Natalie Ribbons didn’t know where to begin when a truck plowed into Magic Mirror, the Lockhart vintage shop she’s owned since 2017.
“It wasn’t on my bingo card,” she says with a tired laugh. On the morning of July 21, her friend Taylor Burge took on the difficult task of waking Ribbons and delivering the news, walking together to survey the damage. Ribbons – half of folk duo Tele Novella – had returned from tour several weeks before and was taking time to write, help at the shop, and settle back into Lockhart life.
When she arrived at the West San Antonio Street building, a new reality for her time at home emerged. The delicately painted glass facade of the boutique was shattered, carefully sourced items crushed into the recently replaced floor. The incident left behind a gaping hole, flattened clothing racks, and total disarray.
“In the pictures, I know it looks like it’s just a big empty space, but there were tables with keychains and perfumes and tchotchkes and all kinds of things,” Ribbons says. The man who crashed into the building briefly lost control of his vehicle while leaving the bank drive-through across the street. A moment of accidental acceleration was all it took to reshape Magic Mirror’s future. Neither Ribbons nor her landlord had insured the space. Luckily, the driver was insured and the fate of the store’s future lies in the complicated bureaucracy therein.
Like so many vintage resellers, Ribbons started out selling her wares at pop-up shops, lugging racks of clothes and jewelry from market to market. The storefront in Lockhart was a relief and a refuge in several ways: The building’s long-established owner was able to offer Ribbons an affordable rent at a time when prices in Lockhart were surging, and Ribbons began to build a team of dedicated employees who knew her inventory and clientele well.
“They’ve been with me for a super long time, and they’re amazing and they’re super loyal,” Ribbons says. Trying to keep those employees is one of Ribbons’ biggest goals with the GoFundMe that Burge established.
Cleanup efforts began almost immediately, thanks to friends and community members, but the old Magic Mirror may never be exactly the same. For one thing, the gold leaf glass sign Ribbons’ friend lovingly detailed over three and a half months for the store’s conception is too expensive and difficult to re-create. Still, Ribbons aims to reopen in the same space, and is hopeful that she can host open-air flea markets – her AC still works! – and find other ways to keep the magic going during the work ahead.
“I’m so grateful to my friends who have already been so helpful,” Ribbons says. “I just hope that I get to stay there and continue my business.”
This article appears in August 1 • 2025.