Deming - An old big-hipped Territorial-style house with a long porch wrapped around the front is where the Galleria on 8th has found its home. The store is stuffed full of interesting antique and contemporary international gift items that sparkle with fantasy and charm and eclecticism.<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/galleriaon8th.jpg align=right hspace=2 border=2>
The rooms are more or less divided by theme, but there’s lots of sprawl and flow from one room to the next, reflecting Greg Jones’ expansive, creative, rather chaotic mind. In one conversation with him the subject can run from the development of a tourist industry in Deming to his plans to start a community garden to his trip to Ecuador to buy perhaps 200 alpaca sweaters, plus scarves and some furniture, which should be available at a low price in December.
Jones had an export business in Ecuador for seven years, and co-owner Richard Manning and he have had showrooms for antiques in Scottsdale, Ariz., before moving to Deming. One of the most appealing things about the place is that it carries items for every economic level. A customer can find used jewelry for a few dollars or furniture, pottery, or tapestries worth thousands of dollars.
There’s a roomful of jewelry and accessories as you go in the front door that includes just about anything-- retro costume jewelry, turquoise, Swarovsky crystals, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, and hand-made silver from Ecuador.
The next room contains unique fantasy craft items such as Mardi-Gras masks, Christmas or non-Christmas ornaments, sequined boxes, or an ornate two-foot high horse.
The southwest room has southwest crafts, not surprisingly, and Latin American pieces including Mata Ortiz pots. Another room contains a special, rare collection of antique clerical vestments for sale, and another, right in the middle of it all, contains contemporary, creative toys for children.
Glassware and fine china fill four small rooms, and there are a lot of miscellaneous objects that show up about anywhere.
An event with a Navajo weaver attracted 400 people on October 15. “It blows me away that we’re getting this much interest,” says Jones. He’s hoping to bring other artists to their store every month in the year to come.
The 8th Street Marketplace that happened on Saturday mornings in the summer and fall had fresh produce and crafts made by local people. This is being extended through the winter with the help of a special new room, with winter hours from 8:00am to 2:00pm.
200 South 8th Street (corner of Spruce and 8th) 544-9029, www.GalleriaOn8th.com (http://www.galleriaon8th.com/), info@GalleriaOn 8th.com
By Marjorie Lilly - Steppin’ Out Southwestern Regional Rep
© 2006 SONewMex.com - Permission To Reprint Granted
Deming - An old big-hipped Territorial-style house with a long porch wrapped around the front is where the Galleria on 8th has found its home. The store is stuffed full of interesting antique and contemporary international gift items that sparkle with fantasy and charm and eclecticism.<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/galleriaon8th.jpg align=right hspace=2 border=2>
The rooms are more or less divided by theme, but there’s lots of sprawl and flow from one room to the next, reflecting Greg Jones’ expansive, creative, rather chaotic mind. In one conversation with him the subject can run from the development of a tourist industry in Deming to his plans to start a community garden to his trip to Ecuador to buy perhaps 200 alpaca sweaters, plus scarves and some furniture, which should be available at a low price in December.
Jones had an export business in Ecuador for seven years, and co-owner Richard Manning and he have had showrooms for antiques in Scottsdale, Ariz., before moving to Deming. One of the most appealing things about the place is that it carries items for every economic level. A customer can find used jewelry for a few dollars or furniture, pottery, or tapestries worth thousands of dollars.
There’s a roomful of jewelry and accessories as you go in the front door that includes just about anything-- retro costume jewelry, turquoise, Swarovsky crystals, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, and hand-made silver from Ecuador.
The next room contains unique fantasy craft items such as Mardi-Gras masks, Christmas or non-Christmas ornaments, sequined boxes, or an ornate two-foot high horse.
The southwest room has southwest crafts, not surprisingly, and Latin American pieces including Mata Ortiz pots. Another room contains a special, rare collection of antique clerical vestments for sale, and another, right in the middle of it all, contains contemporary, creative toys for children.
Glassware and fine china fill four small rooms, and there are a lot of miscellaneous objects that show up about anywhere.
An event with a Navajo weaver attracted 400 people on October 15. “It blows me away that we’re getting this much interest,” says Jones. He’s hoping to bring other artists to their store every month in the year to come.
The 8th Street Marketplace that happened on Saturday mornings in the summer and fall had fresh produce and crafts made by local people. This is being extended through the winter with the help of a special new room, with winter hours from 8:00am to 2:00pm.
200 South 8th Street (corner of Spruce and 8th) 544-9029, www.GalleriaOn8th.com (http://www.galleriaon8th.com/), info@GalleriaOn 8th.com