When Katharine and Susan Hable, the sisters behind design and textile company Hable Construction, opened a shop and gallery this year in their hometown of Corsicana, Texas, they helped dust off the creative scene in the former oil boomtown. “There’s definitely an undercurrent of artistic energy,” says Katharine, who moved back to the area in 2022 and runs the business along with Susan, an artist and designer who lives primarily in Athens, Georgia.
Hable Construction, founded in New York in 1999, is known for colorful, painterly fabrics and chic home goods, including collections with the likes of Hickory Chair, Visual Comfort, and Material Works. Hable Gallery revived a historic building in Corsicana’s cornice-crowned downtown that once housed a department store they call the “Henri Bendel’s of East Texas”; today it showcases works by Susan (cut-paper collages; sculptures in cast bronze and clay; jewelry from precious stones and hand-carved wood) alongside works by contemporary artists like photographers Rinne Allen and Christy Bush, oil painter Carol John, and watercolorist Heather Lancaster. “There’s no art distribution in the center of Texas where we are,” Susan says, “so it’s a nice way to get art into some other people’s eyeballs and to share some beautiful work with a different clientele.”
Their gallery joins a handful of contemporary art studios—some from artists who have moved from bigger cities looking for affordable space and unfussy vibes—as well as Corsicana’s old diners and vintage shops, where cattle ranchers brush shoulders with fine painters and sculptors.
“People say it’s fifty miles from Dallas but one hundred years behind—but in a good way,” Katharine says. “There’s a quaintness here; it’s just a sweet small town. It’s kind of like this little hidden gem now.”
Here’s what the Hables say is making Corsicana an under-the-radar arts and design destination:
Studios and Galleries
The Hables credit the nonprofit Corsicana Artist & Writer Residency, founded by artist Kyle Hobratschk in 2012, for invigorating the local arts movement. In the 100 West studios, an 1890s former Odd Fellows Lodge, the residency hosts internationally known visual artists, writers, and composers, plus open studio events three times a year—with the next public event on December 6. (View new work by Houston sculptor Lisa Lapinski, New York painter Mamie Tinkler, a video installation by Tokyo’s Jingyi Laura Li, and readings by New York creative-nonfiction writer Shaan Sachdev and Austin novelist Lucas Schaefer, who wrote much of his new book, The Slip, while a resident at 100 West.) The Hables sync up gallery events with the residency and will host an opening reception with New York painter and graphite pastel artist Jean Weissglass the same day.
“We’ve really been inspired by [Hobratschk],” Katharine says. “It has been a game-changer for the town. He has turned up the interest on art and people visiting and artists moving to town.”
Hobratschk also runs a window-front gallery, Anteroom, as well as a bookstore featuring works by resident artists, books on Texas, children’s books, and charming desktop accessories like retro leader tape and drafting pens.
Within walking distance, view Japanese and Japanese-inspired work at the nearby Gallery Wah Wah, from Dallas artist and part-time Corsicana resident Patricia Pelehach, and stroll through Art Alley, a series of murals—many of them based on the culture of old-time Corsicana—by local artists.
Culture
For an off-the-beaten path art and history adventure, head to the Pearce Museum at the Cook Education Center at Navarro College (home, Susan notes, to the Netflix show Cheer; she cheered with the coach in high school). “It has an extensive collection of Western art, and in the hunters and gatherers exhibit, you flip like a quadrillion boards with I don’t know how many thousand arrowheads in beautiful patterns,” Susan says. “If you’re interested in Texas history and Texas contemporary art, there’s some stuff here you would only see in places like Santa Fe or at a larger museum.”
For local lore, head to the living history site at Pioneer Village, where a museum honors Lefty Frizzell, a famed country musician and honky-tonker in the 1950s. “They have a walking tour and all these little log cabins you can walk through,” Katharine says.
Where to Eat
“We’ve got the oldest soda fountain in Texas,” says Susan of Across the Street Diner, founded as Hashop’s Pharmacy & Soda Fountain in 1905. “It has the original soda fountain, old Coca-Cola memorabilia, red banquettes, and an old hex-tile floor. You can get a cherry limeade or a malt and a chicken salad sandwich and potato salad. They have the same old barstools—it’s like you’re going to slide off, but they are so charming.”
Rumor has it Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed fruitcake from the world-famous Collin Street Bakery, which dates to 1896. The front of the production facility hosts a traditional walk-up bakery, which rolls out cherry icebox and praline cookies plus fruity cakes and breads. “Every morning I’ve been there they bring out a few of everything they’ve made that day, and everybody tests them out,” Katharine says.
For Mexican food, the Hables’ go-to is the Old Mexican Inn. “It’s famous for its orange dip,” Susan says. “You eat it with chips along with salsa. Everybody always guesses what’s in it, but nobody really knows. It’s probably a mayonnaise base with paprika and lemon juice.” For coffee and avocado toast, there’s Mita’s. “The owner’s really lovely, and we don’t have coworking spaces here, so it’s nice to be able to pop in and have a meeting and a coffee,” Katharine says. Lunch is chorizo hash at Olive Branch, and for Texas barbecue, the sisters head to K&K Bar-b-Que downtown. “They say they have nothing to hide, so the sauce is on the side,” Katharine says. “And they’ve got great banana pudding.”
Vintage Shopping
Walk around downtown and find all kinds of little shops to pop into—and a couple of true vintage treasures. “Renee Bennett’s Emporium 1905 has great vintage bags, and everything is very well priced,” Katharine says. “She’s just got really great taste. I’ve gotten a bunch of great vintage furs from her. She’s a true collector and she digs and digs.”
Another favorite vintage spot is Peace Love Retro. “The owner, Gayle, is the queen of great vintage, and she’s got everything from great rock ’n’ roll T-shirts to vintage cowboy boots to glassware and furniture from the ’60s and ’70s. Everything is clean as a whistle—there’s no hang-around smell,” Katharine says.
After Dark
The place to be is the Corsicana Opry & Event Center, a classic steakhouse and honky-tonk in an early 1900s former grocery warehouse. A mirrored saddle hangs from the ceiling like a disco ball, a handmade oil derrick frames the staircase, and the dance floor fills up on the weekends for karaoke and live music. For a beer, try Brick Streets Brewery, Katharine recommends.
Just a short stroll from the Hable Gallery is the historic vaudeville Palace Theatre, which regularly hosts live music and screenings. “They’ve had Jerry Jeff Walker, Wynonna Judd—people come from all over,” Katharine says.
