The House that Craft Built: Clover + Maven            

Words Abby L. Johnson | Photos Parker Thornton & Eric Morales

Elizabeth Hyman and Ryan Doolittle know the Austin pop-up scene. The pair met in the trenches of handmade markets as fellow vendors fighting the variables of unpredictable weather, untested locations, and inconsistent turnouts.

For many makers, from those just launching a business to seasoned entrepreneurs, access to a permanent home to display and sell wares accelerates the growth process and creates invaluable community. When they first met at Austin Flea, a staple in the pop-up market ecosystem since 2009, these future business partners only dreamed of such a space. 

Working the pop-up scene is no joke. Lugging supplies around town, paying vendor fees, and often facing the Texas heat for an uncertain outcome aren’t for the faint of heart. “I have so many Ryobi fans, and I’m still waiting for my sponsorship,” jokes Ryan. 

To make the effort worthwhile, connecting with the community is essential. “Liz and I, plus a couple of other ladies, had been popping-up at the Flea for a while, and we started meeting every other week to have coffee at different [locations],” Ryan recalls. “We would talk about opportunities—even had little spreadsheets,” indicating what pop-ups were happening.

After a while of meeting up to exchange stories from the pop-up battlefield, an opportunity arose to take over the space formerly occupied by Broad Studios, another women-led creative business. The duo’s new shop, cleverly named Clover + Maven, is part of the collection of businesses and nonprofits located in Springdale General, a campus of office and commercial spaces geared towards the creative community. 

Today Clover + Maven features works from over 100 vendors (or mavens) both in the brick and mortar shop and online. Nearly all are women- or LGBTQIA+-led. 

For some of the vendors, Clover + Maven is the first place they get to see their art on a permanent shelf. “I think it really instills confidence in the maker and their product and what they’re doing,” explains Elizabeth. “It becomes a validation that this can be a full-time, sustainable thing…and allows people to take a dive into making and creating full-time.”

The shop is open every day, and many of the featured makers volunteer to work shifts. The opportunity to connect the makers and the shoppers is invaluable. “If I get to meet the maker, or if I know that it’s handmade by people who live here, [whom] I could have a conversation with, I always treasure those things more, you know?” Ryan emphasizes. Not only are the creators the best salespeople for their own goods, but it imbues a sense of collective ownership.

Elizabeth and Ryan are still familiar faces at pop-ups across the city. But having a beautiful space that they’ve established and can tell customers where to find them is a game-changing opportunity for them and their fellow mavens.

cloverandmaven.myshopify.com
1023 Springdale Rd., Bldg. 6D  
@cloverandmaven

About Elizabeth: Elizabeth launched her business, The Gardener’s Wife, in October 2021. Initially, the concept was a curated collection of goods by women makers. The goal was to uplift the handmade goods of others. Through the process of curating the collection, she developed an interest in dried floral arrangements. Eventually, she began to make her own, the staple product of her business’s offerings today.

About Ryan: Ryan has a history of working with multiple mediums with a fine art background. She dabbled in many art forms during her college years before discovering the joys of what would become her primary medium and later the foundation of her own business, Doolittle Glass. Ryan’s handblown glass creations range from wearable earrings to sculptural Southwest-inspired pieces to eclectic kitchen wares.