7 Best Places to Shop in Southwestern New Mexico, New Mexico

For folks drawn to the unique warmth and hand-crafted look of decorative tiles, Syzygy Tileworks is a must-stop. The founders of Syzygy create their own art tiles inspired by the famed Moravian tile works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; the results are a refreshing complement to traditional Southwestern styles.

Hosana Eilert, the proprietor of Wild West Weaving learned her craft in Chimayó, with the masters of the Rio Grande weaving style, the Trujillos of Centinela Traditional Arts. Eilert's skills are comparable but her special sense of color and design are hers alone. She uses mostly natural dyes and handspun wool for her work, which may be used either as tapestry or rug.

Black Cat Books & Coffee beckons for a used-book browse and a superlative cup of java.

The oldest artist co-op in the Las Cruces area, the Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery has a broad range of art by 30 juried artists.

High-quality Native American jewelry and crafts are sold at surprisingly good prices in the adobe shops of Old Mesilla Plaza if you have the patience to weed through multitudes of cheesy ceramic Native American dolls with feathered headdresses (not what the locals wore) and other various and sundry tourist tchotchkes. The al fresco Farmers Market offers homegrown produce such as watermelons and green chiles (in season), as well as handcrafted souvenirs and jewelry, on the plaza noon to 4 Sunday and 11 to 4 Friday year-round. In mid-afternoon on Sunday from September to early November, you can enjoy live mariachi music here, too.

Rio Bravo Gallery Fine Art Inc. carries the richly saturated SX-70 Polaroids of H. Joe Waldrum, along with paintings and sculpture by contemporary local artists.

Vendors at the Silver City Trading Co.'s Antique Mall stock antiques, collectibles, and various and sundry treasures and trinkets. There are some real finds in this filled-to-the-rafters space, for a lot less than you'll see in many areas. Take some time to look in the nooks and crannies.