Inside the Galleria, a lifelong dream comes true

The account plays out like a post-apocalyptic revelation: boarded-up storefronts, restaurant fires and owners vacating the properties make up the chaotic background surrounding Mary Ober's store. Meanwhile, Ober brainstorms how to keep her dream afloat.

Authenticity Gallery, an art shop that specializes in local art, opened on South Congress Avenue in 2006 during the City of Austin's effort to revitalize the downtown area. According to owner Mary Ober, the building's limestone walls, mezzanine level, proximity to the Capitol and tourist traffic were ideal for the parties and showcases necessary in the art world. But even with steady business, Ober's deteriorating neighborhood led her to move to the Hill Country Galleria last June.

"I'd look across the street, and that's what I would see, all this boarded-up stuff. As time went on, Little City, their building was bought, and they moved out," said Ober, who also remembers nearby restaurant Jezebel catching on fire. "My whole block just ended up looking bad. My lease was about to be up, revenues weren't what they needed to be, so I made the decision to just be done."

Moving to the Galleria was an easy choice for Ober, who lives in the area with her husband. After spending 25 years in the corporate world, which included a stint as vice president of human resources for Blockbuster, running a successful art gallery has been not just a dream, but the dream for Ober. Ober recalled the "bad corporate days" at her former job where she and co-workers would sit around talking about what they would do for a living if they could pick anything.

"I had given it no thought whatsoever, but I said, 'I'd like to own a Poppy,'" Ober said, referring to an art gallery that she loved in graduate school.

Nestled in the Galleria, Authenticity prides itself on stocking a variety of local art such as jewelry, pottery, glass, metal, flat art and home furnishings. The new space contains statues, paintings, fused metal sculptures and stained-glass bugs, among other works.

"We try to make sure that the art doesn't compete with each other. We try to give everyone their own little space on the wall," said Erin De Leon, Ober's longtime assistant.

Although Ober deals in art, it is still a retail business, and there are a host of problems that come with moving locations, she said. On one hand, Ober hopes to have the repeat customers she's always loved instead of the tourist foot traffic she experienced downtown, but she knows she has to get used to the different clientele and circumstances.

"Downtown we were able to leave a lot of artwork around a lot longer because it was the visitors mostly, and so it didn't have to get kept quite as new," De Leon said. "When we moved up here, we made a three-month rule: If it's not getting interest, if we aren't selling anything after three months, we'll trade [artwork] out."

Authenticity Gallery, however, had its best December in five years at the Galleria. Many of the local artists and connections Ober and De Leon made downtown have stayed and continued to expand.

"[One] of the folks that came from downtown was Barry George," De Leon said. "He has a studio on the east side as well as out in Marfa, and he's really active in the East Austin studio tour each year."

The cooperation between artists and vendors continues to positively expand, Ober said. When she had a large piece she needed to ship to the New York area, George was able to enlist his friend to come up with a solution that was cost-effective.

"It was this really cool autonomy/synchronicity thing that happened. We are all in this working to have this creative experience and share it with people who love art," Ober said.

Authenticity Gallery, 12912 Hill Country Blvd., Ste. F-157, Bee Cave, 478-2787, www.authenticitygallery.com