-
July 2023 by Fran Patterson
Wonderful shop! Great art work & designs of all sorts. Something for everyone!
-
June 2018 by Will Seitz
Has nice jewelry and paintings
-
August 2017 by 9 Volt
Has nice jewelry and paintings
-
June 2016 by Grizzly B.
My hubby and I were in Newport this weekend for a wedding and went to lunch at the Corner Café (yum!) when we got into town on Friday. After lunch we decided to walk around the neighborhood and after a block or so of walking we saw a sandwich board which led us to this shop. We had no expectations going in and were both SO impressed. Along the walls and in glass cases were beautiful beaded necklaces, on the higher walls were paintings, and in boxes set around were photographs. The shop was nicely organized and welcoming. The woman working was very sweet and explained the story of the shop to us. Downtown Designs is a non-profit that was opened to provide adults with disabilities with a place to design, make, and sell their arts. Behind the main showroom is another room where artisans sit making their jewelry. I liked a lot of the necklaces but found two that I absolutely loved. Both were made by an artisan named Lilly who was actually in the 2nd room making jewelry while we were there so we got to meet her which was very nice. I bought one of her necklaces for myself and one for my mom. I love the two pieces I purchased and I love the mission of this shop. All necklaces were very reasonably priced and had the same price-point which was nice. The woman who ran the shop (Melissa) explained to me that they can do this because they are a non-profit. I am so happy with what I purchased and really hope to go back to Newport at some point to revisit this shop. I just loved it.
