About us

Come in and sit awhile and we will tell you the story of shopping in Waco and the Craft Gallery.

THE CRAFT GALLERY STORY

Craft Gallery was established on September 1, 1993 in beautiful Waco, Texas to help people who are starting a small business in Waco. It Started as only an idea to provide one location for local artisans to show and sell their work under one roof. Consequently, the Craft Gallery has provided a home for such artisans and vendors from all over the US for over 30 years now to starting a new business in Waco! Our passion is to provide the possibility for a vendor to own their own retail business. This HAS become a reality for many. What does this mean for our customers? Over 160 shops under one roof! Arts and craft shows have been around for years. Above all, we have been on the cutting edge of helping people to sell home decor and gifts for themselves. Most importantly, we are taking out so many of the headaches that starting a business can give. So whether it is a do it yourself craft, antiques or an item that you are marketing in your booth, our job is to make you successful.

MEET OUR OWNERs

Ralph and Diana Lee

Ralph was born and raised in Waco. He continued his education at Texas Christian University being a 3rd generation to graduate from there. While at TCU Waco was just a glimpse in his rear view mirror. Upon graduation, with a Business degree, Ralph felt the echos of Waco calling him back. After working for a local company he felt the call to own and operate his own business. He went into partnership with Tom's Salome and with his leadership grew the company many times over.

Meanwhile he married Diana and upon learning he was about to be a father realized his time with the company needed to come to an end. He sold his portion and upon his son's birth started looking for a new adventure. A family friend called and asked his opinion of a "craft mall." He took a look into it and with the help of Tom Salome the Craft Gallery was born. It was a new concept and many cropped up all over the state, all of which have closed down.

Why has the Craft Gallery survived 30 years? The leadership of Ralph Lee and his vision to look at different avenues to market the Craft Gallery. For instance, when crafts started fading he expanded into vendors who wanted to sell other goods beside handcrafted. To name a few, women's clothing and accessories, home decor from market, souvenirs for visitors to Waco, and antiques started appearing. More importantly, with the increase in DIY and Pinterest the Craft Gallery is seeing a resurgence of handcrafted products down the aisles. As of 2012, Diana came on to help with day to day operations. It has always been a family business with the kids being in commercials, bingo callers, and helping out from time to time.

SHOPPING WACO

Shopping Waco is SO much more than national chains. It includes shopping for antiques and vintage things that are unique. Only minutes from shopping downtown Waco, Magnolia Market and the Silos, come experience unique shopping in Waco! There are plenty of things to do in Waco that are out of the norm.

Here are the Top 10 Places to Shop in Waco.

what to do in waco

There are plenty of things to do in Waco and we recommend doing them all. Dr. Pepper Museum, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Waco Suspension Bridge, Alico Building, Waco Hippodrome Theater, Downtown Waco Shopping, local Waco Restaurants are some of the great tourist attractions in Waco.