Craftex — Attraction in Houston

I went here today looking for decorations to get me in the holiday spirit. It's not a traditional store. The layout and setup really is geared towards businesses/retail buyers. That said, there are still plenty of nice things to be seen and had.

There are two buildings here. The one on the left (as of the time/season I'm writing this) was catered to Christmas and was stocked full of ornaments in varying styles, pre-decorated trees, garland, ribbons, outside decorations, indoor decore, you name it. The thing that caught my eye the most were these hanging lights like long strands of tensil. They seemed perfect for really making a space seem like there was magic in the air, and their usefulness went far beyond the winter season.

In the main building on the right, there were more general decorations, and one of the first things you see upon walking in is a fall/autumn/Thanksgiving display made with those hanging lights. It was beautiful and seriously make me question why we don't decorate more for the holidays. And I mean all holidays, not just Christmas. Anywho, browsing this side of the store, I was impressed with the staggering number of interesting things to look at. I love to cooking, and there were cook books galore, many that seemed unique. The Bacon Bible, for example. I spent most of my time here occupied with the candles. They were ROOT brand, and there were so many interesting scents (Scotch Pine, Tahitian Mai Tai, Orange Blossom, BlackBerry Mango, the list goes on). Not all of the scents fit my particular taste, but they were definitely some of the best/bold smelling candles I've encountered in a while. Can't wait to visit again and see what other treasures there...

Craftex - The Coolest Store in Houston Tucked onto a side street in Bellaire, just off of Bellaire Boulevard near Hillcroft, is the amazing Craftex. I discovered the place through my friend, Greg Buchold. I had been admiring a Mardi Gras mask and wreath that he had put on his door and he told me about the place. I went looking for Mardi Gras stuff but was blown away by the extensive collection of cookbooks and design books that they sell, all discounted from retail list prices. But there was much much more. Just when I think I've seen everything there is to see in Houston, something new pops up on my radar.

Lots of plastic and foam decor for Christmas that would be good for large scale installations or entryways. I found the prices pretty reasonable and lots of discounts by 12/10. The normal side was even cooler - lots of beautiful, new, relevant art and crafts books 20-30% off MSRP. Tons and tons of ribbon. Like a city block worth. Tons of tissue paper and packaging material. Tons of vase and candle selection. All in all, wonderful selection for party-related businesses. Like a less campy party city. Less of a relevant selection for a grandma in town looking for more knitting yarn.

Their customer service operations is on point. Around the holidays, this place is packed and they have so many employees to assist with parking (either in parking lot or along the streets), in the store to assist while shopping and plenty of folks at check out and to help wrap your goods to ensure no damage getting them home. Highly recommend, although don't want to scream this too loud at risk of everyone finding out...

We attempted to do a collaboration with them for our studio and to promote their design services. My only notification about delivery was done on the day of delivery. They showed up with only one tree when we had sent our goals and inspiration for the set.

After attempting to convey the problem, they stated that it wasn't approved. Which should've been discussed before showing up to our business in this unprofessional manner. I then instructed them that we did not want any designs not approved by our team as our set would be sold to our customers as a photo opportunity.

They were blatantly disrespectful and their videographer went on a power trip telling us that they will pack everything up and leave.

So, I told them to leave.

I highly recommend saving yourself the time and headache working with their...