Bijou Betties, which aptly interprets to “jeweled girls,” is a glittering jewel field in Southtown, the place you by no means know what you may discover. From an nearly $8,000 pre-1850s fruitwood French armoire to regionally made $2 calcite fear stones, there’s one thing for each style and price range on this world of timeless treasures curated by proprietor Kelly Welker.
Welker, who additionally works full-time because the proprietor of Renaissance Wealth Administration Group, has been enthusiastic about accumulating antiques since she and her husband have been college students on the College of Texas at Austin. “We used to go to property gross sales and Spherical Prime for enjoyable,” she says. “We began accumulating a lot stuff that we wanted a spot to place it.”
After a quick stint on the Vintage Mall on Blanco Street, Welker opened Bijou Betties in September 2020 on South Alamo Road. Impressed by Philadelphia’s South Road, the place distinctive vintage retailers are tucked in between bars and eating places and keep open till midnight, Welker needed to create one thing that blended into and enhanced the neighborhood that’s identified for its enjoyable and funky vibe. To Welker’s skilled eye, the Southtown spot was situated in what she calls an “vintage space with no vintage shops,” making it the best place to hold her shingle.
“I like this space for the historic worth of it,” she says, including that they’re now surrounded by eating places like Up Scale and Little Em’s Oyster Bar.
To inventory her house, Welker scours auctions worldwide, searching for furnishings, china, crystal, artwork, clothes, rugs and authenticated designer baggage. And whereas she could carry some classic finds, Welker rapidly factors out that she isn’t a “classic” or “thrift” store.
“The factor about antiques that fascinates me is how nicely made they’re,” Welker says. “Most antiques have been made by hand and constructed to face the take a look at of time. The newer stuff simply doesn’t final.”
