Hill Country Shopping- Wimberley Texas

You only need to visit Wimberley, Texas once to see why Wimberley was selected by Travel Holiday Magazine as one of “Ten Best Small Towns”.  It has a town square with restaurants and shops in historic buildings.  Just behind the shops is peaceful Cypress Creek, where you can relax, and photograph the resident ducks and geese. 

Before Wimberley was settled by Texans, the area was inhabited by Indians, as evidenced by plentiful stone tools and flint arrowheads found there.  The first Texans established a settlement in Wimberley in the early 1800s.  Of course, it was not yet called Wimberley.  The town has had many names, including Glendale, Winter’s Mill, Cude’s Mill, Wimberley’s Mill, Wimberleybille, and finally Wimberley, Texas. 

Did you notice a trend with town names ending in “Mill”?  As you might have guessed, Wimberley’s history includes many mills along Cypress Creek.  These mills supported the town, and records show a grist mill, flour mill, saw mill and shingle mill.  Now shops and restaurants occupy the historic buildings nestled along the creek. 

With so many preserved and restored buildings, how could Wimberley not be a charming shopping experience?! I especially love the rock buildings. The Wimberley Chamber of Commerce website has a great history page, including sketches of many of the buildings.

I was able to match up one of my personal photos with a sketch of the James C. Lane House. Mr. Lane designed the building, which was built in 1934. The house is a good example of “depression era features”, such as “crazy work rock patterns”. You can see petrified wood around the windows and doors. How great is that? The front arches are constructed with smooth hand-cut rock. The chimney was created with stalactite and quartz. What a work of art, eh? One of the rooms was Wimberley’s first telephone switchboard.

The Old Mill Store is one of my absolute favorite shops in Wimberley. It is on the Square between Cypress Creek Café and the Wimberley Café. The building used to house a caning shop, making cane bottoms for chairs. I spend 20 to 30 minutes browsing the Old Mill Store every time I go to Wimberley. They have what I call “ranch furniture”, some of which could be called antiques. They have kilims, which are flat weave handmade rugs. Since living in Turkey, I never tire of looking at handmade rugs.

The Old Mill Store has pottery and dishes, jewelry, and generally unique home furnishings. They have these great Texas photos you can buy matted or matted and framed. The mats are matching photos, giving a nice layered effect. They have jewelry too, and a “general store” area with ice cream and such.

Kiss the Cook is another of my top picks for Wimberley Square shopping.  It is also a shop I never miss.  They have cookware and specialty kitchen equipment and accessories of every description.  You will find cookware sets and individual pieces, copper pans and serving pieces, colanders, cutting boards, mixers, blenders, and cappuccino machines.  They also have a sizeable cookbook collection. 

It’s the kitchen “gadgets” that have me browsing for 30 minutes or more.  I’ve bought many gadgets from Kiss the Cook over the years.  Many have been items I had been wanting, but had not previously found, or just had not seen a good enough selection.  Others were items that needed replacing, or things I never knew existed, but were irresistible once I did. 

I love that they have an extensive collection of Zyliss products.  I have bought the Zyliss wine stoppers, garlic press, and large chopper from Kiss the Cook.  I’ve also bought some of the net bags that extend the life of produce.  Whatever your kitchen or cooking needs, you’re bound to find what you need at Kiss the Cook.  Whether you buy anything are not, it’s a pleasure to shop there. 

On our most recent trip to Wimberley, my brother “Vern” (we call each other Vern) and I visited the Hill Country Wine Shoppe for the first time.  Vern had the Daily Wine Tasting 7 tastes for $5.  They were generous portions, poured up by one of the proprietors, who could not have been more hospitable.  Twenty of the wines are local Texas varieties, and not available in liquor stores. 

The dark wood bar is from 1890, and was the bar in Willie Nelson’s movie, The Red Headed Stranger.  They purchased Willie’s bar!  How cool is that?!  And I bellied up to the bar! 

Calico Daisy is a shop with a variety of treasures, such as kitchen, home, and garden furnishings.  They also have a sizable selection of jewelry, including Kenny Ma.  I’m not really a jewelry person myself, but I love Kenny Ma.  His pieces are inspired by his grandmother’s jewelry. 

Market Days is a special shopping experience in Texas.  They are like a cross between a flea market and a craft fair.  Many have very strict policies about vendors to ensure  a nice balance of goods that are high quality.  Wimberley has Market Days the first Saturday of each month, March through December. 

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