4 minute read
RANCHO DELUXE
PHOTO COURTESY RANCHO DELUXE.
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BY BONNIE EISSLER
Dean Miller, owner of one of the oldest shops in Wimberley, bought Rancho Deluxe in June 2012 after spending many years wholesaling Mexican art from the back of his pickup truck. Rancho Deluxe has an Old West south-of-the-border ambiance that makes it a wonderful shop to browse around in search of unusual gifts and decorative items for your home.
Dean grew up in Lufkin, a small town in the Piney Woods region of East Texas. There’s a pinata store in Lufkin, and you can find some pretty good tamales in one of the Mexican restaurants, but this isn’t an area with stores that sell art from Mexico and other exotic locales around the world.
Even in high school, Dean was fascinated with Mexican culture. He had Hispanic friends and once he was out of high school, he traveled to Laredo, boarded a bus and traveled further into Mexico, soaking up the culture and learning as much as he could. At that time, he wasn’t thinking so much about buying and selling, although he does recall buying ten switchblade knives for $10 and later selling them to friends back home for $5 each.
He traveled a lot in the early days. “I flew, drove, bicycled, walked, rode in the back of a chicken bus,” Dean says, remembering how he got around during those vagabond years.
As he traveled all around Mexico, he bought the items directly from the artisans who made them and sold them wholesale to shops in Texas, in towns like Fredericksburg, Boerne and Wimberley. He was especially attracted to Wimberley. One of the people he sold his merchandise to was Sally Curtis, who at the time owned Rancho Deluxe.
“She wanted to sell and I wanted to buy so we worked together that way for a while,” Dean says. Today, as the owner of the store, Dean says, “It was a risk to switch from selling stuff from the bed of my pickup to owning a high-end shop in a top tourist town, but I like this better. You can go home at night.”
Although the store’s original art and metal sculptures, lamps, rustic furniture and accessories come from many different artists and places, the common thread connecting much of the merchandise is that it’s handmade. Dean likes to know about the individual artists and be able to share their stories. Much of the art he offers comes from Mexico, but that’s not the only source. The shop showcases several area artists and merchants along with many items from countries around the world.
“I sell photographs by (Wimberley resident) Robert Anschutz and some of Alan Kimball’s books,” Dean says, “and BBQ
sauce from Wimberley’s own Creekside Cookers.” Robert Anschutz documents the beauty of the Texas Hill Country through his photography and is an exhibiting member of both the Wimberley Valley and New Braunfels Art Leagues. Other treasures crafted in Texas that are available at Rancho Deluxe are mesquite crosses from Bandera and exquisite Lazy Susans by Wimberley woodworker Tom Gordon.
Vintage style cowboy pictures and rodeo posters in barnwood frames are customer favorites, as are the “architectural pieces” that resemble old gothic church windows. Collectors might seek out the alebrijes, the brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures or Gerardo Trejo’s Amate bark paper wall art with Otomi designs. The Otomi are indigeneous people of the central Mexican Plateau and the bark is from fig and mulberry trees.
You’re sure to find a special out-of-the-ordinary touch for your own home at Rancho Deluxe!
Photos by Julie Harrington.
Rancho Deluxe is located at 14010 Ranch Road 12 on the Wimberley Square. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm every day. For more information, call 512- 847-9570 or email ranchodeluxe3@yahoo.com.
“Best Vintage Find” Southern Accents • “Where to Buy” London Financial Times 2006 Wild West The O Store
“The Boot Whisperer” as seen on BBC World News July 2013
HUNDREDS OF VINTAGE COWBOY BOOTS Buy! Sell! Trade! Just off the Wimberley Square Olde Towne Plaza - 13709 RR 12
“Go for a consultation with the Boot Whisperer, who reads feet like a psychic reads palms.” Texas Monthly, August 2010
Open by appointment. Please call in advance 512-293-4890.
317 FM 2325 Wimberley, Texas 78676 Follow us on Facebook & Instagram @wimberley.marketplace www.wimberleymarketplace.com
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