Business
BY AMANDA CUTSHALL
Blue Genie Art Bazaar began in 2000 and featured about 15 artisans o ering handmade artworks and gifts.
COURTESY BLUE GENIE ART BAZAAR
From left: Chris Coakley, Rory Skagen, Kevin Collins and Dana Younger founded Blue Genie Art Bazaar.
COURTESY BLUE GENIE ART BAZAAR
Blue Genie Art Bazaar continues holiday tradition
original artworks and handmade gifts. Younger said they kept their word, formatting Blue Genie in a way that does not require artists to attend booths. How it’s going The bazaar, which is free to attend, will open for the holiday season Nov. 18-Dec. 24 each day for in-person shopping. Online shopping, introduced during the pandemic, is also available. Addi- tionally, the bazaar will open in the spring for its annual May Market, which runs on the weekends. “We started this business for fun,” Younger said. “The bazaar gives Austinites a chance to proudly share a small slice of our culture with their friends and loved ones.”
What started as a holiday pop-up project in 2000 has grown to become a tradition thanks to the opening of Blue Genie Art Bazaar by co-founders and friends Dana Younger, Kevin Collins, Chris Coakley and Rory Skagen. How it started Younger said the idea came to the group in 1999. “[Collins] and I had a business in South Austin called Black Mountain Art,” Younger said. “We made plaster gargoyles and sold them at outdoor festivals. We became exhausted with sitting at fairs and swore if we ever put on a show of our own, we would not have artists sitting in booths.” A year later, the group introduced their rst bazaar, which featured about 15 artisans o ering
The event o ers in person and online shopping.
COURTESY ANNIE WINSETT
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6100 Airport Blvd., Ste. C, Austin www.bluegenieartbazaar.com
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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