"I never really had a Texan accent," says San Antonio-native Kathryn Bentley. "I may have growing up, but I never identified myself as being a Texan." The 28-year-old New York-based jewelry designer is, herself, a second generation Texan. Over tea in New York's Soho, near her lower Fifth Avenue apartment, Bentley recalls memories from her childhood in San Antonio, and ruminates on the best-kept secrets of her Texan hometown. Around her neck she wears a small glass compass that she designed – it's filled with tiny gold flakes and hangs on a chain found at a flea market. However dazzling her designs, they are more about adornment and the ritual of wearing protective natural elements than anything else – an aspect that, oddly enough, ties back to her Texan roots.

Last April Bentley went home for the San Antonio version of a ‘coming out,’ called the Coronation. "The girls do this walk and wear $50,000 dresses. There are parties throughout the month of April. It 's very old Texas. My parents are involved in the whole socialite aspect of Texas. My sister did the debutante thing. I was totally anti. I rebelled against what I was supposed to do," she says, adding, "In Waco, they have the white trash version called the Cotton Palace."

Coronations aren’t the only old-school Texan tradition Bentley failed to take up (though she did learn how to shoot a 22 shot gun at the age of ten). Instead, she rooted herself in the city’s Mexican traditions and thriving art scene. Bentley's father is an architect, thus her childhood is best described as living amongst Mies van der Rohe furniture in a contemporary house across the street from the Marion Kooglar McNay Art Museum. "I was exposed to good taste,” she says. “My parents are really involved in the art scene in San Antonio, despite their conservative slant. So there was always an edge."

When home, she scours the local Botanicas for “herbs, dried flowers and Catholic figurines,” as well as the antique malls, which include The Antique Sampler Mall and The Alamo Antique Mall. “They are amazing for old records and vintage jewelry.” This practice of hunting for amulets, figurines and treasures isn’t anything new; in fact it’s something Bentley did as a teenager to find objects to adorn the giant shrine she created in her bedroom. "A lot of people have shrines in their home because of the whole Mexican influence. It was something I was attracted to. I love the ritual aspect."

Other San Antonio staples, according to Bentley, include Splashtown, “I like to think of Texas as the home to water parks,” the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum, "this place has some amazing taxidermy," and Sloan Hall, which Bentley describes as one of her favorite stores. “I worked there and they now carry my jewelry line.” She also swears by Rio Rio Cantina , a restaurant on the San Antonio River, where you can watch the monthly riverside fiestas, and Paloma Blanca - "proper Tex Mex... so fresh. I love a chalupa and a chat." And, for "very old-school, family style Mexican food" and "the best salsa and margaritas," she recommends Mi Tierra Café y Panaderia.

Bentley also talks about San Antonio places that resonate with her, including the teepee she had in her back yard where she shot her grandfather’s handmade bow-and-arrows, and the McNay. "It was a haven for me! I used to spend hours reading and sketching at the McNay," Bentley recalls. "I lived across the street so I was there almost daily in high school. We used to sneak into it at and wade in the fountains during the summer." During her teenage years she'd frequent the bar and music venue Tacoland, where Nirvana once played. "Unfortunately, the guy who ran it was shot a few years ago,” she says. Hitting a lighter note, she lets it slip that her favorite taco spot is Las Palopas. "I love a cheap taco. After a crazy night out it was always Las Palopas. The cheaper the taco the better," she reminisces. Spoken a true Texan.

~Sara Costello

Go There:
Alamo Antique Mall, 125 Broadway Street, (210) 224-4354