See a slideshow of the tiny, temporary bookstore and the signing at Tootsie's.
Yesterday we suggested you gift your loved ones with a tribute to the virtues of austerity and contemplation.
Just in case any of you weren't buying that, today we're going the other way. Curate, the Paper-City-sponsored pop-up bookshop inside Tootsie's, is definitely more of a maximalist affair. With titles chosen by Paper City editor-in-chief Holly Moore, Curate takes up a back room at Tootsie's that's presided over by a couple of stuffed peacocks and contains a glut of glossy hardbacks covering interiors, gardens, design, entertaining, and all other things gorgeous and expensive. The selection was highly tempting to this design junkie, especially the vintage, first edition and signed copies I found hidden away on a back table.
Last night Curate hosted a signing of Texas Artists Today, Houston's holiday art book of choice (at least among people who buy $100 books). Texas Artists has seemingly been signed all over town, always with author Catherine Anspon and many of the book's artist subjects on hand as well. Last night saw quite a few of them, including Bert Long, Wayne Gilbert and Libbie Masterson, holding court.
While pricey to be sure, Texas Artists Today is by all accounts an essential document of, well, Texas artists today, and part of the book's proceeds benefit three Houston nonprofits, including Lawndale Art Center. So if you have the means, pick up a copy.
