The Rainbow Man

Among the many shops selling gifts of every type in downtown Santa Fe, the Rainbow Man is distinctive. Much like an old, crowded antique shop, but the merchandise is new and the dust illusory. It’s the kind of place where time seems to go still, and the outside world doesn’t exist.
In one densely stocked room after another, one can browse a unique selection of wood carved statues, metal works, pottery, and woven pieces, in a wide range of sizes and colors. There is also an outdoor courtyard with more to browse. Native American, New Mexican, and Mexican works are represented. The howling canine statues, in variable size groupings, are especially wonderful. Prices range widely, although for the most part, this is not the place for cheaper merchandise.
There’s no other store in the area quite like the Rainbow Man. It’s worth a visit even just to browse.

Sir Paul McCartney purchased a museum-​quality, triptych photograph in here, and if it’s where he shops, it’s good enough for me!
I’ve been shopping here for over 35 years, and they are the one store in Santa Fe that has amazing quality items and has the history and knowledge of everything southwest.
I purchased a White Hogan, Allen Kee, bracelet here, and am so grateful to this family for their knowledge and for keeping this shop going all these years!
The reviewer who is bashing this store because they didn’t let her/​him in after they were closed, just represents the entitled generation, and should not be allowed to review, imho.

Doug and I love to visit the Rainbow Man when we are in Santa Fe. We have a number of small treasures from our visits… Don’t miss it.

This is not a review of The Rainbow Man the shop, which is delightful, but of Rainbow Man himself, who is not.
I stumbled across this shop 7 or 8 years ago when I was passing through Santa Fe. It is utterly unlike any of the other stores in SF. It’s more off-​beat, it’s weird (and these things, by my book, are wonderful things). While I was there, I bought what I want to call a *sheep wool explosion* for my mother. I don’t know what these things are actually called, but they’re little wooden sheepie frames with a massive coat of real sheep wool hair. I had the shop mail the sheep wool explosion (let’s call it SWE) to my mother in Omaha, NE and it became one of her favorite household items. She used to decorate it with little seasonal touches (ornaments at Christmas, fake cobwebs on Halloween). Fast forward to last summer when half of my mother’s house (including her precious SWE) went up in flames.
For very random reasons, I found myself very briefly in Santa Fe this past week. My thoughts immediately turned to The Rainbow Man shop, and the possibility of a new SWE for my mother. Here’s where the story takes a sad turn. First, it takes me awhile to find the right store. There are a zillion stores in downtown Santa Fe and they all look basically the same. It’s late afternoon and it’s clear the shops will start closing soonish, so I’m dragging my poor friends around looking frantically for the right place. Finally, I see it (unbelievably! it exists!). We get to the doorframe. I wait while two customers inside the store step outside, and I start to step inside when — again, I’m not sure who the guy was but I can only assume it’s the eponymous Rainbow Man — this dude blocks my path and tells me the store’s closed.
First, I’m in disbelief because, after all, is there no justice in this world? It doesn’t seem possible that I could find the right place after all these years only to be barred from entry like a sloppy drunk trying to enter a bar. (Especially because, clearly, the door *is* open.) So I say to Rainbow Man, Please, I’m from California, and I’ve spent the last hour looking for *your shop.* It’s very special to me. I just need to buy an SWE. Rainbow Man says, Sorry, we open tomorrow at 9a. I say, Rainbow Man, I’m not gonna be here tomorrow; I’m gonna be on a plane. Can I just come in super quick and buy this SWE. Please? Rainbow Man says, No dice.
Now, let’s be honest. Is Rainbow Man really a jerk? Well, not really. At the time, it was 5.43p, and Unilocal claims that the store closes at 5.30p. So no, he’s not a jerk, especially since he obviously let those two other people stay past closing. He was probably just in a rush to close the store. But what about human decency? Would you close a door in a girl’s face as she’s begging to come into a shop she still remembers and holds dear after 10 years? I’m not saying that what Rainbow Man did was unbusinesslike. I’m saying it was inhumane. How hard would it have been to say, Okay, you’ve got 10 minutes, and then I’m locking up. Would that have been so bad, Rainbow Man?
Is this review way too long? Yes. But it could have been a long and glowing review about how great Rainbow Man is because he let me into his shop for 10 minutes and made my whole effing vacation. Instead, I’m peeved and sheepless and my mother has no SWE.

We were directed here because the woman who sold me two pairs of shoes said her fiancé and his family owned the gallery nearby. We were here a week and many places have the same things but Rainbow Man was different enough for me to write about here before I left town. It’s a little bit of everything but the young man who worked there was engaging and fun to speak with. They had jewelry, art, artifacts but my kids went overboard for the fake paper Mache doughnuts and the fake fruit. It’s not the usual place on or near the plaza and worth checking out. Don’t take my word, check it out for yourself.

This is a fun shop in Santa Fe! It is very well decorated with the many cute NM inspired products they sell. I wanted to buy so many items but could only fit so much in my carryon :(I ended up buying these really cute cat day of the dead figurines, and some mini pumpkins and butterflies made out of clay. They have AMAZING Dia de los Muertos figurines/​displays.

Great items at reasonable prices. A little bit of Santa Fe was in this shop. Fast service and great prices for really cool little nick-​nacks.

What a fun place for Mexican tchotchkes! The family running it was so very kind and friendly and his dog, even more so. I personally loved shopping around in the courtyard versus inside the store.
Someone mentioned that it is listed as an art gallery; it is not. Rainbow Man is a festive escape off the street and a great photo op!

This place is Huuuge but reminded me so much of actual shopping places in Mexico we just had to go in. Half the store is «inside» and half of it is in a courtyard outside. There was so much variety of absolutely everything you could possibly imagine!
We ended up purchasing a really cook vase here. If you are looking for house numbers, vases, bowls, things to hang on your wall, fabric, mirrors, you name it, they have it (jewelry, etc.)
Definitely worth checking out if you are looking to pick up a little something as a souvenir and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg.

This place is listed as an art gallery, which I find totally surprising and incorrect. Sure, they sell some Native American jewelery, some wooden figurines, but for the most part, this a trinket shop, a souvenir collector shop. I’ve seen many of the same things in many shops in touristy Mexico, but for far cheaper. Sure, it costs more to go to Mexico, so things here may be a bargain, but you’re in freaking Santa Fe and there are a ton of Art Galleries who would spit on this place for calling it as such.
That’s not to say this is a bad place. There’s a lot of stuff you won’t find anywhere else in Santa Fe, or at least I didn’t. And we actually bought a couple of things here.
I’m surprised there are no reviews for this place, being that it’s near the heart of the Plaza area, and it’s been around since the 40’s or 50’s as they say.