Back From Tomboctou Gallery & Import

This shop will not appeal to everyone. That is one of its charms. Its artful tones (or amounts of kitsch) vary over time — but some of what you can count on is an interesting and amazing owner whose serious knowledge of ex-​votos is fascinating and fun and a collection of objects that may include lovely fabric or paper goods from Asia and folk art from Central and South America. What a bonus that he offers sugar skull-​making instruction! This place makes a significant contribution to the SD community.

Always have a great time with the seasonal workshops. I am a big fan of the sugar skull decorating class, and do it at least once a year. Great store full of items for my apt.

I love this place! I have an old Spanish Revival home in University Heights and could easily fill it with all the unique treasures from this place. I try and stop by every few weeks because it seems that there is always something new. I have purchased several unique birthday and Christmas items here. Thanks to the owner I always feel welcomed. I am sure I will be back soon!

Decided to swing by since me and my GF like to purchase unique things from different parts of Mexico. They had an assortment of things, but nothing that really caught my eye or was a must have.
Cool little shop though.

I don’t get the reviews. I have been in better Mexican folk art stores in Seattle and Canon Beach, OR. Inventory very, very small with uninspiring pieces. No service to speak of.

When I went to San Diego for a week, I had to leave my wife behind. She said something about settling into the new house and making sure the dog didn’t poop on the floor. Fair enough but I decided I wanted to make it up to her by picking up a few neat gifts while I was in town.
Loteria cards, sugar skulls, and so much more. Back From Tomboctou has it all. Even better, they did an impeccable job wrapping and shipping my items. I only hope that my wife likes her gifts!

This holiday season, after going crazy getting everyone gifts, I decided to stop by and treat myself to something nice. Maribel, the owner, was there to greet me. I told her what I was looking for and she showed me these super cute Frida and Diego earrings and I HAD TO GET THEM !!! Now Every time I wear them I get so many compliments :) thanks maribel.

Stumbled on this very unique shop. It’s bigger than it looks and the owner is very friendly and knowledgable. Will definitely return.

Love this place! Honestly everyone here has really said it all, no reason to repeat. How about ditto to all these five star reviews. Love this place. Just got a Catrina Statue for my fiancée here for Christmas and they wrapped it up for me in day of the dead paper. She has wanted one forever, it is just so cool and «Authentic». Respect!

I always buy something when I visit this store. The artwork is both beautiful and unique.

Love, love this hidden gem! Their Day of the Dead and Mexican and Latin American Folk Art inventory is extensive. You are sure to find what you are looking for. They also offer fabulous workshops on Sugar Skull decorating, Altar making, Kite making and many more. A must visit store in San Diego!

One of my favorite places to CHILL. I go here to buy unique gifts, attend sugar skull and altar making workshops, and chat with the remarkable owners. It is quaint, reliable and affordable.

This place is definitely work a walk through, or at least a once-​over.
I love the merchandise, it’s one of those places that I pretty much want everything in it, yet stop and think, «
.Not.Need.» and have to reason with myself, that no, I don’t need a dozen or two Dia de Los Muertos statues.
I actually come here for the charms/​beads that are to the left hand wall shelves. There are little chili peppers and bananas with smiley faces the size of your pinky, clown masks, gold and silver feathers… many things that would go great on a charm bracelet or just work well in beading. Because I totally.need.those. (I have this theory that anything that fits inside a walnut shell can qualify as a necessity.)
Everyone inside, patrons and shopkeepers, tend to be friendly, which is very important to me.
Definitely one of the more worthwhile shops on Adams Ave. And the prices aren’t outrageous, either.

I visited this store last week for the first time ever. This place is great. Lots of cute Dia de Los Muertos stuff. The couple that runs the store is so helpful and friendly. I will be back to visit again! I recommend this place to anyone who loves Mexican folk art!

This place sells works of art from Mexico, South America and beyond. They have a great selection of day of the dead statues and Mexican Devil and animal masks. The owner travels extensively looking for cool stuff to sell in his store. He’s like that guy from an 80’s fantasy movie who owns a shop and sells you an ancient artifact that transports you to a magical island. Go in and check it out

When we first walked in, we thought the store was really tiny, then we found the door into the back part of the store (yay!). There’s lots of cool items here, and the pricing isn’t ridiculous. Wish they had a larger selection though.

This place gets 5 stars from me. I stopped in here today for the first time and was very impressed. They sell things from all over the world at a fair price. They carry a huge variety of Day of the Dead stuff and of course I couldn’t resist. The owners seemed really nice and they were happy to answer questions. Everything in here looks unique so you don’t feel your shopping at Oriental Trading. It will be hard to stay away.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!
I might stretch to say I have a tiny obsession with it. Whenever I’m in the neighborhood, I have to stop in. The owner is super friendly and knows not only the origin of his artwork, but a detailed history, including personal stories about the producer/​artist/​his own realization that he loved that certain piece, etc. Brilliant.

Found a new favorite store!
I’ve been wanting to go this store for quite a while and finally made the time to go yesterday — I was like kid in a Tim Burton Candy Store. There is beautiful handcrafted art, nick-​knacks and yes even lucha libre items to be found. The cheery on my cake was all of the skull /​Day of the Dead items! Being a skull lover since I was but a wee child my senses were on overload when I walked in the back room ! While some item are a bit pricey (but hand crafted) there are others that are super reasonable. I bought a hand crafted /​painted wooden box made in La Palma Venezuela — by lovely nuns I am sure — on sale for $ 9 !!!
Looking forward to taking one of their sugar skull making classes too!

EVERY day is Day of the Dead at Back from Tomboctou.
Really though, it’s a charming shop of Mexican folk arts and antiquities. Heavy emphasis on the skulls. Heavy emphasis on really beautiful stuff. Makes me wish I was Catholic. Not in the Vatican/​catechisms kind of way. More in the ancestor-​worshipping kind of way. They bring gorgeous artisanal materials from various regions in the south, and they really get a lot of great stuff. My living space is getting progressively more Mexican despite my best efforts to avoid buying more.
They also do workshops in the fall to make sugar skulls, pinatas, and those papel picado (paper cut banners) as well as paper mache skulls. Super cool. Wish I had an 8 year-​old to drag with me.
Kind of like Vintage Religion on 30^th, except this place is more specialized, more quaint, and though I like Vintage Religion, I just like Back from Tomboctou better.