Wow I would have never guessed that! I love long earrings.
I would have fun layering the jet necklace.
5 Likes
LOOOVE those jet jacla earrings!! I may have to get a pair to go with my jet necklace!
4 Likes
Congratulations on these lovely pieces, Chic! 
The Fritson Toledo Blue Gem earrings are beautiful: I love the blossoms. But I must say the jet tab necklace and jacla earrings are stunning. 
I agree, this is a unique touch of tasteful flare!
Thank you for sharing!!
4 Likes
All beautiful pieces, chic, but the jet earrings and necklace are the real standout here for me!
4 Likes
Thank you, folks. 
@OrbitOrange oh you must add a pair. Iām never matchy matchy but jet with jet absolutely rocks. @Ravenscry of course youād like the lilā blossoms, leaning into tradition as they do. Fritson is to my mind a very disciplined interpreter of older styles. I read that he worked with the great collector Robert Gallegos, with whom he had the chance to study historic jewelry. And @Tah Iām with you on enjoying the jetās beauty. Itās really cool that Cheyenne has revived interest in jet in Navajo jewelry.
4 Likes
Congrats on your recent jewelry additions. Theyāre all wonderful pieces that Iām sure youāll enjoy wearing. For me, the chefās kiss is Cheyenne Grabiecās jet tab necklace & jocla earrings! That set is a beauty to behold. Iām always impressed with his work.
4 Likes
I love this threadā¦so much fun looking through it again! So many fabulous pieces, but a couple stick in my mind! I need that howling coyote @Patina ! And @chicfarmer, your Cheyenne Grabiec tab jet necklace is stuck in my psycheā¦canāt get rid of it. The two turquoise tabs make it uniquely yours! Fun stuffā
.
7 Likes
I love unusual stones, and unusual pieces (in my budget!), so hereās the latest one to snag me 
heading to IN and out west later this year, so I have to be judicious!
16 Likes
Howdy, friends! Iām emerging from the void to share some (nearly) new piecesāin the form of a travelogue, ha.
I took a short trip home to the States last November to attend a friendās wedding in Las Vegas. As Vegas isnāt really my scene, I left immediately afterward for a brief trip to the Grand Canyon. It was my first time staying in the park, in one of the lodges; after many past visits, I can say that I think I would only ever do it this way in future! Certainly, the lodges are nothing to write home aboutāand ridiculously pricyābut the convenience of waking up and walking just a few steps to the rim was game-changing for me. It was a really magical few days on my own.
And thenāthere were baubles.
One of my afternoons at the canyon included a freak snowstormāit made things a bit dicey for hiking. So: I took a drive (also a bit dicey!) down to Flagstaff to the Museum of Northern Arizona, which I hadnāt found occasion to visit in around a decade. I was throughly impressed with the space and now I wish Iād visited more often when I had the chance. Their gift shop was surprisingly well-stocked (and well-priced!) and I found a Ruben Saufkie (Hopi) ring that I couldnāt leave behind. The saleswoman actually showed it to me after noticing my Saufkie corn ring and realizing it was the same maker! Iām so glad she did! Itās in the tufa-overlay style I so love on @Ziacat ās ring. Iām really delighted with it and have worn it almost daily for the past few months.
Back at the canyon, I made my usual perusal of the Hopi House gift shop. I donāt think Iāve ever purchased anything thereāmaybe a coffee mug years agoābut I found a pair of earrings this time and, like the new Saufkie ring, theyāve become almost daily drivers! Theyāre REALLY big squash blossoms and I absolutely love how they donāt get lost in my hair or under my hats in the way some of my smaller pairs do. Theyāre hallmarked MS, but I wouldnāt know where to begin tracking that down. The saleswoman said theyād been in the store since 1999! I donāt know how that can possibly be true, but I guess sheād know. The hooks were terrible and cut into my ears, so I switched them out for leverbacks when I got home and it made all the difference.
I was flying back to Paris out of San Francisco, so I began the drive to California with a detour down to Sedona and Tucson to see some old friends. And, of course, to hit Garlandās and Medicine Man, because apparently I canāt set foot in Arizona without visiting both. 
At Garlandās, I went a little crazy. I picked up a Cippy Crazyhorse (Cochiti) cuff thatāin common with nearly all my purchases on this tripāis now in daily rotation. Iāve always admired his pieces, but the stars had never seemed to align for fit/price/availability/etc., so this was quite a special find for me. I also sprang for a carinated cuff by Gilbert Begay. (Navajo). Iāve pictured them with a Nick Cave badge I was wearing that day, because the saleswoman got a kick out of it!
At Medicine Man, I went even crazier. And by crazier, I meanābrooches. The large concho is by Irene Chiquito (Navajo), ca. 1980s. The two inlaid pieces are ca. 1930s Zuni. Iām particularly taken with the knifewing, but the rainbowman has been growing on me! I also purchased my husbandās Christmas gift: a sunface bolo by Shannon Lamson (Hopi), which he is wearing at work today so Iāve included a shop pic here.
Earlier in the trip, I had bought another brooch (!) onlineāone Iād been eyeing a long timeāand had it mailed to a friend in California, who I stopped to visit at Joshua Tree on the way to San Francisco. It is my favorite purchase of the entire trip, because it is the platonic ideal of a sunface for me! I wear it constantly now, to pin a scarf around my neck, or in a big jumble with other brooches (the second pic). It is Hopi, Arthur Lomayestewa.
Immediately upon returning to Paris, I left again for a weekend in the Alps. It always startles me how much the landscape around Chamonix reminds me of Wyoming or Coloradoāitās a real trip. Take a look:
Thank you for reading this slog of a post! Iāve been very frugal since returning to France, for obvious reasons(!). Iāve been hired to direct a play in California this summer, so I will have to enact a strict āno jewelryā policy for those few months in the States after going totally nuts in Arizona last year. Weāll see how that goes, thoughā¦
Hope everyone is healthy, happy, and well! 
21 Likes
You sure had a memorable and eventful trip out west and picked up some wonderful pieces. Great photo of the alps. Letās see how that āno jewelry policyā works when you get back. 
6 Likes
Wow Rio! What an amazing adventure and one heck of a haul! @TAH, it looks like Rioās been on some solo raiding trips without us. 
You picked up some absolute stunners! Your Cippy Crazyhorse cuff is killer, and I love the carinated Gilbert Begay bangle.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis produced the haunting score for one of my favorite films; the gritty and dark, but undeniably truthful, Wind River.
Your Knifewing is beautiful, and the Rainbowman is exceptional: especially the matrix in his terraced cloud cap.
The Arthur Lomayestewa Sunface is downright stunning. The border immediately outlining the face really draws the eye. What a marvelous example of Hopi mastery!
Thank you for sharing your travelogue and incredible photos, it was truly a joy to read. Your shot of the conspiracy of ravens at the canyon is just awesome. I agree with @StevesTrail, you most certainly acquired some incredible jewelry and it looks to have been a most enjoyable trip!
8 Likes
@StevesTrail - Oh, Iām sure Iāll last two weeksāabsolute tops. But itās the thought that counts, right? 
@Ravenscry - Wind River! I remember the first time I saw that film and I was absolutely floored that Nick Cave, of all people, was behind the music. I absolutely love everything heās done, from the punky stuff to the goth stuff to the trashy stuff to the sublime stuff. His range and his fearlessness and his grit are so compelling. Heās one of the most literate people in music, too. Love him!
Iāll have to find a way to share the video of the ravens, because that is just a still from it! They were ākissing,ā in a sense, though I suppose that might be anthropomorphizing it. It was an incredible sight and I felt very lucky to capture it!
7 Likes
Thank you for this wonderful post, and what an amazing time you must have had. I canāt resist the Grand Canyon either when Iām in the area, and Iām with you, Vegas is not my kind of thing. I really want to see GC in the snow, so Iām thinking next yr might be the time to go. Love your pictures! Many decades ago my mom bought some things at Hopi House, and I purchased a ring and cuff back in the early 90s, however lately I feel like itās not the same and quite overpriced (Iām sure they have a very high overhead). But your earrings are amazing. We were there 2 years ago this April, and I didnāt see those or I might have snapped them up 
I also agree that itās worth the money to stay in the park close to the rim. I actually like the hotels, but then I kind of like that old school travel hotel look, and theyāre in such beautiful settings. We stayed within the park boundaries about a 10-minute walk through the pines to the rim, and it was worth every penny. To put it in perspective, last summer I had to stay at a standard, although very nice, Fairfield Inn in Carmel, Indiana for a competition. IT WAS $300. 
That was not worth every penny.
Your ring!!! Itās perfect. Happy to have been of service in helping you spend your $, and I still wear mine almost every day over a year later after buying it.
Your cuffs and pins are also perfect, and I donāt blame you one bit for buying all of it. Just look at it as a fabulous investment I must say, if I were you I would be borrowing that bolo quite a bitā¦
The pictures you took in the Alps are so beautiful. Funny you mentioned them reminding you of WY. I had an uncle who was stationed in the 50s in Germany, and his wife lived in the Alps working as a ski instructor. When they moved back to the States they ended up in Jackson Hole, and my aunt told us that it was the only place in the US that totally reminded her of her home. Your picture definitely reminds me of the Tetons.
Thank you for all your beautiful photos. Iām beginning to plan our summer trip. I was thinking we wonāt go to GC, but now (partially thanks to your photos) Iām debating a quick bump up to the East Rim entrance for a look see (of course I would have to stop at Cameron Trading Post again). Hereās a pic I snapped 2 years ago looking down at my hubby from where your pic looks upā¦
Glad to have you back on Turquoise People!
@Ravenscry, I canāt believe you mentioned the āconspiracy of ravens,ā love it! One of our other favorites is a āParliament of owlsā 
6 Likes
It was fun reading your āslog of a postā @riobravo! What a fun trip, you stopped at some of my favorite places and your purchases are right up my alley. Your Ruben Saufkie ring is wonderful, I like that itās not too long. And your Hopi and Zuni pieces are real keepers! Iām a Cippy (and Waddie, his son) fanatic and typically pick up a one (or more) of their pieces every time I see them at shows. Congrats on your Cippy cuff; itās a Cippy Classic; my friend has a very similar one purchased years ago that Iāve always admired.
Did you stay at the El Tovar? I love great old lodges, like the El Tovar, the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, etc. Youāre right, they are pricey and the rooms are not 4 star, but the architecture, the history, the ambiance, and as you said, the proximity to wonderful park trails and scenery, makes them special. I especially love the huge wood and stone dining room at El Tovar. It is a bit frustrating that with excessive tourist, they are not the same as years ago.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip; itās fun living vicariously through your travels!
5 Likes
Beautiful pieces, @riobravo !
Iām especially partial to the two cuffs, they are both divine! We used to listen to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds way back in the early 80s!
4 Likes
@Ziacat - I hope you make it out to GC! Whenever Iāve only had time for a quick trip up, Iāve taken your tack and headed for the East Rim entrance (I think the drive up 89/64 is much prettier than the Williams route). My favorite lookout is at Lipan Point, just around the corner from Desert View. I donāt think it can be beat and it never seems to be crowded, except in high summer.
Love that we have two views of the Watchtower in the thread! I bought the short book by the architect, Mary Colter, at the gift shop on this last trip. I was really impressed with itāitās nothing like youād expect from a little gift shop book and full of good pictures and a surprisingly comprehensive analysis of all the Puebloan motifs in the structure, with particular attention paid to Hopi cosmology. I loved it and really recommend picking up a copy if you donāt already have one.
@Bmpdvm - I did stay at El Tovar, yes! I also stayed an additional night at the Maswik Lodge, when the weather turned a bit too nasty for the drive back down to Flagstaff (although I wouldāve taken any excuse to stay longer, ha). For the price difference, I think Iād actually stay at Maswik again next timeāthe additional five-minutes walk to the rim is a fair trade-off for the money. I loved the atmosphere at El Tovar, but I was never really there and in hindsight I couldāve put a couple hundred more bucks toward some silver if Iād stayed at Maswik the whole time. 
The dining room was lovelyāespecially the sunface motifs everywhere!
@Stracci - Thank you! I love your taste in bracelets, so Iām quite pleased you like them!
6 Likes
LUUUV Black jocla. Congratās to you and your great taste.
2 Likes
2nd the comment by RioBravo as well - big fan of Mary Colter book and motifās.
1 Like
superb salamander indeed.
1 Like
Youāre starting to sway me back towards GC for a short visit (which would of course include a quick stop at Cameron). We stayed at El tovar back in 1982 and I loved it, but I was only 17. Two yrs ago we stayed at Yavapai Lodge, which I really liked, but it was a little farther walk.
Yes, you could have bought more silver, but now you have the forever memories of staying at one of the most famous lodges in the national park system.
2 Likes