4 Best Places to Shop in Old Town, Albuquerque

This shop carries a very special selection of fetishes, along with kachina dolls, baskets, and a small grouping of vintage and contemporary Native American jewelry and pottery, for the beginning and seasoned collector. The shop's owner, Yvonne Stokes, is well respected in this field, and presents work from all 19 pueblos as well as Hopi and Navajo pieces. Changing exhibits focus on one tradition—stone carvers, for example—and hone in on the work of one artist and perhaps that of the artist's family as well. Gorgeous hand-carved Ye’i figures by contemporary Navajo artist Sheldon Harvey are here, as are his wonderful abstraction paintings. Enter the Zuni Fetish Museum from within the gallery; an unusually fine range of historic Zuni-crafted fetishes awaits, along with those by other Native artisans. Transitions in style and theme are well-documented here, as are trends in materials and form. Visits to both the store and the museum are by advance appointment only.

Peruse a wide selection of hand-painted Mexican Talavera tiles at this Old Town stalwart that's been in business since 1977. Prices are reasonable, making the colorful geometrics, florals, mural patterns, and solids close to irresistible. Tin lighting fixtures as well as ceramic sink and cabinet knobs fill in the rest of the space in this DIY-inspiring shop (yes, they ship).

Just across from the BioPark, shaded outdoor seating on El Vado Motel’s plaza is surrounded by a cluster of locally committed shopkeepers and food purveyors. A good meal option is Buen Provecho, inspired by Costa Rican traditional cooking, or enjoy a cerveza (beer) from the El Vado Taproom. Stroll just beyond the plaza to a cluster of local vendors on the complex's outer periphery (Southwest Cactus Shop has not only the expected succulents, but a well-selected range of southwest-themed hand-stamped cards, earrings, clever metal birds, and more), or a little further east on Central Avenue to Kaufman's Coffee & Bagels (freshly made on site) or Swan Song, a retro-ware recycler.

Meeting Johnny Salas, Santisima’s spirited owner, is part of the fun of visiting this Old Town shop. It sells mostly artwork and objects that celebrate New Mexican santos traditions and Día de los Muertos across the globe.