Blue Genie Art Bazaar

This place is my favorite to go to for holiday gifts. Which is great. I have been the past few years and always found gifts for everyone that I needed too. The great part it is all local artist.
It great when I can find amazing gifts. When it comes to holiday shopping this is the place I go to. Just amazed with all of the great gifts and items that are being sold here. Just amazing.

After being thoroughly disappointed by Armadillo and other holiday markets in Austin, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I will be back every year. I wish I would have checked it out sooner.
I bought a really awesome cuff. I can’t speak for all of the vendors, but for most of the things that I saw that were 100% handmade and one of a kind, the prices were surprisingly very LOW and I felt a little guilty paying what I did for my amazing cuff I found. The prices are low for the quality and uniqueness that you can’t find anywhere else. This market is the best handmade one that I have ever been to besides Renegade Holiday Bazaar in San Francisco. I was really impressed by the level of quality and was pleased to see that the organizers really took curating this holiday show seriously to create a really special experience. Bravo!

Blue Genie Art Bazaar is my favorite place to shop during the holidays. This art bazaar showcases amazing goods from local artists. There is surely something for everyone on your shopping list. You can find some really unique Austin-​y gifts here and I always find something for those hard to shop folks on my Christmas list. They have jewelry, teas, leather goods, doggie collars, cool t-​shirts, woodwork and more all under one roof.
They have a full bar with some local brews like Austin Beerworks so you can sip while you stroll through the bazaar.

First time visiting this awesome bazaar and it quickly became my favorite of all the holiday craft fairs. I love all the local goodies displayed so well around the event space. Need well made local holiday gifts for your friends and family — this place is your spot!
You could also make a holiday event out of it one night — this year they streamed Elf in the large movie cinema. Grab a cocktail (full bar) or hot chocolate, do a little shopping and end the night watching a favorite holiday flick!
Want to set up a HH & tour next year for your co-​workers or friends? Ask to speak with Dana — he is so fun and easy to work with — he’s sure to make the night a blast for your group!

I love visiting the Blue Genie at Christmastime when I come to Austin for the holidays. The creativity and quality of the items available is 2^nd to none. The prices are pretty good too, for one-​of-​a-​kind hand-​crafted gems you won’t find anywhere else (except for the artists’ stores on Etsy).

Dear many friends and family,
Don’t read this review. There’s nothing to see here.
To the rest of you,
Go to BGAB to buy all your friends and family the gifts they so richly deserve. Walk in with your reusable bag, buy a glass of wine, and shop to your heart’s content. Here’s the awesome part – besides drinking and shopping, which is like a double-​edged sword in its own right – you walk around, collecting all this fun stuff and you pay for it all at the same place, at the same time. You don’t have to pull out money and pay this vendor, then pay this one. Honestly, it makes it much easier to buy a lot more stuff.
Like what kind of stuff? Anything. I mean, anything! Like tea towels, jewelries of ALL beautiful kinds, pottery, shirts, funny shirts, posters, mugs, dolls, children’s clothing, ALL. Sorts. Of. Stuff. And good quality stuff, too, most of which is reasonably priced.
Love it. Love it all the years I’ve been. Yes, you will probably be getting your Christmas gifts from there. Again.

I tried to shelf my Holiday Grinch long enough to salvage my day so I headed over to Blue Genie to get my art «fix». Good call.
This year it expanded into the other room. Lots and lots of dazzling talent up in here! I was very impressed with the clever ways the vendors displayed their wares. It hard to have «Wow» factor with such small spaces, but they nailed it.
Last year I was lucky enough to chat with many of the artists, but went late so I must have missed ‘em. Many various mediums of art are represented here. My personal fave was the assemblage art of John Self. Prices are not as steep as at the Armadillo, so you’re likely to find a good gift for your artsy friends.
The best part of this show is it’s absolutely FREE to get in!

This really is the best place to find Christmas presents.
If you have relatives who aren’t happy with a gift that isn’t OBVIOUSLY expensive, this isn’t the place for you to shop.
This is a place for you to find gifts for friends you care about, friends who will care about the thought you put into selecting exactly what reminded you of them.
Even if you buy nothing, it’s a great place to browse and see what Austin’s craftiest crafters have to offer. We found some great stuff. You might, too.

I love Blue Genie. When my friend introduced me to Blue Genie two years ago, I was thrilled that something so cool existed. Guess where I do all of my Christmas shopping now?
There are several reasons why I love BG. I love shoping locally and I love supporting local artists. I love getting people unique gifts that they can’t just find at Target or some other big box store. I can find something to match any and every taste here — know someone for which it seems almost impossible to shop? Browse all the vendors at BG and you are sure to find something. It’d be practically impossible not to find something.
Whether the gift is practical or whimsical, I’ve found (and bought) it all. I’ve discovered several local artists that I love and I look forward to seeing their new stuff each year. (And I can keep up with them locally and online, so I don’t have to wait until Christmas!) I know that I can find old favorites and BG also brings in new vendors each year. This year, there is this AMAZING vendor, Pink Samurai, that makes the CUTEST cat stuff. I wanted to buy everything. I might have bought several things. (Okay, I totally did buy several things for all the wonderful cat people in my life. It was necessary.)
Although I’ve never bought any, they do serve drinks and snacks, which I think is really cute. They’ve also had movies playing in the theater this year — I don’t remember if they did that in past years. I’m pretty sure they added another whole room, too — I don’t remember there being another large showroom in past years. I could be mistaken, but I was excited at the prospect of even more vendors. That is never a bad thing.
Blue Genie is seriously my one-​stop shop for all my Christmas present needs for all the special people in my life. I am so, so glad that something like this exists in Austin, although I really wouldn’t expect anything less.
Stay awesome, my friend!

Oh, B-​Genie, how you have grown! Like glowing lava, glitterdinosaurssoapbuttonsdanglingbugwingswoodpur­ses slowly expanding over the years. First you spilled from a warehouse into a nice, big room. Then you spilled out of that big room into its hallway, then the entry way, and now an additional room!
So much to take in. It took two visits to browse every section. Part art gallery, part quirky crafts, and lots of great gifts. I shop here every year for Christmas gifts and just love discovering something new each time.
All I want for Christmas this year is the hand-​spun felt fox with the glowing yellow/​orange eyes and the kitten nap kit and the woodland bear with a tiny fish dangling from his knapsack. Why? Err… they are art to display in my home. Not to… um…pretend they all live in an enchanted forest together.

So here’s what sets this apart from other holiday bazaars — there are multiple vendors, but while their goods are there, for the most part they aren’t, meaning you can browse local, handmade goods without the pressure of the artist watching your reaction to their crafts. In addition, this means you can pay for everything from multiple vendors in one transaction at various cashier stations. Ther is a bar with great kir Royale and other drinks as well as snacks. Local musicians were playing to give it a true Austin vibe. Dana toured us through and he pointed out some humor and other unique items of interest. Bonus, admission is free, as is parking.

I’m a big fan of places like this. Hand made goods, heavy sprinkling of pop culture, art, jewelry all in one place? If you’re looking for a unique or near-​one-​of-​a-​kind gift, this is your place.
Parking was pretty terrible. The lot itself was pretty packed, spaces were kind of small, and we saw more than one person just give up and park across two spaces. (Jerks.)
I was a little surprised at how many artists/​vendors had a space here. You could spend hours just perusing all the wares and taking in everything that’s there.
When you first walk in there’s a bar, so not only can you enjoy the fine art, you can enjoy a fine beverage while you do it.
There’s soap, crocheted (?) taxidermy, one of a kind art, robot sculptures made from trash, laser cut ornaments, night lights, glass ware, more clothing, toys, beautiful jewelry.
All of it was awesome, and I left disappointed that I couldn’t just buy it all.

The Blue Genie Art Bazaar is an amazing to place to find unique gifts for yourself and others. While we had good intentions for buying Christmas presents for family we ended up buying 3 peices to put up in our new home. So… I guess that means we have to go back. No worries, it’s so much fun to grab a drink and wander around. If you haven’t been go now and visit this Austin holiday staple, they will be open until Christmas Eve.

After going to another seriously lackluster art/​holiday market in town, this one seemed like a fine oasis. It’s a bit like Etsy in person. Unmanned displays with cash registers and business cards with artist/​vendor websites.
There’s a really great candy/​alcohol/​snack bar when you come in and large bathrooms. The venue itself is a wee bit small but every inch is packed with goodies. I didn’t intend on buying anything but I ended up picking up a stocking stuffer for my husband and a gift for a friend… Just too much cool stuff.
Seriously a fun thing to just peruse, or spend gift money on if you’re so inclined. Had it not been like 11am I would’ve also went for one of the enticing dessert cocktails, too.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, not only at a Unilocal Elite Event (as I hadn’t ever been able to attend before), but at a local arts and crafts bazaar I had not been to as well.
Blue Genie Art Bazaar far exceeded my expectations and the group of Unilocalers was a great group to hang with. It was a great way to «chillax»! The event coordinators did a nice job of making everyone feel welcome.
I enjoyed this venue every bit as much as Armadillo Bazaar and more than «a Chritmas Affair» (a Junior League event). Not anything wrong with either of those but this just felt more relaxed, less chaotic atmosphere which is a personal preference for me.
There are 200 vendors at this venue, this year. Display areas felt adequate and items were nicely organized. Many of the items have discounts if you purchase multiples of some items especially amongst the fragrance, soaps, skin care and candles products. It’s true the items are not «dollar store prices» but when you study them, look at the ingredients, think about the time involved, the packaging and knowing you are contributing to a local persons financial well being, I feel it’s more than worth the asking price.
There were several areas designated for check out when one is ready and everything handled and wrapped with care. Very efficient and all purchases arrived at home intact.
There is also a nice bar, sodas, beer, coffee and numerous versions of hot chocolate –cookies, candy and popcorn available for purchase at very reasonable prices. Look up and around you when enjoying your beverage to discover the cool posters/​billboards annually from the events humble beginnings thru this year. The 1^st poster advertised the three day event which now has evolved into the current 28 day event!
Don’t miss this opportunity!!! There literally is something for everyoneThank you Blue Genie for hosting us!

I love being in a space full of vibrancy and creativity. I spend a decent amount of time at the Marchesa for AFS screenings, but it has a completely different mood when it’s full of items that people obviously poured their heart and soul into. Highlights from this year (for me) are the knitted taxidermy, the robots and rowboats, and the garage sale sculptures. If I had all the money in the world and didn’t have to spend it on fixing my plumbing, I would’ve bought at least two of each.
I haven’t been to Blue Genie in a few years and I recognized some of the same vendors as a few years back, so I get why people think they need to change it up but I think they accomplished that this year. Yeah, there are like two dozen soap makers and another two dozen people making jewelry and coasters from reclaimed materials, but there’s a whole new room full of new artisans ready for you to buy their wares.

Was a bit skeptical at first, but this place didn’t let me down. I had fun, didn’t buy a whole lot, but took a few business cards and what not. Atmosphere was cool, by the time I was leaving around 1 it was getting pretty dang busy. So go in the morning if you can. Some stuff I would have bought, but I felt it was priced around 25% too much.

I don’t miss this little gem every year. There is quite an array of Austin craftsmen wares for sale and those unique little gift items for the hardest of relatives to shop for. They were even playing The Nightmare Before Christmas in the small movie theater at this venue to top it off. Normally I buy a few things and am glad to live in a city that supports local art.

Interesting venue! Hippies, art and crafts enthusiasts will love this place. Tons of unique items to purchase and look at.
The place has a bar to buy alcoholic drinks and snacks. They have 3 areas filled with all sorts of random stuff. The venue even has a movie theater where you can chill and watch random holiday movies for free.

Blue Genie sells the best… and priciest… of what the Austin artisan scene has to offer.
Everything is very current or even cutting-​edge in its styling. Expect things like original hipsterish screen printed shirts, organic soaps and body goods packaged in an artsy way, balsa-​wood mobiles of narwhales, and pieces of art that may not be like anything you’ve seen before. If you want something original for that person who has a bit of a quirky taste, or you just have money to spend, Blue Genie will oblige.
The sellers here match Renegade Craft Fair and Armadillo Bazaar in quality, in my opinion. The venue is not large, but it is so packed with interesting odds and ends for sale that if you are someone who loves the details (like me) you could be there for hours. I personally had a hard time Christmas shopping there because the prices were high and the items were a bit too quirky for my giftees. Actually I’d rather go with $ 50 in my hand and buy something for myself. Maybe you are the same.
When we went, the entire venue was eerily quiet. I found this strange because I know that Blue Genie is a popular place to shop. I think we just caught it at a down time. Blue Genie is more of a ‘store’ than a fair. The artists are not present to sell to you. Instead, there is a cashier staffing the place, and that is about it. It felt a little cold.
Blue Genie opens November 24 (2014), which I find a bit late. I prefer to have shopping done by then, so I buy for that hard-​to-​buy-​for person. Admission is free. The venue, the Marchesa Hall and Theatre, I personally find very difficult to get to, every time. The roads are convoluted in this area. Just look for the huge painted arch outside the building.