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This is the hallmark for Carol Felley. She manufactured and ran a shop that sold southwestern and NA inspired jewelry. She is anglo. The 94 on the hallmark is the year of manufacture. I do not believe, but I could be wrong that she employed NAs involved in the design of her products. They may have been involved in making the products as labor because they lived in the area. She has a few other hallmarks over the years but this is one of the more frequently seen.
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Thank you! That was helpful
I believe she’s also notorious for stealing the designs of famous Native American artists and not crediting them.
Yeah, I didn’t buy it. Cultural appropriation isn’t cool.
I want to correct a serious misstatement - I confused Carol Felley with Carolyn Pollack/Relios. Pollack is definitely known for appropriating the designs of Native smiths. I have no such knowledge about Felley, other than she is anglo, and not Native.
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Ok, thanks for clearing that up!
Did not know that. Thanks for the info. Hmmm, I have a few Carolyn pollock and relios items that I have picked up here and there. My feelings for them have changed a bit.
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I know. it’s disappointing. i saw an example of a cuttlebone cast bracelet with a gorgeous turtle on it by Darryl Dean Begay, that she apparently bought form the artist, then turned around and copied and offered for sale on one of those shopping channels, and didn’t bother to mention the artist’s name that she stole the design from.
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@Jemez2 This is really disgusting. I’m glad you shared the article.
This is at least one of the reasons I prefer to be clear in comments about whether material isn’t NA, because sometimes it’s a matter of folks needing more education about what they’re buying (and it’s perfectly normal to have a learning curve complete with mistakes)–but also because this is a deadly serious issue that affects NA artists’ livelihoods and overall well being.
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