My hubby and I went to the Eiteljorg Indian Art Market yesterday. It was HOT. Fortunately there was a nice breeze, and a lot of the artists were inside the beautiful museum.
I had intended to look at everything first, but I got to Mary Tafoya’s booth, and my plan went out the door. I had on one of her necklaces that I purchased about 6-7 yrs ago, and her daughter wanted to look at it. It has some red stone in it (I couldn’t remember what it was), that she said her mom hasn’t been able to get in years; she said it was Red Lace Jasper. We chatted awhile, and I ended up buying this necklace…
A little pueblo! It’s close to 2" across, and 1 1/2" wide. The two pieces came together. None of her pieces are ever alike, but she often has several for sale with a similar theme. However, this was the only pueblo, so I snapped it up. I mentioned to her that I had almost worn my pendant with the caterpillar, and her daughter said that Mary hasn’t made any of those since. So I knew I’d better buy what I liked now!
Love your new necklace! Both the uniqueness of the pendant design and the super-pretty color palette of the heishe that complements it. Glad you had a great time. Please keep reporting on all you saw and enjoyed! And did you grab a Navajo taco?
@Ziacat , congratulations on your beautiful and unique find! The pueblo design is so lively and charming.
It sounds like you were reminded 3 times of the rarity of the pieces you liked. That’s practically a fairy-tale message, the Fates saying three times, “Buy what you like now, girl” So now you have to!
Thank you! I love her stuff. Part of the reason I liked it was because of the heishi necklace. Mr. Tafoya said it’s melon shell, jet, and some other stones. And I can wear each part with other pieces. She didn’t have her hummingbird, or I may have bought that instead. But this left me enough to buy a cuff that I’ll post later.
We did not have the tacos, bummer. I have just gotten over a bout with something that gave me a nasty cough, so I was feeling woozy waiting in the heat. We ate in the cafe, but did go back and have some fry bread when the line was shorter before we left.
@chamekke, right, I didn’t wanna walk away from it
Ira Custer’s daughter Cheyenne was there. I talked to her and his wife quite awhile. I really wanted to buy one of her cuffs, but they were just too big, maybe another time. Before her dad died, she said he told her to make as much as she can from his designs. They had his picture out on the table.
I’m glad you had a great time!
I know how hard it is to walk around a place like that and try to make a decision.
Your new Mary necklace is gorgeous! And I’m looking forward to seeing your new cuff.
My niece went with me years ago, and bought a bone choker from the gift shop. She wore it so much it finally fell apart, so she asked me to keep an eye open for another. A Oglala Sioux gentleman who goes by Quill Bill (Bill Mendoza) had one, so I picked that up for her. I think @OrbitOrange bought something from him awhile back. This pic was from his display.
She’s pretty special to me; I’m actually closer in age to her (she and I are only 13 yrs apart) than I was her dad, my brother. Besides an excuse for more shopping is always good
Kachinas by Keith Torres. Keith (supe nice guy, BTW) and his family drove these kachinas to the event from Arizona without any kachina injuries. The little kachina at the bottom right probably weighs 1 gram…
Our daughter bought a tufa cast cuff and pendant from Cheyenne Custer and a ring from Milford Calamity. Cuff and pendant are Crow Springs turquoise. Unknown turquoise on the ring. The band has stampwork all the way around.
However, one of the the real highlights of the day was running into @Ziacat and her husband! I was standing at an artist’s booth, I turned around and instantly recognized Zia’s cuff on her wrist - a beauty that she had posted here a while back. So I took a chance and sheepishly blurted out, “Ziacat?” then hoped for the best. For the record, Zia is as friendly and fun in person as she is on the forum. My wife and I really enjoyed chatting with her and her husband throughout the day.
What a great story…and what nice pieces you posted. That micro inlay cuff is amazing. Which one of Ziacats famous cuffs was she wearing? @Ziacat …really like your new necklace…the colors on the pendant and necklace go together so well!
And I will add that TAH is as kind in person as on here I also really enjoyed meeting them. My husband was laughing that I was recognized by my cuff! His wife and I were discussing how it’s so funny here in IN that people love our jewelry, and then sometimes ask if we made it
I LOVE the Cheyenne Custer items, and of course I’m partial to Milford Calamity. I loved a number of his rings, but they either didn’t fit or had gold, and were a bit out of my price range. If I hadn’t just been to AZ maybe…
Thanks for all the photos! Your daughter’s new turquoise jewelry is beautiful. To recognize someone by the (turquoise) jewelry they’re wearing ~ it just doesn’t get any better than that! What a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing.
I had no idea kachinas were so fragile. At the beginning of our Four Corners trip, Scott and I bought a 14 piece, one artist, collection, in AZ. We had only one minor break from AZ to VA. It was a huge relief to get the home safely.
Glad you had a great time. Please keep reporting on all you saw and enjoyed! And did you grab a Navajo taco? 
So now you have to!
