By Maria Manuela

Moriah Stanton has creative vision, which she applies to the jewelry she makes and the art shop she keeps in Taos, MoMo. She opened the doors on August 5th, 2016 and has spent the past four years building a network of traditional makers around the world, who produce unique wares, jewelry, clothing and artwork she carries in the shop. 

MoMo is in a historic adobe on Bent Street, which runs through the heart of Taos. Moriah says she was not on the hunt to open a gallery, but when she heard about the opening at the downtown historic adobe, she couldn’t resist a peek. “I walked in and my gut just went ‘yes.’ I immediately saw the vision.” 

As she prepared the space, painting the walls and searching for jewelry cases, she pondered the perfect name, eventually seeking the advice of close friend Jennifer Hart, who owns the lauded farm-to-table restaurant the Love Apple. “She said ‘why don’t you call it Momo?’ The moniker is Moriah’s nickname and it stuck. 

Shortly after opening MoMo, Moriah gave birth to her daughter and it pushed her to work harder. “My business flourished even more after having her because I responded by working harder.” 

I walked in and my gut just went ‘yes.’ I immediately saw the vision.

Born in La Cienega, just south of Santa Fe, Moriah feels at home in the Land of Enchantment. Raised by a single father, Moriah says her education came through the counterculture band of artists and thinkers she grew up around. “He always said he wanted to raise us out the gate with our freedom, he didn’t want us to feel we had to earn our freedom.” 

Moriah lived in New York City for 10 years, returning after the death of her father. “I needed to come back out West to ground myself, I was losing touch with what I knew in my heart. I needed to root myself back in nature. Coming back here was the medicine I needed.”

There is intention behind the products and pieces Moriah stocks; she says the pieces in MoMo have a conscience. 

“I’ve always felt that things have their own energetic aura. That’s why I have always felt when you’re bringing things into your home and your life, it’s important to have an understanding of their origin. To know people who produced these items are treated well. When I started going beyond local artisans it was important for me to research and know the origins of everything I bring into the store, I want to know the artisans crafting them were taken care of.”  

She started MoMo with a big emphasis on local, but 4 years in she’s branched out and carries goods from all over the world including those made by artisans in India, Africa and Colombia. 

Moriah has been an artisan herself since 2009 when she apprenticed with Taos-based silversmith Rick Montaño. The mentorship was serendipitous and started after Rick and Moriah ran into each other at a jewelry supply store in Santa Fe. He told her he needed help in his studio, and soon she was commuting to Taos (from Santa Fe where she lived at the time) to learn his craft. 

When I started going beyond local artisans it was important for me to research and know the origins of everything I bring into the store, I want to know the artisans crafting them were taken care of.

Three days a week, she drove north through the canyons to work with Rick in his studio, where she eventually got her own bench. After finishing her teacher’s tasks, she would work on her own projects, and return to Santa Fe with heaps of her designs. A smart gal, Moriah would wear her pieces to La Boca Restaurant, where she worked as a waitress. She often sold most of it in a single shift. “It was the best gallery I could have had in Santa Fe.” 

Right now, Moriah is dedicated to building MoMo and the network of artists it represents. She says she never set out to have a gallery to push her own work, for her it’s always been about the creative connection.  “Turning people on to artists I either know or have discovered gives me great joy. I love being surrounded by beautiful things; I am a big artist supporter.”