2021 East Austin Cutie-o Tour Recap

The 2021 East Austin Cutie-o Tour at Dear Diary Coffeehouse was a great success. Considering it was my first time running a show, I was so happy to get so much positive feedback from participants and attendees alike! I am so grateful for everyone, who showed up to be a part of this experience.

When I set a goal this year to start a creative community with monthly meet-ups, I never envisioned what it’s become. Since launching Creative Cuties, it’s been one surprise after the next, consistently smashing my expectations along the way. I’ll write a post about all that soon. But I’m truly blessed to have this amazing community of creative weirdos from all walks of life bringing their kindness, knowledge, experience, and love together to support one another.

Let’s Recap the 2021 Cutie-o Tour

Special Thanks and Shout Outs

For starters, I need to shout out our event sponsors and organizers again one last time! Big, big, big thanks to Dear Diary Coffeehouse and their entire team for letting us use your space to host something “art awesome” for the 2021 Austin Studio Tour, as well as giving us full creative freedom to do whatever we could dream up. And for letting me borrow the van to get everything there.

Big thanks to Vandals Container for your sponsorship making sure our live painters had some free spay paints and caps to use (and, honestly, for everything y’all do to lift up the culture). Thank you so much to Caroline aka Rusty Paige, Kirsten Boyd of ATX Piano Parties, and Dave Yeats of Minneapolis Hotel for locking down the music line-up, because I did not have the bandwidth to handle that too. Shout out to Almost Real Things magazine and Team Snacks cycling for routing your tours through our stop.

Special thanks to CRY DYE for hustling to churn out Cutie-o Tour souvenir tie-dye shirts in time for the event. Seriously, I overnighted a big box of shirts to her two weeks before the event and she pulled it off. If you need to get your hands on one, we still have a few available, so click that link.

Cutie-o Tour By the Numbers

Throughout the tour’s four days, we hosted 45 individual local creatives: artists, artisans, muralists, musicians, singers, and a chef.

Over $5,400 worth of creative arts, crafts, and artisan goods were sold between our mini-market and live painters. (16 out of 25 participants responded) Each artist kept 100% of their earnings. Mini-market vendors paid a $35 booth fee for each day they participated. This budget went towards hardboards for the live painters, community sketch journal activity supplies, and event signage, prints, and photographers.

Additionally, emerging creatives made a combined total of $1,419 at our Creative Cuties community table. The idea around the community table was to allow artists with a limited selection of inventory or vending experience use my display set-up to see what it’s like working a market. They also kept 100% of their earnings. Participants paid with their time and energy spreading the word about Creative Cuties, collecting donations, and selling Cuties merchandise. They said it was super helpful and they’d feel more confident in applying for vendor opportunities in the future.

Lastly, we raised $554 in merch sales to support the Creative Cuties project, which will go towards funding future initiatives.

2021 East Austin Cutie-o Tour Photos

Many more thanks to our photographers: Leah Bury, Don Ray of Clout Productions, and Katelyn Marotzke!

Live Painters

Live Music

Pop-Up Mini-Market

Creative Cuties Community Table

Community Sketch Journals

Press

Here’s some of the press we got around the event.

Dear Diary Coffeehouse Blog — Austin Studio Tour Stop P31, Featuring “East Austin Cutie-o Tour”

Austin Chronicle — Visual Arts Event Listing

Do512 Family — Family Fun at the Austin Studio Tour

One of Us, One of Us

Interested in joining Creative Cuties? It’s open to everyone and you’re welcome to make as much or as little of a commitment as you want. Sign up on the Creative Cuties page to get on the list for meet-up invites, exclusive open calls, and more!