In Austin there are many events throughout the year that capture your heart as being one of the great events that makes Austin what it is.  ACL, Austin Film Festival, SXSW, and East Austin Studio Tour [EAST].   EAST is one of my favorite events Austin has to offer. Basically, starting this Friday through next Sunday, EAST is a city-wide open house for all the Austin Art Studios for you to see what these artists have been baking throughout the year!

Thanks to Big Medium for coordinating this event for 10 years and producing a eye catching catalog that presents a bird’s eye view of the city’s studios, so you can outline your path through the emerging studios and creative spaces of Texas.

Sweet Leaf Tea has been a part of EAST for a couple years now, and to continue this tradition, we’ll be supporting some of the BEST studios the east side has to offer! Check out the list below, see the sites, and grab a nice cold Sweet Leaf Tea!

- Super. Alright! – This creative agency is a hot spot for great installations and a guaranteed awesome time!

This opening party to kick off the EAST spirit in Friday at 8pm through 1pm.  Click through the name for event details!

- Pump Project

The warehouse, with an infamous pump, houses over 30 artists producing art in all forms from jewelry to wall art to sculptures.  This location truly has something for everyone! Open Saturdays and Sundays during EAST [November 12, 13, 19, 20]

- Big Medium – Being the “Brain Studio” of this event, this gallery will hold top talent in the art community and ALWAYS has wonderful installations that will make your turn your head and contemplate for minutes. Open Saturdays and Sundays during EAST [November 12, 13, 19, 20]

- Art Post

This old airplane hanger is called home by 20 + welders, sculptures, poster printers, wood workers, and more in a big community atmosphere. Be sure to stop in and wander around for a couple hours and check out the metal tree pictured above!! Open Saturdays and Sundays during EAST [November 12, 13, 19, 20]

- Obsolete Industries

Billy Bishop, Obsolete Studios founder, travels the US going from Festival to music Festival, including ACL and Lollapalooza, producing QUALITY posters for Conan’s US tour, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, and many more!  Be sure to hit this spot on Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 13th!

Personally, I love to get a group together, hop on a bike, and cruise the town in search of great art and a good time. One of my traditions is stopping in at Justine’s after a long days ride and settling down with a nice glass of wine and some steak frites!  Ahhh, the life of Austin sophistication.

Come out and support local art!

-@Sweetleafdanny

Man! Sunday was a great day!  BBQ, beer, Sweet Leaf Tea, and good music!  How could it get any better?

It was a ton o’ fun!  I grubbed till I couldn’t grub any more!  We sampled Snow’s BBQ for the first time [DELISH] and met Tootsie [pitmaster] herself! She is the sweetest lady and a total hoot. She knows how to cook a MEAN piece of beef.  Franklin’s BBQ was amazing per usual, we even got to snap a photo with him! [2011 BEST BRISKET winner].  Smitty’s, Opies, Lamberttttttttttgituuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..

Sorry, passed out on my keyboard, every thing I tried was GRADE A. I’m still recovering from the mounds of BBQ I ate.  Anyways, the whole Tea’m was out, we ate a ton of fantastic food, and had a great time doing it in true SLT fashion!

We were also, handing out the SWEET LEAF TEA Awards at the festival for serval different categories.  Check out the photos and winner for this weekends festivities below!

- @SweetLeafDanny

Growing up in central Texas I have learned to appreciate great food, music, and tea. When I first heard about the Texas Monthly Magazine BBQ Festival, I immediately added it to my calendar and knew that I had to be there. BBQ has always been a staple in my families gatherings. BBQ for birthdays, BBQ for family reunions, BBQ for football games, BBQ for Thanksgiving… you get the point.

Some of my most favorite memories of childhood were gathering the entire family and heading to the BBQ Capitol of the World- (in my opinion) Lockhart, TX.

Most will argue about which location in Lockhart has the best ‘Que. Hands down for me it was- and still is to this day- Smitty’s Market. You’ll know you’re there when you walk in to the building and pretty much step foot right into the fire pits that fuel the giant pits. If you happen to find your way to Smitty’s you must grab a delicious link of their sausage. I promise when you leave, you will want to take some back home to share in all the goodness with friends and family.

In a past blog, I recognized all the fine folks and also great BBQ (2^nd best – in my opinion) at Kruetz’s – which is also located in Lockhart, TX. Not only do they share a great history with Smitty’s, but they use recycled Sweet Leaf Tea glass bottles for salt and pepper shakers!

Now what are you going to do next time you’re in Lockhart, TX?

1. Stop by Kreutz’s BBQ and get you some world famous brisket and a Sweet Leaf Tea.

2. Head over to Smitty’s Market and chow down on some sausage and look all around for some great history reads and pics on the walls. (CAUTION – don’t forget about the fire pits!!!)

After all this BBQ talk – I hope to see you all at the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest that will be held on Oct. 29^th – The Long Center – Austin, TX.

While you’re there be sure to snag you some Homemade Goodness in a bottle to wash down all that Texas BBQ greatness!

Huge thanks to EVERYONE that entered in to the contest! There were tons of fantastic entries and it was definitely a difficult task picking a winner, but….

CONGRATULATIONS to Layne Lynch you won 2 tickets to the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest with this post below!

“There’s nothing in the world that makes me smile more than a lipsmackin’ slab of BBQ except maybe …. going on a road trip with old friends mapping out all of at various BBQ joints across the state we want to stop at along the way to our destination. It’s not the BBQ that’s good; it’s the company you keep that makes everything in life taste so much sweeter.”

More contests to come, stay tuned and be sweet out there y’all!

-@SweetLeafDanny

This is the week that smoked meat lovers rejoice! It’s been 364 days to get back to one of [if not] the best BBQ events in the WORLD!  TEXAS MONTHLY BBQ FESTIVAL! 24 of Texas’s TOP BBQ joints from ALL over the state, converge in Austin for a meat stuffing event that is unbeatable. Sample BBQ from all the big names: Baker’s, Snow’s, Smitty’s, City Meat, as well as the newcomer Franklin’s.

We all know that people love their Kansas and Carolina Barbecue, but get real people, Texas is where it’s at. I’m going to state a fact [note: this statement has no actual references] BASED ON THE United States CENSUS: Texas has more GREAT tasting BBQ per square mile than any other state [nation] ever. Texas is also the biggest state that isn’t frozen most of the year, so it’s got a lot of amazingly tasty meat.

You may be asking yourself, [Southern accent] “Hot pig links Danny, this sounds great and all, but I heard that this event is sold out.”  It IS sold out, BUT Sweet Leaf Tea has the hook up for you! We’ve got 2 tickets to this event and we want to award the person who wants it most to get in there and enjoy a smoked rib and some Sweet Leaf Tea! For real, this person needs to bleed mesquite smoke.

“What do I have to do?”

In that little comment box below, you need to tell us:

There’s nothing in the world that makes me smile more than a lipsmackin’ slab of BBQ except maybe ….

Now, we know an ice cold Sweet Leaf Tea always makes for a good smile, but what really makes you happy?

Make us laugh, make us smile, keep the love flowing. We will pick a winner on Wednesday! Click here for the BBQ joints at the festival!

FINE PRINT: This contest is only for fans in the Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. [Sorry folks, we'll have more giveaways in the upcoming weeks for all to play.]

Entry must be in by Wednesday morning by 9AM.  Good LUCK!

I was thinking about this as I reviewed some photos from Austin Fashion Week (we had given some tea to a few fashion shows and local designers) and one designer, Laisa, took the notion of ‘refreshing’ to a whole new level. The photos speak for themselves, but her account of the process really hit home:

During Fashion Week,  I had an event where I was fortunate enough to be sponsored by Sweet Leaf Tea.  They did not have a recycling post for all of the empty cans, so I took them home with me to recycle. A couple of days later, I was asked to participate in the 20th Anniversary Celebration for the Texas Campaign for the Environment, where they would be having a “Trash Makeover” Challenge for fashion designers.

I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to up-cycle (instead of recycle) the Sweet Leaf Tea cans! My theme for the show was Conserve, Preserve, and Deserve. I rinsed out the aluminum cans, cut off the top and bottom of each one, then used a star shaped hole punch to make hundreds of aluminum stars.  Then I created a bodice and placed the stars one by one onto the bodice, sewing a swirly pattern so that they looked like they were shooting up into the sky. I did this over and over, layering the lines until the entire bodice was completely covered. Then I used an old bed sheet to make a silvery grey skirt that was my interpretation of a cloud.  Full Sweet Leaf Tea cans were used in the hair (by Deborah at Russ & Company) to create giant rolls with stars shooting out of them. So the model (Anya Brill) represented the Air/Deserve idea, meaning once we all “Conserve Water”, and “Preserve the Earth, then we “Deserve fresh Air and Sweet Leaf Tea!” Lol

You can see from the photos below that her craftsmanship and attention to detail elevated and up-cycled the Sweet Leaf cans from trash into couture. Laisa’s one-of a kind creation is a work of art, and as such, is on display this weekend at Austin City Hall during this Sunday’s Green City Festival (it’s also for sale during the event, with all proceeds going to Texas Campaign for the Environment).