Cha-ching! (12-5)

Some garden centers carry way cool plants. Some have way cool decorative items. Jackalope, with locations in New Mexico and California, is just way cool.

In Santa Fe, for example, Jackalope is a home and garden shopping destination that is considered one of the top-five attractions visited by the more than 900,000 tourists to Santa Fe each year. Founded in 1976 by Darby McQuade as a way to share his travels to Mexico and around the world, the store carries beautiful and unique items from Mexico, India, Thailand, Bali, Africa, China, and Egypt.

Jackalope features international folk art, Christmas ornaments, pottery, handmade furniture, and rugs. The main store boasts several acres of New Mexico sun-drenched excitement including wildlife in the trees, a prairie-dog village, an animal barn, a plant nursery, a furniture store, a Mercado, and a café.

As McQuade roams Jackalope’s grounds talking with customers, it’s clear his personality suffuses the place. The quirky store, a mix of international bazaar and what McQuade calls “Pier 1 on steroids,” has earned it a loyal following in New Mexico and beyond.

And it has earned plenty of "Cha-ching!" in the process.

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