Shopping in New Mexico
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Ellis Tanner Trading Company
Just south of town is one of Gallup's most interesting shops. The Ellis Tanner Trading Company is one of the Southwest’s largest, functional traditional Indian trading posts. Owned by the same family, the Tanners, for four generations, it serves as a sort of combination of shop, bank and community meeting center for the local Navajo community – Gallup is just outside the Navajo Reservation. The parking lot of the huge complex is always packed with pick-up trucks out of which spill entire families who’ve driven hundreds of miles to sell, pawn or trade their wares.
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Nob Hill Shopping Center
If you're feeling like some exercise, head to Nob Hill; it's a good spot to stroll and lacks the touristy feel of Old Town. Walk east from UNM along Central Ave to find an eclectic mix of shops (everything from a tattoo parlor to an herbal medicine shop to a toy store) until you reach the Nob Hill Shopping Center at Carlisle. Within this shopping center, look for Beeps, which has cards and wacky novelty items; Terra Firma, which has great clogs and sandals; and Papers, which sells you-can-guess-what.
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Morning Star Gallery
Of all the Canyon Rd shops dealing Indian antiquities, this remains the best: weavings, jewelry, beadwork, kachina dolls and even a few original ledger drawings are just some of the stars at this stunning gallery, which specializes in pre-WWII Plains Indian ephemera. Some artifacts here are finer than those in most museums – like the 1775 Powhoge ceramic storage jar that sold for $225,000 and the 1860 Nez Perce war shirt that went for $220,000.
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Gerald Peters Gallery
Santa Fe’s preeminent restaurant and real-estate tycoon Gerald Peters’ gallery, two blocks from Canyon Rd, carries a collection of fine art that few museums can touch, with all the Southwest masters: Nicolai Fechin, Charles Russell, Edward Borein, Woody Gwyn and many, many more. The back room has treasures the Museum of Fine Arts can’t even afford.
reviewed
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Robert Nichols Gallery
Contemporary Native American ceramicists with a serious sense of humor meld old-school techniques with modern sensibilities: Bruce Gilbert's languid pots, Kathleen Nez' interpretations of classic pottery designs and Diego Romero's unique combination of Liechtenstein-style cartoon irony with hand-built pueblo pottery are just some of the appealing offerings.
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Seret & Sons
Feel like you’ve stepped into an Asian or Arabian bazaar at this giant art and sculpture warehouse. It offers a vast and fascinating collection of fine carpets, giant stone elephants, Tibetan furniture, pillars and solid teak doors – of course getting all this home take a bit of effort (or shipping money), but it’s fun just to browse.
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Andrew Smith Gallery
There are few finer photography galleries in the country. That's right, in the country. Walking through these doors is like walking into a time capsule of the most transcendent and illuminating gelatin-silver and platinum printers who have ever lived. Contemporary photographers are not slighted, though, in favor of dead (er… classical) ones.
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Shush Yaz Trading Company
If you can't get to Gallup , come here for fine silver and turquoise jewelry. Top artists include sculptor Cliff Fragua, painter Marvin Toddy, and many tribal basket weavers. A la the PBS TV show Antiques Roadshow, gallery experts are also willing to examine old Indian blankets, turquoise jewelry or other artifacts you bring from home.
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Nedra Matteucci Galleries
The Taos Society is on display at this top gallery, which shows the best work of Joseph Henry Sharp, Ernest Blumenschein and the rest of the gang. Don’t miss the beautiful gardens out back, which have monumental sculptures in stone and bronze, including work by Vietnam Women’s Memorial designer Glenna Goodacre.
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Wild Mountain Outfitters
Although Santa Fe’s museums, churches, galleries and shops are absolutely top notch, visitors do not live by art appreciation alone. Get thee to the great outdoors. Sporting shops dispensing information, providing guides and renting equipment for outdoor activities include Wild Mountain Outfitters.
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Santa Fe Mountain Sports
Although Santa Fe’s museums, churches, galleries and shops are absolutely top notch, visitors do not live by art appreciation alone. Get thee to the great outdoors. Sporting shops dispensing information, providing guides and renting equipment for outdoor activities include Santa Fe Mountain Sports.
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El Milagro Herbs
This little shop is stocked with goodies for your skin and body, mixed by a resident herbalist. We swear by the Desert Dweller Deep Moisturizing Lotion – it cures even the driest skin. Also available are a host of herbal tinctures to boost your immune system or help you adjust to the high desert altitude.
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Bodhi Bazaar
Girls, shop your heart out at this top designer boutique in the Sanbusco Market Center in the heart of the Guadalupe district. Voted one of the top 12 boutiques in the USA by Elle Magazine, Bodhi has all the latest Diane von Furstenberg, Lamb and Missoni or check out the extensive denim collection.
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Rainbow Gate
One-of-a-kind ceramic dinnerware and handmade tiles feature all the colors of the New Mexico sky - from soft pastel sunrise through midday cerulean blue to fiery sunset oranges, pinks and purples. Color and texture share the space with fruits, fish, horses and birds on too many lyrical tiles to count.
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La Puerta, Inc
Master mill workers and woodworkers welcome observers at this 4-acre architectural salvage yard, host to an 18,000-sq-ft manufacturing plant. An on-site design center demonstrates ways to use these hefty antiques - doors, windows, decorative trim - from 14 countries as rustic home furnishings.
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Jackalope
Essential pieces of Southwest decor can be yours for a song. Start with a cow skull like George O’Keeffe made famous, snap up a kiva ladder, add some colorful pottery and Navajo potholders and you’ll be set. Don’t leave without watching authentic prairie dogs frolic in their piñon enclosure.
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Nambe Foundry Outlet
A unique metal alloy that contains no silver, lead or pewter (but looks like silver), was discovered in 1951 to the north of Santa Fe, near Nambé. Fashioned into gleaming and elegant pieces, Nambeware designs are individually sandcast and have won national and international recognition.
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El Rincón Trading Post
Even if you're not looking to buy anything, stop by El Rincón Trading Post to browse through the dusty museum of artifacts, an engaging jumble of Native American crafts, jewelry and Old West memorabilia. There's even a detailed discourse on the role of the peyote plant.
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Santa Fe Farmers Market
[ourpick] Santa Fe Farmers Market If fresh produce is more your style, don't miss this market at the redeveloped rail yard (Amtrak doesn't come through here but a few cargo trains do). Free samples and a festive mood make for a very pleasant morning.
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Pushkin Gallery
Owned by the family of poet Alexander Pushkin, this gallery shows Russian masters including Nikolai Timkov and Vasily Golubev, who are outshone by newcomer Alexy Smirnov Vókressensky; museum-quality Orthodox icons and lacquer boxes are also on display.
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Montecristi
The classic Santa Fean hat is a steal at around US$550 but maybe you're more of a Trail Boss, a bad boy/bad girl hat for around US$1200. But you're not really outfitted until you've chosen just the right sterling silver concho hatband (starting at $125).
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Linda Durham Contemporary Art
Representing emerging and mid-career artists working in all media, this gallery focus on stimulating, elegant and original pieces that represent contemporary issues in culture, society and politics. Good-value investment pieces are often scored here.
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Jackalope
Here the Southwest meets the Orient. It's fun for small gifts as well as rugs, folk art, pottery and furniture from around the state and the eastern part of the globe. Bring home a cow (or rabbit) skull for your loved ones.
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Adobe Gallery
This gallery includes pieces by the ‘Five Matriarchs’ of the pueblo pottery renaissance: Maria Martinez, Margaret Tofoya, Maria Nampeyo, Lucy Lewis and Helen Cordero, among many other famed Indian artisans.
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Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works
When you're not wearing cowboy boots, you should be wearing biking or hiking shoes to make an impression in Santa Fe. Shop here for anything high-end outdoorsy - you know, a GPS unit, Gore-Tex and fleece.
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