2012 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

STORY BY RACHEL STONE & KERI MITCHELL | PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO & CAN TÜRKYILMAZ

THE HOLIDAYS ARE A TIME of mass-manufactured items and stores galore. In East Dallas, we have more than enough places to shop, but is it worth the traffic and trudging through checkout lines at the mall? Gifts for friends and loved ones might be even closer — and better yet, made locally. We found a few crafty neighbors who are hard at work this holiday season.

Dylan and Pamela Dowdy, Dowdy Studio

Gift idea: whimsical T-shirts and prints Price range: $16-$41 Where to find it: dowdystudio.com, the Dowdy Studio wagon

Dowdy Studiostarted Out

in 2007, but the husband-and-wife designers just moved their business to our neighborhood a year ago. Dylan and Pamela Dowdy rented a small warehouse behind Goodfriend and Good-2-Go Tacos/Cultivar Coffee, where they often park the Dowdy Studio “wagon,” the trailer where they sell their goods.

Oh, and about those goods. The Dowdys are artists who print their designs on T-shirts, hoodies, messenger bags, pillows and coasters. Dylan is a self-taught artist whose designs are whimsical and often have nautical touches, such as the whale with piano keys for teeth or the merman who is a lumberjack.

New this season is a pirate with a ship for a hat, waves for hair and whales for a mustache. Dylan also is the screen printer, and as a former set designer, he has a knack for building things. He outfitted the wagon with its displays, and he jigsaws his and Pamela’s designs into clock faces.

Pamela’s designs are whimsical in the same way as Dylan’s, but her style is differ- ent. Plus, she leans toward cats. New for this season is the pirate kitty with a peg leg and eye patch.

The couple started Dowdy Studio as a side business while they were dating. Now Dylan runs the business full-time, and Pamela is a designer for Fossil. They were married two years ago.

Since winters are so mild in Dallas, Dowdy Studio rarely prints on heavyweight hoodies. Instead, they have lightweight cowl-neck sweatshirts for ladies this season as well as a lightweight unisex pullover hoodie. Their pillows make good gifts for anyone, Dylan says.

“The manlier the design, the girlier the back will be,” he says.

The couple designed the interior of their little warehouse space to look like a boutique, and they sometimes throw parties there.

Find Dylan and Pamela’s wagon outside Good-2-Go Tacos and Cultivar Coffee most weekends or at dowdystudio.com, and catch them wearing their “Drink Local” T-shirt at Goodfriend.

2012 Holiday Gift Guide