DEB AND PATRICK ESPIE purchased the 1880s building in downtown Eagle Nest right before the Covid-19 pandemic. The couple had recently moved from Ohio and were ready to invest in a new business. Deb’s first entrepreneurial endeavor in New Mexico—cut flower farming—had been a bust, but she wasn’t giving up. She had a feeling this building on Therma Street could be magic with just the right touch.
Five years later, Eagle Nest Mercantile is an inviting shop, featuring local art and gifts. Out front, the garden beds bloom with dahlias and delphiniums around glass-blown sculptures and wind-spinners. “It works as marketing and advertising,” she says. “It’s where I can keep my love of gardening alive.”
1 John Haines pottery, $10–$350. 2 Hogue Leather purses, $40–$475. 3 Ramona Bagley paintings, $1,100–$3,500. 4 Sugarcoated by Reva embellished flannel shirts, $120–$195. 5 Marika Guthrie painted guitar, $185. 6 Pamela McCann fused glass, $3,200.
Inside, Deb has grown her stock to include 28 New Mexico and Colorado makers, including artists in Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, Española, Placitas, Ratón, Questa, and Abiquiú. Souvenir mugs and dishware, local leather goods, and Western-style women’s clothes and jewelry are surrounded by paintings on every wall. When the mercantile opened, it sold almost all the art on consignment. Now, there’s roughly a 50-50 split of regular merchandise and consigned goods.
“Eagle Nest is a summer town, and we get all kinds of people—vacationers, travelers, tourists, and nomads,” Deb says. “I really listen to the people.” She started holding regular summer classes taught by the artists in the gallery. She’s found that her customers don’t just want a keepsake from their trip; they enjoy feeding their own creativity too. “If there’s one silver lining of the past few years,” Deb says, “it was that people started doing their hobbies again. I wanted to support local people in their passions.”
SHOP EAGLE NEST
Mercantile at 170 E. Therma Drive in Eagle Nest, or follow online at nmmag.us/eaglenestmerc.