SHOP SMALL FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Local businesses offer insights on shopping local this holiday season

Black Friday may be over, but for many, the holiday gift-shopping frenzy continues.

Three San Marcos businesses offered their insight into shopping local for the holidays, and why Shop Small Saturday is a tradition worth celebrating throughout the holiday season.

Everyday Zen

Husband and wife Bryan and Wen Carey run Everyday Zen with one guiding philosophy in mind:  “Details matter.”

“One of the things that we’re doing here, we do this every day, is we offer tea sampling,” Wen said. “And so, you get a complimentary cup every time you browse. That’s something that you don’t get in a big box store, is someone delivering and serving it to you.”

Everyday Zen is a specialty shop in downtown San Marcos that carries body fragrances, meditation supplies, crystals, jewelry, apparel, and more.

In addition to carrying spiritual products, Everyday Zen also offers complimentary yoga classes on Sundays.

“It’s free to the community, and it’s a way to bring some more calmness, some more zen into your life,” Wen said. “We’re in a community that goes, goes, goes, and [there’s] not enough time for stillness to recenter ourselves. We want everyone to know that you can find that calm, whether it’s the product that you purchase or the different practices that you incorporate in your life.”

Wen was born in Saigon, Vietnam. She attended college at the University of Texas at Austin, where she says she “began [her] spiritual journey with a fascination of anything that represented beauty, love, goodness, and all things metaphysical,” according to Everyday Zen’s website.

In 2016, Wen and Bryan traveled to Nepal and Japan to study and meditate in the Tibetan monasteries and Zen temples.

“I remember going to the oldest temple in Japan, in Kyoto. It burned down in the 12th century, and then they rebuilt it,” Wen told the Daily Record. “When I sat in it, I felt like I was in a picture book. Like they have the tatami mats with the rice paper doors, and you open the doors and you see these trees and the pond.

“Everything that you would see in a storybook of how does Japan look — That was what we were experiencing,” she said, adding, “It was this profound beauty and calmness that can’t even be explained other than [to] be experienced.”

When Wen and Bryan returned to the United States, she said they were “so inspired by the profound peace and beauty we experienced in these places, we wanted to take a little bit back to share with others.”

Part of what makes the local shopping experience so valuable, according to Wen, is the personal connections it inspires.

“If you go to Dillard’s [for example], you’re not going to have the cashier come up to you and want to know about you,” she said. “They’re going to check you out, bag it, and you’re off to your next shop. So you get that personal connection when you do shop local, and I think that’s very meaningful for people.”

Everyday Zen is located at 165 S. Guadalupe Street. For more information, or for store hours, call 512-720-9066.

Old Soul Exchange

There are plenty of reasons to shop locally this holiday season, says Rachel McCartney, owner of Old Soul Exchange.

“Local shops usually offer one-of-a-kind, high-quality products that you won’t find in the big box stores,” she said. “Supporting small businesses also keeps money and jobs in our community ...  It’s a no-brainer.”

Old Soul is a pop-up clothing shop offering hand-picked 70s, 80s, and 90s vintage, retro, and bohemian apparel and accessories, according to its Facebook page.

Old Soul opened up its first brick-and-mortar location in August, and McCartney describes the San Marcos community as “beyond supportive and welcoming” so far.

“This town loves to support local businesses, and I think that is special,” she said.

Above, Old Soul Exchange in San Marcos houses wares from more than 30 sellers and 10 vintage curators. Photo courtesy of Old Soul Exchange

A longtime San Marcos resident, McCartney said she has always had a passion for giving “new life to pre-loved treasures.”

Old Soul Exchange houses wares from over 30 sellers and 10 vintage curators, and

“While the specifics are a trade secret, our vintage curators typically source items from flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores, yard sales, and our grandparents,” McCartney said.

Old Soul Exchange is located at 123 S. LBJ Drive in San Marcos. Hours of operation are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

New products are featured daily on Old Soul’s Instagram page. To learn more about Old Soul Exchange and its products, follow them on Instagram: @oldsoulexchangesmtx.

Sundance Record Lagoon

Sundance Record Lagoon Owner Tomas Escalante knew working in the music business was his calling ever since he was a kid.

In 1991, Tomas began working as an employee for the original Sundance Records in Houston, opened in 1977 by Bobby and Nancy Barnard.

“When [Bobby] closed the original Sundance, I took over the inventory and we worked together here in Houston, where I live. I split time between here and San Marcos,” Tomas said. “Anyway, when Bobby passed away a few years ago, his wife, who also worked at the original Sundance, moved back to San Marcos. On a whim, she and my wife were talking, and kind of joked about reopening Sundance.

“Then the next thing you know, we did it.”

Above, left to right, Parker Wright, Sundance manager, Nancy Barnard and owner, Thomas Escalante: the team who continues the legacy of Bobby Barnard. Daily Record file photo by Celeste Cook.

Sundance Record Lagoon held its grand opening in August 2021. In everything from the merchandise being sold to the decorations on the walls, the store continues to honor the memory of Bobby Barnard.

Today, Tomas lives in Houston, and while acknowledging that running his store from another city is “definitely challenging,” he also noted that reopening Sundance has brought many unexpected perks.

“That was the exciting thing of reopening Sundance, seeing a lot of familiar faces, people in San Marcos that some I haven’t seen in 25-plus years when I was employed there, and so it’s been a treasure,” he said. “It’s been a treat to just be able to experience that again, the whole San Marcos vibe. It’s super special, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

Sundance Record Lagoon is located at 241 N. LBJ Drive. Operating hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.