Altitude Gallery - My New Favorite Place, by Adrienne Schroeder
January 30, 2014
Posted By: Shaunescy
I love discovering new places in our very own downtown. Well, new to me anyway…I met my husband in college, got married just after and started having kids right away so I quickly transitioned from the Molly-Haufbrau-Scoop trifecta to a mom on a mission at Target, Natural Baby Company and Rocky Mountain Toy Store. There are a lot of places in between that subsequently got overlooked for the past decade…
Like any place that displays beautiful, fragile looking glass in the window or has the word gallery in it. Luckily my kids are a little older now and occasionally I find myself downtown alone. (It’s wonderful! I highly recommend it.) Bozeman is awesome. We’ve got the greatest little downtown. Altitude Gallery is my new favorite place there. Altitude opened in Big Sky 9 years ago and moved to its current location in downtown Bozeman about 7 years ago, if that gives you any idea of how out of the loop I am.
I remember, at a party awhile back, complimenting a friend on her necklace and she told me she got it at Altitude. I didn’t even realize they sold jewelry there. I vaguely knew where it was (it’s on Main St. between Bozeman and Black, next to the Chocolate Moose) but art galleries downtown weren’t really on my hit list with 3 young kids at the time.
Then this Christmas my mom bought me a gorgeous bracelet from Altitude, not realizing I had bought a similar bracelet from the same designer for myself already. (Which worries me a little bit that our styles are colliding…but it was a very thoughtful gift. My mom is pretty cool.)
Finally, I had a reason to go to Altitude. (I had purchased my bracelet directly from the designer after seeing a particular one I liked on her website.) I was planning on running in for 5 minutes to swap the bracelet for another piece but I was so taken with the store I didn’t want to leave. Yes, there is a lot of hand blown glass in the window but it feels really cozy inside.
There is a truly eclectic mix of art there. There are gorgeous, colorful oil paintings with paint so thick I desperately wanted to touch it (I didn’t), beautiful fused glass and wooden boxes, photographs, pottery and a really amazing variety of jewelry made by local artists, among many other types of artwork.
I’m all about the jewelry these days. Since I’m in jeans and a t-shirt chasing /driving kids around all day, everyday, I like to have a cool necklace or earrings or bracelet that I really love that I can wear with anything. (I feel like it makes me look slightly more put together and maybe I can pretend I didn’t just take the kids to school in the shirt I slept in.)
I mistakenly assumed that everything would be way out of my price range but I don’t know why I thought that. There are a lot of really affordable pieces, even for a regular mom like me. I ended up swapping my bracelet for two necklaces and a lovely photograph. I realized the other day that I’m pretty much wearing some piece of low key, unique jewelry I got from Altitude everyday and I constantly get compliments on whatever I have on.
The closest place I could compare it to in Bozeman would be Tart, which I also really love, but Altitude has it’s own vibe. It is more gallery than store but not in an intimidating way at all. The owner, Amy, is so warm and welcoming that I left there totally wanting to be friends with her.
And while the style of jewelry is somewhat similar to what can be found at Tart, Amy carries work by completely different artists. It would be a great place for a guy to buy his gal a gift. (If there are any guys reading this, you know Valentines Day is in a couple of weeks, right?) I’m sure Amy could steer you in the right direction. So keep it on your radar the next time you’re downtown. I’m certain you will be able to find something you like. Altitude Gallery
134 E. Main St.
406.582.4472
http://www.altitudegallerybozeman.com
----------------
Adrienne is a freelance photographer and has a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Foundation and eCornell. You can check out her blog at http://www.theveggiehouse.com
