Cosanti Originals — Local services in Paradise Valley

Drove to Cosanti while visiting Phoenix with the intent of purchasing one of their beautiful windbells and hopeful I may learn more about the community and Arcosanti while there. I have been super interested in the community for some time and was excited to stop by and learn more and take home one of their unique, beautiful pieces. This was a highlight of my trip. In my 30 minutes on the property, neither I nor the few other customers there were greeted or acknowledged by a single person, though we passed by many. I had somewhat expected a lack of friendliness after reading about people’s experiences at Arcosanti but the complete lack of acknowledgement of customers was still surprising and annoying. The pieces are beautiful and reasonably priced but without any kind of customer service or interaction or really just human decency, I decided not to purchase. The shop is in a residential neighborhood and people who arrive have clearly gone out of their way to go. The least one could ask for is acknowledgement of their presence, maybe even a “thank you for stopping by”. It was a rainy day in the off-season, so everything has been slow, but most businesses have taken that as an opportunity to be extra friendly and helpful, appreciative of the business in a slow season. Not so here apparently. I imagine they’ll be hard pressed to sustain the community off these sales if they can’t bring themselves to even say hello to potential buyers. So disappointed in my experience and that I’m going home...

Upon landing in Phoenix recently, we were greeted by friends of ours from way back who now live near the Cosanti studio; they had a wonderful wind chime for us to remember our trip by. Imagine their surprise when I told them I was familiar with Cosanti bells. We later stopped by the studio before heading to Sedona and beyond. Unfortunately, our timing was off, so we were unable to watch them pouring bronze bells (go in the morning if you want to watch them making bells); but the staff was very happy to talk to us and answer any/all questions we had. Tours are offered free; donations are encouraged.

One of the first things we did upon returning home was to order a Cosanti wall bracket for our bell. They shipped it immediately - we had it within three days, clear across the country. And, our wind chime now hangs on our back deck - reminding us of our wonderful trip to the desert southwest and the incredible National Parks just north of Phoenix. By the way, who has a gift for guests coming into town? Very thoughtful friends, that's who! And, we absolutely LOVE our...

Amazing architecture makes you feel like you’ve been transported to Tattooine or Dune. My only complaint is that the majority of it is reserved “For Employees Only.” Really wish I could’ve seen more.

Everyone was a bit standoffish, busily going about their work. No one approached us or said hello or asked if we had any questions. So, we meandered through the half dozen rooms available to us and left after about 15 minutes.

The bells are stunningly beautiful and sound amazing (I have a little one by my front door), but boy they’re expensive. I wonder if this is the vision Mr. Soleri envisioned. I doubt that his dream was for his creative architecture to be turned into a gift shop; seems like Cosanti and Arcosanti have lost sight of bigger things, which is disappointing to the idealists and visionaries.

Still, if you’re in the area, swing by. I guarantee you’ve never seen structures like this, and it’s worth spending a few minutes getting...