The Macsel Shop has Grand Opening on September 21, 2025

Bisbee artists Julianna Thomas, Tamara Thomas, Shelby Mahan, and many other vendors are staying on with the new proprietor of the former Tumbleweeds Mining Company, who have retired. A large diverse inventory offering clothing, apparel of all kinds, contemporary art, and many other colorful things, Mascal Handmade LLC is also a merchant importer of colorful items from Mexico. Formerly located in the Mercantile Building next to the Main Page Gallery, the new Macsel Shop is wall-to-wall joy, but has more room for more artistsand clothiers, particularly upstairs on the second floor where Jill’s Towels and More showcases lots

of new inventory just delivered, and a bunch of big markdowns on other inventory. Even her mom does some altered work on pieces. Rumor told, in years

past a live black-box theatre had lived on the 2nd floor. To sign on at this large two story retail and art space, go check it out and visit with Anahí at the front desk. Have a self-guided tour of Bisbee’s creative spirit falling into a trance of individual objects, a chorus of many, a root divination of life.

Julianna Thomas’ featured clothing line is called District 19 Designs ~ “Clothing dedicated to beauty and movement… I started my line in 2009. I had just moved back from studying flamenco dance in Spain and the economy was still recovering, so I started sewing. I started out by working with vintage slips and other various thrift store finds; putting appliques on them and dying them. And of course flamenco inspired skirts are a big part of my inventory.” Right now her skirts, some up-cycled clothing, and other inspired works are at Macsel Shop, front and center as you enter its vast emporium. Also take note that her music is worth your time in spades, both as Jules Jazz Lounge and the flamenco fusion group MaHavia, paired with her husband the artist and musician Derren Davidavich Crosby. Visit their website to book their live music, see them on video, schedule for dance classes, or see more of District 19!

“Since everything is handmade by me, instead of contracting my designs out, my inventory is super sporadic and original. Like a lot of artists, I have many irons in the fire… One of the biggest muses in my clothing has been appliques… Up-Cycling deconstructed skirts and dresses… Our Lady of Guadalupe…her materials used for “mixing up designs, even swirl skirts made out of used t-shirts” like the torn memory of haunting songs once known. One way to understand the power of Julianna’s clothing design, I think, is to hear the emotional power of her voice, her song writing, and her cinematic presence on this planet. Julianna has participated in international stage productions and recently did a project with the Bisbee filmmaker and photographer Puspa Loymeyer called La Vida Corazon. “Working with Puspa to combine the brilliance of this desert landscape with the drama of flamenco was one of the best experiences of my life.” Don’t miss out on her! In this Strange Beauty series of articles I focus on the unique creative processes of Bisbee clothing designers, fiber artists, alternative alteration and up-cycled clothing artists; their  businesses, their practices, and their related communities at all retail and design levels: The polymath of their creative lives, and the stunning genius of so many rising female entrepreneurs and their partners dotting these mountain streets.

In art I believe that developing your own techniques is the development of original style, even in the historical genre’s of craft such as weaving or ceramics. Adding that extra unique stretch of thought is where the rule or tradition-following craftsperson becomes an artist in their own right. Bisbee arts are known for a number of textile artists who re-envision and manipulate found and vintage clothing and other objects. Bisbee’s art studio and residency, gallery and theater, The Central School Project, hosts a Re-Make show each fall, filled with artworks of all kinds replete with found, recycled or remade materials, objects, and beggar’s cloth. It is a most ancient of forms if you think about it. Quilt making re-uses scraps of cloth to create a “larger blanket”, and I should mention how stories were passed on retaining cultural knowledge during the traditions of making, and the from the pieces of the quilt themselves during a family’s use of them. All these motifs, in turn, can become metaphors of each other, and new forms, hybrids of forms, hyphenations of the otherwise incomplete, and each fold’s features. Regional artists here often embroider, paint on, knit into, or collage found clothing, as though a found sound object of musique concrete, but as works of functional and wearable art. It’s a creative logic Bisbee features in much clothing design, related apparel and curated vintage, to how we weave all kinds of art we do. “This dream began over two years ago. I’m  Anahí Sanchez originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

My shop started with a table, with bracelets that I made. Later, I added hand-painted hats from a friend. We realize that by asking him for more, we were helping to increase his family’s income, so we decided to select handmade products from small artisan families. Little by little we increased our inventory to contribute to the growth of our business so that this year “Macsel Handmade” grew and made the decision to move to a location with more space.” Exceptionally commendable, they were given the opportunity to keep the existing vendors or to boot them out and just sell their own goods. “But we decided to work as a team with them and integrate them into our mission.” Everyone is very excited and new artists are looking into joining the laid back consortium.

The Shop remains of the name Macsel, a hybrid of the owner and her son’s names, for which a mother comes to dedicate her life to. “Macsel is my son’s nickname “Mateo” and my nickname “Celeste”. It’s a fusion of our names and represents our essence as part of a movement of people who value and appreciate the handmade work of every artisan in the region.” It “represents our project, and we are now integrating local artists into our mission. Our mission is to showcase and elevate handmade products from both the United States and Mexico, building a cultural bridge that celebrates creativity and tradition. We aim to empower artisan families in both countries by creating sustainable opportunities, while offering our customers authentic pieces that carry stories with soul.”

At Macsel we want to believe that we don’t sell products, “we share stories with the soul. Every piece we offer reflects the hands that create with passion: from Mexican artisans preserving ancestral traditions to local Bisbee artists reinterpreting culture with their own style. Here, every piece has a face, a story, and a unique essence. We want every customer to experience more than just taking home art: it is about carrying identity, building a bridge between cultures, and directly supporting those who keep creativity alive. We invite you to discover our collection at 81 Main Street or www.macselshop.com and become part of this community that celebrates what is authentic, handmade, and timeless.”

“We are open and we will have a Grand Opening September 21, 2025: The “Raices Gran” Opening: Art with Soul, Culture that Connects” from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Their Theme is “A

Bridge of Cultures: Mexico and the USA in One Place.”There will be fun activities such as a Ribbon-cutting ceremony with artisans and guest artists. There’s a Special 5 % discount on offer, a special Macsel “Coffee break” with Mexican appetizers (Tamales, horchata, jamaica, lemonade) and music. Exhibition of galleries, art, design, photos and fun. All are welcome.

I wish we had space to tell more about the other vendors who will be at Macsel. Here’s a little bit more about who they are. It will be fun to meet them at the party, and future receptions, such as the 2nd Saturday Art Walks in Bold Bisbee: 

Ali Zigerelli and Ryan from Bisbee carry a line of creosote skincare.

Alexey Mora from Tucson carries specially printed desert cards.

Mr Jim Harrelson from Bisbee makes different candle shapes, and unique printed stickers!

Elle Peltola makes clothes, tote bags, furniture and jewelry (and she also works at Jacqui’s

Patisserie just a few doors up the street. Be sure to try their world-renowned pastries.)

Brandon Cordova from Tucson makes candles, soap and bath items.

Jill Radley from Safford makes tea towels, bath towels, Arizona shirts, customized bottles.

Well known musician Mike Montoya paints and prints on t-shirts in his signature vulture

culture style. A radical up-cycler, he often paints his birds of preying on 2nd hand paintings.

Tamara Thomas, who displays loom weaving at Macsel Shop, studied fine art and English at Reed College, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Arizona. Though she feels her art mostly developed independently of formal education, Tamara is an accomplished painter of luminous realism often found blooming at various Bisbee galleries, and in murals up Old 

Bisbee’s WPA stairways. Still, she prizes herself as an “ambitious beginner” in art by taking on new genre,’ such as weaving, during the pandemic. She has a beautifully hand built walnut loom that she “tries to do justice on”, laying down the law, I’ll add: the intuitive law of experience from her years of tenacious learning and practice in so many walks of life and learning. “My degrees include a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in Psychology. I have been a professional artist for nearly all my life with murals and paintings in many private homes and businesses across the country.” But her life has been touched by the tragedy of a mother losing her child, as well, and I must think this informs the humanity of her artwork.

Shelby Mahan’s art “reflects experiences that heighten my awareness. So I tend to pick up a pen, a brush, find the paint or ink and go for it. Then just let it “come through… She prefers to “wait for inspiration to start something. I like to start and finish in one sitting, I like the immediacy… From larger canvases to recently making tiny “zines,” with hand painted magnets, prints and cards always on tap, all available in Macsel’s:

Mark Caponette paints beautiful landscapes and lives in nearby Hereford:

Currentnregular hours:

Monday to Thursday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Friday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saturday 11:00 to 7:00 pm

Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Macsel Handmade LLC

81 Main Street, Bisbee AZ.

macselshop.com

(520)590–0070

Ken Boe is a Bisbee artist and writer. Support his work at patreon.com/kenboe including his Poem At Night series; his new blogs and videos, and his real-time relaunching of the #BPNP Bisbee Poetry Normalization Project, infamously normalizing a presence of poetry all over town, and beyond. Find a poem on an old telegraph or telephone pole, in a shop window, or bulletin board. You may see where to get his artwork at kenboe.com, or buy directly by scrolling down at the online artfarmiowa.com/store where he held an artist residency in the summer of 2024.

See below Ken Boe’s Whipdych Diptch painting where it formerly hung in the stairwell of the Macsel Shop, and the “corner diptych” was then invented. See it now in Miami, Arizona at the Lyric Soda Fountain exhibition of his large whip paintings on canvas: WIND.