Local artisans sell handmade, repurposed wares at Silver Bee Boutique in Friendswood

The handmade, do-it-yourself arts and crafts phenomenon is not just confined to online Etsy shops or Pinterest inspiration boards. Silver Bee Boutique in Friendswood is filling the demand for handmade and repurposed goods with a local twist.

The boutique acts as a storefront for more than 50 artisans from around the Greater Houston area showcase and sell their products. Owners Courtney Grant and Kristen Garcia-Galant ensure they have a unique mix of products, like handmade jewelry, repurposed furniture, blown glass ornaments and seasonal wreaths.

“There’s really been a revival of people wanting to go to boutiques again,” Garcia-Galant said. “We have things you’d see at a craft show or you would buy on Etsy, but you can come in and see it all in one place.”

Grant and Garcia-Galant met as teachers at Gilmore Elementary School in Clear Creek ISD. Garcia-Galant was an educator for 16 years before she decided to open a small business. Grant also had entrepreneurial ambitions, sketching out the rough idea of Silver Bee Boutique for years before Garcia-Galant approached her with a business proposition. Together, they decided the idea for an artist boutique was promising, so they signed a lease, found local vendors and quit their jobs to build their dream business.

“We were getting to the point where we wanted to do something else, so we just developed this idea and it grew,” Grant said. “We’re both crafters, and the Pinterest world was taking off.”

Almost four years and eight employees later, Silver Bee Boutique has become a destination shop in Friendswood with longtime customers driving in from Alvin, Clear Lake, League City and Pearland. The boutique boosted its regular customer base after it added women’s and children’s clothing for the first time in September, they said.

To give back to the community that has supported the boutique, Grant and Garcia-Galant donate two baskets every month to local groups like the Wranglerettes and Little League teams to auction and raise funds.

The duo will celebrate the store’s four-year anniversary during the first week of July with door prizes, giveaways, sales and food.

“Friendswood is a good place for small business. It’s got that hometown feel,” Grant said.

Silver Bee Boutique

180 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood 281-648-1844 www.silverbeeboutique.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Sundays