Starbucks Austin mug: Been There Series
This Austin mug from Starbucks' Been There Series writes AUSTIN in red hatched capitals above two armadillos, a Texas flag with a star, a coffee cup and a red ribbon, with a red-orange inside.
- Series
- Been There Series
- Place
- Austin, Texas, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- Not confirmed
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The armadillo that crossed an artist's legs and named a music hall
Jim Franklin was about 15, hunting with his father, when he spotted an armadillo across a pasture and crept toward it under the barbed wire [1]. It stood up on its hind legs. He kept coming, and it walked between his legs [1]. He remembered it as a dinosaur [1]. Years later he put that animal into the poster art for the Armadillo World Headquarters, the Austin music hall he opened with Mike Tolleson and Eddie Wilson in 1970 [1]. According to Clio, Wilson found the building when he stepped out of a Shiva's Headband set at the Cactus Club and saw an old abandoned armory, which he rented for $500 a month [2]. The Handbook of Texas says the hall opened in August 1970, and that its name evoked a peaceable native critter [3]. The lease ran out, and the last show was a New Year's Eve party on 31 December 1980 [3]. The two armadillos on the Austin mug (2) are the animal the hall was named for.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
AUSTIN in dark red capitals with a hatched texture across the upper front.
- 2Armadillos
Two cream armadillos with red outlines fill the middle of the front, one curled up and one walking.
- 3Star flag
A red panel with a white star sits at the upper right beside the handle.
- 4Coffee cup
A white cup and saucer with a dark green circle on the cup sits at the lower left.
- 5Red ribbon
A red ribbon runs along the bottom with small lettering that appears to read Colorado River.
- 6Spiky plants
Two sets of long spiky leaves in red outline stand at the lower right of the armadillos.
The photo shows the front only. The back, the opposite side and the underside are out of view.
Collector notes
- The two cream armadillos sit in the middle of the front, one curled and one walking, so they are the quickest way to recognise this mug in a photo.
- The inside is red-orange, which shows at the rim, and the front palette is red, orange and cream on white. A Been There mug from another city can share that colour scheme, so check the lettering.
Before you buy
The photo shows only the front, so the back and underside are not visible. The inside is red-orange. Starbucks also makes Austin mugs in the Discovery, Icon and You Are Here series, so check the lettering and the two armadillos to tell them apart.
