BeaTea.K - pronounced B T K
Eclectic gift shop in State Street, next to Lupita’s Place Restaurant and two doors away from Stone Village Market, Fort Davis, TX
NB: Inbox me for a mailing/shipping address if required. No mail delivery at the premises!
I relocated permanently from South Africa to the USA in February 2009. After obtaining permanent residency in 2013, I started out selling my handmade crafts and art online through Etsy. When the opportunity presented itself to rent a store in Fort Davis in 2016, I jumped at the chance.... and I’ve never looked back.
I love meeting and being around people. And... I love creating art and crafts, dreaming up weird and wonderful crazy handmade creations. Having the store makes it all come together. The store allows me the opportunity to craft and make things and sell them, while at the same time providing me the opportunity to meet so many interesting, fascinating and inspiring people every day. BeaTea.K is my happy place, my daily recharge, my source of energy and light. I am living the dream! I love what I do and I do what I love.....
BeaTea.K offers my own (sometimes beyond crazy...) creations, handmade creations of wonderful friends from across the United States (all of whom I have had the privilege to meet through my store) as well as family in South Africa and Australia. It also offers a variety of certified Fair Trade handmade goods from across the world and goods made in the USA. The store offers an eclectic mix of gifts, clothes, fine art, jewelry, edibles, soap, incense, walking sticks, pottery, blankets, brooms, baskets, kitchen ware, custom Fort Davis t-shirts and car stickers, rugs, chimes, regular and vintage fabric from various African countries, the odd antique piece from time to time, up-cycled, altered and repurposed art, pillows.... everything you can think of and a little more!
The two philosophies that guide my store: (1) I refuse to offer any items in the store that I am not prepared to buy for myself. This ensures that I am always passionate and excited about every piece in the store. I take joy in being around so many beautiful things on a daily basis and I believe visitors to my store enjoy that too. All items are carefully selected to contribute to the eclectic and vibrant vibe the store offers. (2) Meeting and getting to know a little about someone that enters BeaTea.K, is more important than making an actual sale. I find it incredibly humbling, inspirational and enriching to bond for a moment with complete strangers and get the privilege to sometimes hear life stories, share deep thoughts and feelings or get to see pictures of the art some people create. I have forged many meaningful friendships through the store.
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time” - Thomas Merton