How to Build a Creative Space

Published by Bev Taylor at November 28, 2019

Artifacts 302 is the eastern anchor to historic Downtown Farmington.  We really are five unique entities where a lot happens under one roof. 

We got our start in 1995 after the closure of Farmington Lumber and Hardware as rentable studio space for artists which eventually led to opening a formal gallery with a Main Street store front in 1999.   Down the road we realized that people visited the gallery looking to take home a bit of New Mexico, especially something with red or green chile in it.  This led to finding vendors who specialized in New Mexico-made chile food products and the eventual creation of our “Chile Store”.

In more recent years we saw the need to create a food space of some kind connected with the gallery and that need gave birth to our Studio Bake Shoppe featuring homestyle baked goods, espresso, assorted teas and Italian sodas.   The final part of the development of our unique space included being able to provide an amazing rentable venue for special events such as  business gatherings, fund-raising events, weddings, anniversaries and birthday parties, as well as accommodating staff meetings, writer’s groups, knitting groups, photo shoots, and small conferences.  Our community had truly embraced our unique business and our historic building.