Pickers let me see your stuff!

So Ziacat mentioned that I should have my own picking show. I am low on money, and not confident in my skills to buy buy pieces online. Thankfully I live in Texas which is close enough to the turquoise states to find a bit. I am also an Avid estate sale person and am willing to fight crowds and wait in lines to find a treasure. Not only do I buy turquoise, but I also decorate and stock my house with used goods. I think of it as having a minimal footprint and also supporting local businesses. I am truly great full for the treasures I find. So this weeks pics (Native American jewelry only). I was really excited because the turquoise earrings kinda match the pendant and both are everyday wearable. Btw the earrings are signed M Quam.

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Love these!

So now I know why you do well with picking (besides having patience and a good eye, amirite :grin:). You live in Texas!

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My sisters and I also are big thrift store/garage sale browsers (our running joke is “free is my favorite color” as well), so my house is also filled with treasures I’ve come across or repurposed alongside family hand-me-overs. My kids are well versed and I’m sure will continue the tradition when they have homes of their own. Both my cars were purchased used (I’ve owned my VW bus for 41 years now, bought it from my grandfather), so I like the feeling that I’m being a good steward and tend not to purchase trendy cheap things, but will hold out for well made and timeless, with a little quirky added in.

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Gotta love the Lone Star State! But also love visiting Colorado and New Mexico!

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I also love the history of items. This forum has taught me some much about the art and history of turquoise jewelry here in North America. It is fascinating. Every piece of handmade jewelry I own has a history starting with the person who made it! Or (as with turquoise) Maybe even starting with the person who pulled the stone out of the mine. :thinking:

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Yes, TX is an amazing state with wonderful people. Been there a number of times. And I’m blessed to have family and friends in NM, CO, and AZ, so I get out there a lot. But I have to admit, growing up in northern IN and spending so much time in MI and Canada, that the north has a special place in my heart. If I couldn’t see the Great Lakes (give me them over the ocean any day) or endless miles of pines, or hear the lonesome call of a loon and seagulls screeching at least a few times a year, I think I’d feel a little sad. Although…I really feel like it’s been too long since I’ve stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon…

Sorry if that was a bit much, but I think because winter is ending here, I’m getting the itch to go somewhere!

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Brrrrr. I don’t think I would survive a northern winter.

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I have a cuff that matches that pin! And I absolutely love it! Needs a bit of polishing, but I’ve had it packed up. I need to send it out and have a few of the stones tightened up. Beautiful!

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Somebody once said, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.” :laughing:

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That’s so interesting you have a cuff like her pendant. I have a cuff practically the same as one of @chris’s cuffs!

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Oh hello doggo in the background

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LOL Yeah she often photo bombs almost everything!

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So the only place I’ve picked for Native art is my mom’s house. :laughing: After she passed in '15 we were going through a large closet in her basement that we hadn’t looked into for maybe decades. Found a little box which had a little deer skin bag which had this in it.


My brother and I had no idea where it came from. Found out it was my sister’s; my parents had gotten it for her on a trip out west in the 60s. She said she thought it was ugly and that I was welcome to it. No problem on my end! So I had it restrung and now I’m wearing it.

And just to make you all chuckle, we also found a large old trunk. When we opened it, it appeared to be a cold war nuclear war survival kit that my dad must have put together. There were bow and arrows, bullets, first aid kit, peanut butter (and even though peanut butter may last a long time it can’t last 50 years lol) and…KLEENEX. Had to have been my mother thinking we needed Kleenex in the aftermath of a nuclear war.

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I love that! The necklace is amazing. Who wouldn’t pack Kleenex!

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Life is more interesting when you find treasures that have been preowned. My personal decorating style is called Flea Market Revival. Also I can tell the kids the china came from grandma’s house. We just don’t give details on who’s grandma that was.

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Okay, you made me literally laugh out loud.

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Yay! My first sunface. It is Andrew Laahte. I found it today!

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Nice! It’s on my list for either a brooch or a ring (I have a tiny wee sunface pendant, but it’s almost too small to count :upside_down_face:).

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Found these yesterday at a rummage sale for $1 each! Best deal ever! Rings not marked, bracelet marked Mexico.

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Love those! They are beautiful!