JENNIFER HERNANDEZ never felt like she fit in with the traditional New Mexico art scene. “I didn’t think my work would make sense in the normal spaces,” she says of her graphic folk-art-inspired designs. But when she wandered into the Octopus and the Fox, on Albuquerque’s Central Avenue, it was like locating the missing piece of a puzzle. In 2018, the colorful, eclectic shop became the first place to carry Hernandez’s prints and greeting cards. “I was just really happy to be one of their artists,” says the designer and illustrator.

But in 2021, the owner moved out of town and the Octopus and the Fox was no more. For months, the location sat empty. Hernandez and her husband, Kevin Adams, hadn’t been planning to open a retail location, but they began to consider it once they saw the still-shuttered store. They had seen some success selling work at markets and pop-ups, meeting other artists in the process, which gave the couple confidence that a storefront might work. “We just went next door to Farina Pizzeria and got the landlord’s number,” she recalls. The couple signed the lease that week. 

from top left Prickly pear beanie, $28; Green chile air freshener, $8; kitty T-shirt, $27; Tortilla coasters, $10; Hot-air balloon earrings, $30; New Mexico earrings, $16; Sugar skull earrings, $30; We Go Together card, $6; Mix-n-match coasters, $7 each.

At Squidly Designs, the duo carries on the tradition of supporting local creatives and making space for artistic misfits. Products from their more than 90 artists and makers include pastel fanny packs made from recycled water bottles, Hernandez’s laser-cut acrylic fruit earrings, and irreverent pieces by Cosmic Desert Art that combine Albuquerque iconography with pop culture figures. “We try to find things with a bit of a twist,” Hernandez says. “We want people to leave happy.”

Read more: Reclaim Designs uses Star Wars themes for Indigenous lessons.

Shop Squidly Designs at 514 Central Ave. SE, in Albuquerque, the Rail Yards Market, or online at squidlydesigns.com.