6 Best Places to Shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico

This North Valley stalwart has been reviving readers' spirits for many a year in a cozy neighborhood setting. A committed independent seller, Bookworks fairly prides itself on service, and booklovers from all corners flock here for its fine stock of regional coffee-table books, a well-culled selection of modern fiction and nonfiction, architecture and design titles, well-chosen calendars and cards, and a (small) playground's worth of kids' books. Regular signings and readings draw some big guns to this compact treasure.

Ramble north on this rural stretch of Edith Boulevard and your reward is not only a bit of Albuquerque history en route (the old Camino Real ran along Edith), but the unexpected wonder that is Eldora Chocolate. The actual chocolate making happens here, too, and the many shop's many awards attest to owner Steve Prickett’s attention to quality and the nuances of the chocolate bean. This is true artisanal chocolate—any aficionado is sure to learn something special about their 70% Tanzanian, say, and tastings are offered freely.

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.

With joyful designs composed in the spirit of traditional woodblock prints, whimsical pure cotton flour-sack dish towels—and yardage, napkins, potholders, and more—roll off the silk-screen presses here (don't miss their special misprint sales). While the perfectly soft and absorbent towel fabric is imported from Pakistan, the themes and attitude are purely local and New Mexico-inspired. View the printing process from their retail shop, where you will also find an irresistible selection of finely made hand-hewn products from other sustainably focused makers with keen eyes for design. The colorfully felted Flying Dragon children's mobiles (Nepal) are delightful, and the pewter animal magnets from Roofoos in Oregon are pretty cool too.

Take a moment in this neat and quiet shop to appreciate the very particular eye of its owner, Connie Fulwyler, who, while not at all intrusive, will gladly relay the backstory of any piece here. Her offerings center on 19th- and 20th-century art and history (Anglo, Mexican, and Native American), with a touch of "odd science" and politics: find a winsome piggy bank rendered in 1940s–50s Tlaquepaque glazeware, an original Harrison Begay gouache painting, vintage Taxco sombrero cufflinks, 1813 political engravings, early-20th-century Santo Domingo bowls, a Gilbert Atencio serigraph used for a menu cover, rare books and paper ephemera, and more.

A destination on its own, the wonderful Farm Shop at the renowned Los Poblanos Inn carries a distinctive selection of books, culinary gadgets, fine crafts from local makers (jewelry, textiles, ceramics), the same soothing and perfectly scented lavender lotions and soaps found in the inn's guestrooms, and a considerable variety of artisan jams, vinegars, and sauces. For takeaway sustenance, the inn's Campo kitchen whips up crisply crusted breads, sandwiches, coffee, tea, and cakes.