Such a cute store! The owner, Joe, is very friendly. A great selection of different items and…read moreeverything is laid out nicely. Parking is easy, too!

This little shop is a treasure! Lots of local art and souvenirs. Fun for locals and visitors…read more Always something new! If you're visiting it's a must see. You will not be disappointed.

Wow, what an incredibly, unbelievably awful experience…read more The only reason there's a star attached to this is because you can't leave a zero-star review. Though I sincerely believe that's what Plaza Art & Frame deserves. If you were running a business - let's say, I don't know, a picture framing shop - and someone came in to pick up a job and pointed out that the glass wasn't what they ordered, would you: A) Say, "Oh, sorry, we'll fix it." or B) Blame and attack the customer, become disagreeable, unpleasant, and combative, and say, "I have a mind to not even work on them now! I might just give them back to you! Do you know how much work it is to tear these apart, cut new glass, THROW AWAY THE OLD GLASS, and put them back together?!" If you said 'A,' you'd fix it, you know more infinitely more about customer service than Lance and Nancy at Plaza Art & Frame in Yucca Valley do. They chose 'B.' I'll spare you the painful details, but the gist is Lance gave us a quote to frame eight small watercolors. They framed them with the wrong glass, and Nancy immediately tried to blame us, over and over, for their mistake. Then Lance came out from the back room and said the bit about not wanting to do the work to fix their mistake. I couldn't believe how off the rails the whole thing went. I said (three times), "I don't understand the problem; we're going to pay the difference." But both of them were just awful. A couple of years ago I brought in a pair of photos to frame, and they did a lovely job, and Lance was friendly and nice. I didn't deal with Nancy during that time. So it was really something else to be ganged up on by the two of them. I was dumbfounded at being treated that way by a business we were paying a substantial amount of money to. When I say "disagreeable, unpleasant, and combative," I'm not just talking about that day. It was every time we had to go into their shop for this job. I dreaded going in there (for the last time ever) to pick it up because I knew they'd be awful, and they were. I would say I don't understand how they stay in business, but I do know. It's because they're the only framers within 50 miles of Joshua Tree. If another framer opened up shop in town, Plaza Framing would go out of business in a month. Or maybe they'd eke out a living framing American flags and pictures of The Orange Man for the people they actually like and respect while all the queer weirdos (like us) go somewhere that knows how to treat people with decency and respect. (Yes, that insinuates what you think it does.) Larry David did an entire season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" around opening a "spite store." Maybe I'll do that. Open a framing shop here in Joshua Tree just to spite the disagreeable, unpleasant, combative folks at Plaza Art & Frame. Ha, just kidding, of course. Maybe.

I'm a local artist in Joshua Tree who exhibits nationally. After five years of living here…read morepermanently, I decided to try Plaza Art & Frame for five of my 23 x 30-inch watercolors--a size I regularly work on. I was hoping to match some older frame jobs I had that float without a mat in a nice maple frame. I've been framing them this way for at least fifteen years. I even brought one of them with me in my car in case I couldn't explain myself clearly. I came in and met Nancy, who was friendly and willing to help me. Other than her calling me "Hon" a bunch of times (which may offend certain people like me), things started smoothly. But when I began to tell her what I wanted, she said the paper I used was much too heavy to frame floated because it would fall down quickly. I told her that I knew there was some way to do it and brought along one that was already framed, and she was welcome to take the backing off to examine it. It had been in its frame for twelve years. The paper has never fallen. She was not interested in looking at it. She said she'd been in the frame business for thirty years and floating paper that heavy doesn't work, and they would look better matted anyway. I tried to explain they needed to match the others, but she was not willing to frame them. About a year later, I needed more than a half-dozen pieces framed, all different sizes, and this time, with mats! I wanted a simple maple frame again, and since they're watercolors, I wanted the usual UV glass. On this visit, I met Lance. I truly liked him, as he seemed to know his stuff and gave me an extremely thorough estimate, using the largest of all of the pieces so as not to underestimate. He got me to get non-glare, too, showing me the differences in some samples. He wrote it down on one of their invoices, and I said I'd come back on another day. When I returned, Lance was in the back having lunch and Nancy was there, and wouldn't you know it, I forgot that invoice with the estimate written on it! Dang it...I told Nancy, I'd have to deal with Lance, not her, because I forgot the paper. She kept trying to help me anyway, but I kept insisting that he knew the job already. "But he's at lunch right now!" She kept saying, "I can help you." Lance must have heard us snipping and came out. Then, they both helped me. Both Lance and I told Nancy what I wanted, and she wrote it down. Both Lance and I remembered the exact price, even with the tax and change. When I came to pick up the job, the glass on all the frames was not UV or non-glare. I mentioned it, but Nancy said, "You said 'clear!'" But I never said that. I said, "Even Lance knows I wanted non-glare..." and so started an unbelievable eruption. She blamed me for not bringing in the paper and yelled at me about some fantasy how she ASKED me and I answered that I wanted clear glass. (Never happened!) I said I'd pay for their mistake (because I really hated this conflict we were having, and I still wanted to have a local framer for my art). But I wouldn't frame a stinkin' cockroach there. She was so mad because the price skyrocketed to change the glass out, even though I was the one paying for it. Luckily, I came back in before I drove away just to make sure she knew it was UV glass, and her head nearly exploded. "NOW you want UV, too!!!!??? Oh my god!" I told her, I always wanted UV; it's watercolor!" That's when Lance came out, more angry than she was, and threatened not to do the job at all! I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong by paying the difference and paying them to do a job. I didn't argue about who was right or wrong. By then, it was extremely pricey because of the labor to pull apart the back, cut new glass, etc. (even though you pay for the labor when you order ANY glass from any framer). I didn't care. I just paid it, and got blamed. And they lost a good and loyal customer for life. At least I don't have to hear (over and over) how they both have been working in the frame business for "forty years." I thought it was thirty, but I guess it went up a decade because they were so irate. Now that it's forty, they match how long I've been getting my art framed. I should have mentioned that. Ha! To be fair, I've seen their work, and it's precise and professional. I also think their prices are fair to good under normal circumstances. But they will only be nice to you when the mood strikes them. I've experienced them when easygoing, and I've experienced the opposite. So, be forewarned.

Cute queer art everywhere. Highly recommend finding them and stopping in! Very affordable.read more

I bought an awesome shirt from this bus when I was visiting Joshua Tree. It's one of my favorite…read moreshirts now, it's so unique and cool.

This is a cute little mini museum; but not a museum with a lot of history or diarama's…read more This museum includes a jam packed display of crochet pieces in an old photo developing booth. Admission is free and visiting is really so novel. I do crochet, and do a lot of other creative crafts and was so excited for my nerdy heart to visit the museum. If you visit their website you will also see that it's the "museum seen around the world" with photos of it popping up in airports around the world because it was featured in and HSBC advertisement. So if you like to create, or you like unique roadside attractions, be sure to visit The World Famous Crochet Musuem. The cool thing too, there are other things to see and shop at the same location in Joshua Tree. The area is really neat, and a place to add to your bucket list.

When you are in the middle of the desert, you never know what quirky and unique places you might…read moreencounter. I spent my birthday here in Joshua Tree and when I travel I often look up places to visit which are unusual for the area. This little place popped up and I knew I had to visit. This is an old converted drive thru Fotomat kiosk like they used to have that was deserted and sat on the highway for many years before it was moved and transformed into this museum. It houses a large and uncounted collection of colorful crochet items. Shari Elf is the artist and has collected all these whimsical pieces. From animals, dolls, food and other characters there is a lot to take in. It is very eclectic and cute. Shari is known as the "Art Queen" and she also has a gallery of art. She asks you not to touch, just look. Donations are accepted via Venmo. This area also houses other small businesses worth exploring.

Outdoor museum, dedicated to showing the work of Noah Purifoy, a late 20th century LA artist who…read morespent the last years of his life on this property, making sculptures out of recycled everyday materials. His workshop and living trailer are still there, surrounded by his artwork. The grounds are unfenced, and there is a dedicated parking area on both side of the dirt ride, towards the West part of the exhibit (coming from the East, important to keep going until you see a small parking area on the south part of the road...otherwise, you will be parking on private property.) You can get up close and personal, and touch whatever you like (since it's part of how the exhibit's age). But it can also be dangerous, with many pokey and sharp things, so need to watch out while wandering. Art is a subjective thing, and I would not have guessed that I would have enjoyed his exhibit as much as I did (especiallyl the exhibits involving bowling balls and/or toilets as the main materials). But as I continued to look at his pieces, kept wondering 'What was he thinking?....How did he envision this would look 20 years after creation, as the desert enveloped?', both from an overall macro level, but also from a detailed, day-to-day accomplishment perspective. The setting of the desert is as integral as the recycled material itself. And I couldn't help but think...'is this what a end-of-the-world scenario would look like?'. And as certain parts of the exhibit degrades, will the foundation fix it...or is that the natural progression of his art? There is a handout near the entrance that tells the fascinating story of the artist's life. It's well worth reading.

This place is awesome! It's an outdoor art gallery of large sculptures and installations out in…read morethe middle of the desert. You have to drive out a little, but it's located in a neighborhood with a couple houses so close by, there are signs telling you it's private property. You can spend quite some time out here, immersing yourself in the artwork. My favorite is the toilet temple. It's built out of toilets, and you can walk through the archway made out of toilets. There are multiple structures built that you can walk through and feel as though you are walking through a place that is forbidden, including a shack, complete with bed and clothes hanging on a line. The artwork spans decades. He's a prolific artist. The majority of the sculptures have cables holding them down, so you have to be careful not to trip on them accidentally when walking up close, I'd you're not paying attention. I highly recommend visiting this place. Admission is free! Parking: Plenty of free designated parking.

Very friendly owners, as well as talented ceramicists. The shop has a wide variety of ceramic art…read moreworks and it is a real pleasure to browse. Prices are reasonable!

Unique pottery with great prices. Owner was super friendly and there was plenty to look at/purchaseread more

Desert Art like you have never seen before! Spectacular and unique! Carlos is a purveyor of class…read moreand distinction!

This review is long over due and so deserved. On our trip to Joshua Tree (with our two small dogs)…read morewe stopped in Yucca to do some shopping. There are several stores (right in this block) that local artists display/sell their works. As soon as we walked into ARTFX we were welcomed by Carlos. Great guy and great mix of his and local crafts. It's a fun store to explore so plan to hang out and you won't go broke - reasonably priced and high quality products make it a must stop when you're in the area. We'll be back on our next trip to the area!!