Great pieces that people on a budget can afford. The actual artist was at the shop the weekend we…read moredropped in and he is a great down to earth person.

From the owner: The gallery in Galena opened in 1972 showing the watercolors ofCarl Johnson and continues doing…read morethat.

Local art for sale here. We saw some fun and quirky stuff. Picked up their card, they also have a…read morelocation in Dubuque Iowa.

I liked this gallery a lot but didn't have a chance to spend much time in it. They feature many…read moredifferent styles of artwork here. There are paintings and blown glass, lots of cards, ceramics, photographs. If you appreciate beautiful things, I'd suggest a stop here.

My husband and I were here to see the "Wonder of Wood" exhibit. This is a free center where local…read moreartists can display and sell their art. They do ask for donations. The building used to be a hospital, with a healthcare facility attached. This center is in the old doctor's office area, hence the specimen door in the bathrooms. The retirement community is in the old hospital area of the building. The exhibit of woods was wonderful and I would have bought some of it had I had that kind of money. Most items that I really liked were "NFS" not for sale. I could see why. There was a collection of very old photos of Galena from the Alfie Mueller Collection that were fascinating. There is a room with some chairs and a short video of an interview of Mr. Mueller, who has passed away, that you should watch. This visit took us maybe one hour, maybe a little longer.

The center is a non-profit where local artists display their work, and where various other…read moreactivities such as live music, dance and films can be accessed by the public. For example, in summer, beginning at the end of June they offer free films for kids from 6-8PM. You can also get Tango lessons. It occupies, I believe, a former hospital, and is adjacent to a long term care facility. So the "studios" are former patient rooms. There is gallery and exhibit space right at the entrance, and a small downstairs space for performances, and in winter, a farmer's market and craft fair. A pretty bare bones, utilitarian space. The art upstairs can be purchased. Entrance is free and donations are welcome. In a town where 85% of building are historic, I was kind of expecting the center to be in an old school, perhaps. But kudos to the town and the art community for even having a center for the arts. And for not naming it something like "Community Memorial General Center for The Arts." And most important, there is a lot of nice artwork here.

What a historical place, and how the volunteers are all passionate about keeping this piece of…read moreGalena history alive! We were walking down Main Street at Galena, and stumbled upon this place. Turned out it was a live museum! There are volunteers blacksmithing while telling the significant history of the shop and blacksmiths at Galena. On top of that, they are 100% supported by the admission fee ($5 per person), and proceeds from the gift shops (many are items forged by the volunteering blacksmiths). We enjoyed our visit, and learned an interesting piece of history!

This was the most interesting thing we did in Galena! This is a real working blacksmith shop. The…read morestaff is very friendly and they volunteer their time. We got so much information on how things worked and the origin of the shop and its history. When you are there take a look at the picture of the original shop. It looks exactly the same. I disagree with the other yelper that said they need updated signs and that it looked like a "crappy old shack". It is historical and looks like a crappy old shack because that's what it would've looked like. As for cleaning the place, why would you clean a place that uses coal to fuel the fires? Take your children here and show them how things were. Make a donation or buy an item that was made there to keep them open. They have bottle openers, hooks, pokers, decorative lamp pulls, and meat turners for grilling. I think it just depends on the day you are there what has been made.

I'm glad we stopped in this unique little gallery, which sells the works of a variety of local…read morepotters. Pieces offered were functional, decorative, or both; I ended up purchasing a striking vase from a local artist (Pine Hollow Pottery). The owner (Joe Pinder) was available to tell us about the art, the gallery and upcoming shows and festivals. (His dog was also hanging out, and was very cute.) Pieces were surprisingly affordable (I'm used to the art shows in a different area, I guess, where products are more costly). Overall, I would definitely keep this place in mind on a return visit to Galena for art with a personal touch and a local flavor.

Very great and Awesome Pottery Store in the Quaint Historic town of Galena. Joe Pinder the owner…read morewas very informative about pottery in regards to if the pottery is safe to eat and can be used for everyday to other things like a Noggin Cup that I purchase as a souvenir and to use to drink small strong beverages on my Noggin pottery cup besides beer from what I was informed. Also a Noggin in the British Definition is a unit of measurement versus the American Version which was our head in the dictionary. He was also very friendly and knowledgeable about the history of pottery and how it effected society during those contemporary times

Not really much that was of interest to me. No one acknowledged my existence, so I just wandered…read morebriefly. They have charms, purses, necklaces, other jewelry, and a bunch of other stuff.

Items are overpriced and the store is very cramped. BEWARE of this store if you have children with…read moreyou. The moment that we walked in the store owner was glaring at our children. She must have been following them around the store because she came over and fixed the displays the second they touched something. Then it happened.....My son picked up a piggy bank that looked like a basketball, dropped, and broke the item. I volunteered to pay for the item, but was honestly surprised when the store owner did make me pay for the item. She even threw the broken pieces into the garbage, not asking if I wanted to try salvaging the item. I was very surprised that the store did not accept the accident. It would be the same thing as someone spilling a drink in a restaurant or dropping their food. I could never imagine being given another and being charged for the accident. I did express my irritation with the owner's response to the accident. I guess I just have had too many good experiences with customer service that this came as a shock. The owner told me that I should not be frustrated with her, but with my son. He was the one who dropped it. She even mentioned talking to him about it. I suppose I paid for parenting advice.... As a homeowner in the Galena Territories, we have shopped at this store previously with no problem. After this experience, we will not be coming back. We will also not be sending any of our guests to this shop.

Charming independent bookstore, compact but compelling. They seem to specialize in self-help/modern…read morephilosophy/social issues type of titles, but there is plenty of fiction, history, local interest, and any other genre that you would expect. They sell beautiful posters at extremely reasonable prices as well as framing kits for them. There are offbeat greeting cards and writing supplies too. And quaint jigsaw puzzles! Back in the children's area there is a small shelf of graphic novels. However, some of these titles are definitely not for kids, e.g. The Road and 1984. Yikes!

I like books. I like stationery. And this place has enough things to make me forget what's outside…read more Pros: Clean, friendly, organized. Cons: Giant companies get million dollar tax breaks while beautiful stores like this have to pay their 'fair share'. I enjoyed finding this store. The book selections were varied enough to account for different genres and interests. The stationary offerings were a decent balance between not enough and overwhelming. And the customer service was helpful, friendly, and kind. We really enjoyed our visit. Wish we lived closer.