Coterie Market Delivers the Best of Austin

You know when you hear of something so cool, you want to kick yourself for not thinking of it?  That’s how I felt when I heard the first whisperings about Coterie Market months ago.  Shortly thereafter, I saw a picture of their first major order of local artisan gift baskets ordered by a local hotel as a perk for their guests on a special weekend.  The feeling then turned to pride in Austin and the local artisans we are so fortunate to have here, and joy that Chelsea Staires had the idea for this business that delivered the best of Austin, all together in one basket.

Coterie Market has officially launched, and the list of artisans is long, and diverse and most certainly, all local and handmade.  The categories available range from pantry items, such as Confituras‘ preserves and Citrus Salts, Dai Due pickles and mustards, Austin Honey Company, Bootleg Coffee, Sip Drinking Chocolate, to local cheeses and dairy from Dos Lunas Cheese and Mill-King Creamery, to Bola Frozen Pizza.  Baked to order items are available from Amity Bakery, and the gluten-free are not forgotten with a range of baking mixes from Bona Dea.  She also carries the most fabulous chocolate bars from The Chocolate Makers Studio as well as Cocoa Puro Kakawa Chocolate Covered Cocoa Beans.    The list of food items available is long, and gets updated regularly.

In addition to food and beverage items, there are several handmade jewelry makers, handmade clothing items, such as Criquet Shirts and Leah Duncan  Scarves.  There are totes, handbags and wallets, from Noah Marion and Canoe.  For the kitchen she offers the line of Fisk and Fern tea towels and aprons.  There are baby clothes, kids clothes and gifts for the new mom.  For the wannabe better homemaker you can order The Hip Girls Guide to Homemaking, by local author Kate Payne.

It would take forever to list all the items available on Coterie’s website, so I’ll just tell you what I ordered.  I have a slight addiction to cleaning products, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, to be exact, because I like the way they smell.  I vowed to try to make my own this year, or try to find local, all natural products.  Coterie offers cleaning products from The Purple Fig – All Natural Home Cleaning.  I ordered Eucalyptus and Lemon All Purpose Cleaner, Oregano and Lavender Counter Spray, Oregano and Mint Counter Spray, and they are all great.  Now I can continue my obsessive spritzing, keep my house clean and feel good about keeping those dollars in Austin.  And these products smell fresh rather than perfumy, because they are all natural.

I also ordered some Organic Goat Milk Soaps made by Old Factory Soap Company, for a gift.  They smell amazing and are gorgeous.

I ordered some Facial Toner and Face Scrub from The Good Hippie.  I have yet to try these, but am pleased to have a local and natural product to use.

Finally, I ordered some Mexican Wedding Cookies from Amity Baking, because I felt it was necessary for a more complete blog post.  Ha!  Don’t believe that.  Best cookies ever.

These are a bake to order item.  I placed my order online Sunday night, and as stated on the website, my order was delivered to my front porch on Tuesday, packaged neatly in a box, as promised.

After 3 years of honing my “eat locally” lifestyle, Coterie Market pushes that to the next level.  It feels good to be able to support local Austin artisans and to keep my money here.   It is also very cool to have a place to shop online, where any combination of items can be assembled into one box, and delivered to the gift recipient, for no extra charge.  You can choose from gift assortments that are already assembled as gifts, or mix and match and create your own.  It’s genius, and I wish I would have thought of it.  But, I didn’t and I’m happy that Chelsea did.