Cool pieces, but questionable shopkeeper/manager/owner?
We have purchased from this gallery in the past and like the selection of local artists' work. Prices are very reasonable and the items are unique and well crafted.
However, our recent experience made me reconsider purchasing from this location and we probably won't be back.
We recently visited the shop and it was closed when it was supposed to be open. It's a pretty relaxed town, so we wandered a bit and came back later and found it open. We entered to find an older white man talking loudly to anyone who would listen about the employee who had not shown up to work that morning and had subsequently been fired. He apologized to us for opening late (not a biggie, but thanks) and then continued to gripe loudly about the personal situation that led to the person not showing up and then getting fired. We did our best to take a look around, but he seemed pretty set on involving everyone within earshot.
I understand being upset when an employee doesn't show, but he shared a very personal and sensitive reason that the fired employee did not show and he just kept going on and on. I don't care to repeat the details (I shouldn't know them in the first place), but I think many people would have been offended by his callous attitude. A few moments later, another customer came in and the same shopkeep started making political statements loudly to the person.
We found a few items we were interested in, but the shopkeep/owner/manager/whatever-he-was proved to be so annoying and blatantly inappropriate that we left behind the items we were considering and looked elsewhere for local art. I don't want to support anyone who espouses such views in public.
Luckily, in Crested Butte, one has many good options for local art and we were able to find some great items down the street. read more