design destinations: Santa Fe
SO many recommendations, the most incredible Airbnb plus Taos
WOW I lived an entire lifetime in 9 days in New Mexico, so get ready for ALOT of recommendations. Native art, Georgia O Keefe’s home, food, shops, day trips, and a few days in Taos. And an Airbnb built in 1795 you MUST visit.
Santa Fe is great at: sunshine, friendly open matriarchy vibe humans, very liberal, decent food, art, SHOPS!
It felt so good to hear so much Spanish everywhere, feel the cultural blend of indigenous tribes (24 in New Mexico alone) with Mexican culture, and Spanish influence. I love the vibe in Santa Fe. The depth of history and tradition is palpable. Santa Fe is the second oldest city in the country. And you feel that history in every step. People feel so safe there, and you can feel that from them.
native art
Really had some fun with discovering Pueblo pottery. Specifically, I fell in love with avanyu style pottery. Typically seen in painted terracotta, black or occasionally a sienna brown color. Four Pueblo tribes do this style today. The Santa Clara Pueblo tribe and San Ildefonso Pueblo makes my favorite pieces, beautifully black pottery with eagle feather detail, a technique pioneered by Maria Martinez, the most famous Pueblo potter, in the early 1900s. Humans making this style of pottery today are 8th generation potters. Can you even fathom? I know so little about 8 generations ago ancestors, and we certainly haven’t passed down beautiful crafts like this.
The sienna version includes firing the pots a second time, processing with manure. These seemed to be rare given the success rate of a second firing. I also learned that the 20 Pueblo tribes (19 in new mexico) are the only native peoples in America who didn’t get displaced.
Vintage seemed expensive, but we scored at 3 different shops. I got this incredible lined Jean jacket with a stitched cancer horoscope appliqué on the back. Jess is a cancer sun, so he took it as a sign. We’re told vintage has become an SF status thing, so it’s pricey but we enjoyed hunting around.
Parking was harder than expected for a town this small. Very very few parking lots, and everything is paid. However it takes 5 minutes to get literally anywhere in town which is lovely. Art is everywhere! The temperature changes 20 degrees from sunup to midday so dressing involved lots of layers. But there was constant sunshine, which was a welcome respite from the rain.
