Off the Wall

Off The Wall is a nifty little antique/​thrift shop with an assortment of just about everything. They have jewelry, clothing, glassware, toys, vintage cameras, and even furniture. Wasn’t really interested in buying anything that was there, but the staff was friendly enough. Not really as much of a tourist destination as Uncommon Objects is, but worth stopping by just to see what else they’ve got.

Beautiful assortment of smaller vintage furnishings and décor mixed in with an extensive selection of vintage mens Hawaiian and Western shirts and much more. Prices are fair and the owners are so nice. I try to stop in whenever I’m browsing South Congress.

Good stuff here at reasonable prices. It’s not as offbeat as some other places on Congress St., but it’s certainly no generic boring vintage store. I found an incredible paint-​by-​numbers Last Supper painting that’s amazing.
I would certainly make the trek back to this store.

Between this place and Uncommon Objects, we spent hours combing through these treasures and ended up buying ourselves and our friends and family some pretty great gifts. The employees were really helpful and friendly, going above and beyond to make sure our purchases were packed well so nothing could get damaged. Found a great vase, a soup crock, some old license plates and other fun knick knacks we brought home with us to Jersey.

Kid friendly and some super cool stuff. Especially with cameras and media equipment. Staff is always the best here. Vinyl is very very over prices.

We stopped in here while shopping on SOCO during our last trip to Austin. We were in search of certain items — me a top for my birthday party and things to make jewelry out of and him — some pants. Though he didn’t find his pants here the guy was nice enough to tell us some places to try. I did find that awesome top I was hoping for and I saw some cool necklaces that inspired me to buy and make my own deer antler necklaces. They also had a great mid century chair I wanted, but too bad — our car was packed full of camping gear — so we had no room. Maybe it will still be there next trip! I really liked this place.

This store has a good selection of cool, vintage items.
Update: I appreciate the owner reaching out to me and addressing the issue I raised. I have adjusted my rating based this.

Still one of my favorite shops in the city. I’ve found some terrific things there at good prices, including a fantastic mid-​century desk lamp. The owners are very friendly so it’s always pleasant to wander in and see what’s new.

These people are so nice. They have low prices and stayed open late to help me. I had been looking all over town for a typewriter and they had a good selection, and even one I wanted.
Thank you for being in Austin. I will be back.

My friend just took me around today to check out the various shops on this street while I’m visiting from Portland. I’m so used to being not treated like an evil criminal freak for having purple hair and facial piercings because of where I’m from that I tend to forget that looking at people like myself like they just crawled out of a sewer is normal behaviour in most other places, including, apparently, an «arty» shopping street in a self-​proclaimed «weird» town like Austin. I was minding my own business, looking at interesting knickknacks, but a woman who worked there (possibly an owner?) — whom I fortunately mostly tuned out myself — was staring at me with SUCH intense ferocity while following me around the store that my friend, becoming very disturbed and uncomfortable, pretty much literally dragged me out of there. There were a bunch of things there I was thinking about buying, too, but instead a bit of a pall was cast over my whole afternoon. Next time someone back home says something about «oh, I hear Austin is just like Portland!», I’ll be sure to mention this place. I see it as doing everyone involved a favour, as that woman might well explode if she had to deal with any more strange-​looking out-​of-​towners who like to spend lots of money on tchotchkes, after all.

cool stuff, quite simply… unique items, collectables, nicely displayed.

I bought the neatest white leather suitcases here!
Off the Wall is a really cool little store. Most of the store is a carefully curated selection of vintage items ranging from rings to cameras to furniture. While I wouldn’t call the store a bargain, everything is very reasonable and the owners are super helpful.
The store can be a bit of a treasure hunt which is half the fun. While looking for a suitcase to keep art supplies in I opened a box and found an old musical instrument of some kind.
If you’re in the neighborhood, I’d highly recomend a visit to Off the Wall while you wander down South Congress.

The owners are very nice, but compared to the other antique/​thrift/​junk stores on SoCo, this was my least favorite. Still worth a walk-​through, but I wouldn’t expect much.

Go on a treasure hunt. You will have good luck at Off the Wall. The owners are the nicest people!

One of the smaller antique shops on the strip but overall a nice place to pop in to. Check it out if you get a moment, there is something for everyone here!

One of the highlights of our usual jaunts down South Congress is to not go to Home Slice. nothing that hyped up needs my business to begin with. anyway. we do however hit up several of the curio shops, bars, always Vespaio and Antique shops. Definitely our favorite Antique shop is Off the Wall. We simply adore the owners.
A little back story to this review is that I first met Ellen & Gail when they owned Off the Wall on Barton Springs Road. some 30 yrs ago. I was a UT Student and a photojournalism major looking for a project for an assignment. Gail and Ellen had a wondrous shop front across from the Palmer Auditorium with a huge barn in the back. After I did the assignment, I became friends with Ellen & Gail and enjoyed rummaging around the barn in the back on occasion. During this time, they actually did huge custom wood pieces for wall hangings and they also seemed to be pickers, with lot’s of very curious and old odd pieces. It was a very eclectic collection. As all things Austin, eventually the City took over the property and they were forced to leave. I still kept in touch with them annually when I would see them at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar and I would pick up a little gifties for family or friends.
Time passed and I lost touch with both of them. A few years back, during our Guero’s, Vespaio run… we walked by their store front. I was so pleasantly surprised and we marched right in. I was so happy to see them again and even more thrilled to see their shop. It was full of a wide variety of different items. Everything from clothes, signs, cameras, furniture… wait a minute, CAMERA’S… ironic. Full circle again for me. Deja Vu all over again. This is how our relationship started. From meeting them originally from a photography project for college to now buying camera’s from them every time we go in. I have bought 5 so far for my collection as well as many other items. Including a Dolph Briscoe lunch box. I crap you negative, it sits proudly next to my Unilocal lunch box on top of the fridge.
They are always so friendly and happy to see us as we are happy to see them. They seem to be having a great time in their element and it shows with a great whimsical selection. We seem to pick up something every time we are in. They have a full range of prices, so you could drop a bundle or just a couple of bucks on some Beatle Badges like we did last time. Great time in SOCO…

I came to the vintage shops hoping to find something great for my craft fair booth display. And I was absolutely amazed to find it. I have seriously been looking for the best dish/​item to put my business card on. Then I stumbled upon a vintage barbie suitcase. Perfect size and everything I was absolutely elated! There was no price tag, so I brought the item to the register and asked how much it cost. The lady said that the man that does the pricing went out for a few minutes and that he should be back in 10 minutes. so I went wandering around and came back for the suitcase.
When I checked in with the lady running the shop, she then told me that the guy is out at lunch. I wasn’t sure what to do. I was only in town for the weekend and had a tight schedule as it was, but I really wanted that suitcase. I asked the lady if I could leave her with my information, so that the man can give me a price. I never heard back from them.

I stumbled in here out of curoiusity. Cute antique store filled with retro stuff from the 50, 60, 70s. The customer service was super friendly and made me feel welcomed. Good prices.

As I’ve gotten more and more busy, this store has slowly become THE store I stop in on in S. Congress when I went a little break. It used to be Uncommon Objects but I don’t have the time to absorb all their booths right now! :)
They have lots of different stuff to look at and the owners are friendly. I like supporting them!
Check it out and enjoy!

Maybe it was the cheerful owners, maybe it was the sunny day, or maybe it was the sheer randomness of the product and décor, but I was quickly and happily seduced by Off the Wall.
Fitting in perfectly with the vintage/​antique/​thrift vibe of the South Congress Ave. shopping district, this medium-​sized shop in the 1700 block is quite fun and surprisingly cheap. It doesn’t quite qualify as wholly antique, but it’s not quite vintage, either. It’s random. To give you an example, there are Ty beanie babies circa 2000 sitting next to a Kodak Pony camera circa 1950. There are matchbox cars from the 1980s sitting in a cheap ceramic bowl that could have been in your grandmother’s kitchen. There are local artist prints. There are ziploc bags full of Monopoly game pieces. There are old UT shot glasses. There is estate jewelry.
Despite the miscellaneous-​ness of it all, there’s a method to the madness. Treasure hunters Gail and Ellen Armstrong opened the shop 15 years ago. From what I could see, they run a tidy and organized operation with the primary goal of helping people find pearls in their piles of product. In Off the Wall, I found retired beanie babies for my little sis, matchbox planes for my graduating-​from-​aviation-​school brother, and the desire to go back again and again.
Off the Wall is obligatory.