The Folk Art Gallery

I have shopped at the Folk Art Gallery on many occasions and find the store and the people that work there to be knowledgeable and very helpful. They typically offer an insight into the product one wouldn’t normally expect. I have found treasures here that remind me of a trips I’ve taken throughout the world. I would recommend this store for gifts with great cards to accompany. HIGH MARKS

I always can’t wait until it’s someone’s birthday/​holiday because I get to go shopping at the Folk Art Gallery where I know I will find the perfect gift!
I always find a wide, varied array and selection, and something within my budget. They also do a very lovely gift wrap if you ask.
I also like that the Owner Sharon has always been happy to take the time to chat and discuss art, what’s coming up, and take special requests if the shop’s not too busy.

Great jewelry, high quality, very original. The owner travels and buys for the store and the pieces from Mexico and Indonesia are original and well priced based on my own bargaining in other countries, and web searches to find comparable pieces. I started at Mexican filagree earrings which were too heavy for my ears and ended up with gorgeous hand carved shell and sterling earrings from Indonesia. I could have spent much more, because everything I tried on was well crafted and gorgeous.

This little store was charming, and contrary to what the other petty people wrote, the shopkeeper was very friendly. This is a small business and the prices she is asking are fair. There are some nice earrings and Oxoacan art. Obviously, some people have no understanding of overhead and how businesses function.

I’ve always been a student of the exotic, extraordinary, marvelous, mysterious, novel, oddball, peculiar, puzzling, quaint, queer, rare, remarkable, singular, strange, unconventional, unexpected, unique, unorthodox, unusual, weird and wonderful things in life! Whew! That was a long sentence.
That part of my being coupled with my equally earnest desires to know and understand the spiritual side of humankind, pulled me into the Folk Art Gallery like a shepherd’s crook around the neck of an errant lamb.
Artifacts, objects, jewelry, pottery, statuary, clothing, batiks, tapestries, religious pieces and more from around the world are displayed in museumesque clusters. Yet … this place is unlike any other museum. You see here at the Folk Art Gallery, customers are encouraged to touch, feel, smell, savour, listen, observe and examine.
Nowhere inside this gallery did I see any trite little «lovely to look at, delightful to hold, but if you break it, consider it sold» postings. This is an Ethnic Exploratorium.
Native American and Peruvian pottery fascinate me. Near the back of the store, on a several tiered glass display shelving unit are thirty or more examples of this kind of pottery. The intricacies of design in each piece seemingly suggests that some computerized program etched these patterns on their surface, but NO. These are genuine hand-​crafted pieces and that’s what transfers the soul of the artist into her or his piece.
I took my time browsing among the rest of the store with its’ various offerings and felt as if I’d taken a trip around the world, all in the comfort of this quaint and warm shop.
I chatted with the sales clerk, only to learn that she is non other than Sharon Christovich, the owner of the store — the volunteer docent or unpaid curator. Her passion for the store is like that of a mother for her child.
Sharon recently wrote this in her on-​line blog. «I’ve become a curator of beautiful things and great stories that bring a sense of joy to my eye and my heart. There are messages in these marvelous objects that spin tales about the ritual lives, cultural identity, spirituality, social status and hopes and dreams of their creators.»
I couldn’t have said it better!
Check out the Folk Art Gallery’s on-​line blog at:

Hello and good-​bye
When I walked into this store I smiled and said, «Hello!‘
The clerk just glowered at me and gave me the stink eye.
I walked through the store quickly and saw some nice stuff that I would have considered buying but no thanks.
Maybe I didn’t look Marin-​like enough.
I asked my hubby what he thought,
«Yeah she was a bitch’»

After managing to flush one half of my favorite sterling earrings down the toilet…
I purchased some nice sterling silver earrings with large topaz stones. The have great silver jewelry and lots of other knick knacks.
I will be going back for my next pair of sterling earrings. Hopefully the same fate won’t befall my new pair.