet Road in Allandale.
By city
Austin
More cities
The slow route: Austin, east to south
Built from the twelve listings on this page — one market morning, one block that does double duty, then north and south for the rest.
Start at a market
Both are on the list: the Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller, which runs year round, or the SFC Farmers' Market Downtown. Eat there, then shop.
East 11th Street, both sides
Take Heart at 1211 and Apartment F at 1200 face each other across the road — home goods on one side, hand-knotted rugs and pillows on the other. One errand, not two.
North for clay, cheese and the general store
Burnet Road carries Austin Pottery in Allandale and Shoal Creek Nursery; Antonelli's Cheese Shop is in Hyde Park and Parker + Scott in Crestview. A tight north-side run.
South Austin to finish
Uncommon Objects on Fortview Road for the vintage, Ceramigos down South Congress for the clay, Barton Springs Nursery for the plants. Austin Joinery is the outlier — furniture, out in Pflugerville, worth its own trip.
Texas, in short
The short answers
Where are the best independent home shops in Texas?
Austin is the only city we have listed so far — 12 shops, including Take Heart and Apartment F facing each other on East 11th Street, Uncommon Objects in South Austin, and Austin Joinery out in Pflugerville.
How many shops are listed in Texas?
Twelve, across one city — four home, vintage and furniture shops, two ceramics studios, two garden shops, and four provisions, general store and market listings.
Are there farmers markets on the list?
Two, both in Austin — the Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller, which runs year round, and the SFC Farmers' Market Downtown.
How does a shop get listed here?
Listings are free and researched from public sources. Shopkeepers can claim theirs to fix it or write it themselves; in exchange we ask for a link back or a small affiliate.