Old Town Indian Trading Post

Loved my experience at Old Town, but this place takes the cake. Sure it doesn't have the finazz and the shine as the other stores in that general area, but that's PRECISELY the reason why I like it. When I walked in the other stores, mostly owned by Middle Eastern proprietors, I felt like I was approached by people working on commission. You know the feeling when your guard is up because you have a feeling that they're trying to swindle you...The Indian Trading Post was different. It looked and felt exactly what I had expected it to look and feel like. The selection here was immense, and I really liked the fact that it was Indian owned and sold only Indian-made jewelry. Mary, the clerk behind the owner was great! She made us feel right at home sharing the history of her people. She knew the story and the name of every craftsman/artist who sold their goods at her store. I left the store with a beautiful bracelet for a great price and a lot of wonderful memories.

Last week was my first visit to Albuquerque. The worst experience I had in that city was the clerk of this store, I really love the flavor of Old Town and the nostalgia it possesses. I came in with a very well respected decorated retired Chief of Police. What made this trip pivotal for me was it was my first introduction to my girlfriends family. While in the store I felt unwelcome and watched. While my gf tried to capture a wonderful moment of us the clerk said aloud. " ma'am you can't take pictures in here" Know maybe there was a sign clearly posted but we didn't see it coming from the connecting store. Coming from the NW I was surprised at the level is arrogance that clerk appear to have. We took our business elsewhere and purchased beautiful memory pieces from other locations. I'm not saying that the feeling was race related but it just appeared to feel that way because I observed her mannerism to a customer before we walked in. I work for a major hosptial medical equipment company and my girlfriend is a nurse.