Heard Museum Indian Market 2026
The highlight of this past week was attending Indian Market which is an annual event held on the grounds of the Heard Museum which is located in downtown Phoenix. This was my sixth year in a row attending and second without Mother. It is not the same and I almost considered not going, mainly because Kuochun is not a fan. But I do not get out often, especially lately. Also people travel all from over the world to attend and we are less than 20 minutes away! I offered to just go on my own but Kuochun ended up coming along. Originally I wanted to take a Waymo so I would not have to worry about parking far away and doing extra walking with my knee still acting up. Kuochun suggested that we drive part of the way and take a Waymo the rest but I felt that with the downtown location it would be difficult to find a place to park that would not be looking to tow cars away. On the way there, I pointed out a sign posted at a Walgreens which said there was a 60 minute parking limit. We ended up driving the entire way and parking at a garage which was closer than the one we used last year but did cost $12.
The weather was absolutely perfect, we had a bit of a "cold snap" with highs in the mid-70s. It is always warmer in the sun so we were starting to feel it by the end of our visit. We walked around to see all of the artists' booths, I love to see what they are up to. I gave Kuochun the job of shooting some photos and he did capture some characters, like the artist in the main photo. She was trying to eat a yogurt or something and was not happy that Kuochun was taking her photo! He did not notice and took the photo just because he liked her hat.
I pointed out the Windy City Navajo booth to Kuochun and they were a lot of fun. Kuochun loved that the man on the right was wearing a White Sox cap. When Kuochun told them where we were from, the man on the left let out a big cheer and gave him a holographic sticker.
Every year there are lots of volunteers walking around who help the artists if they need a food or bathroom break. Kuochun remarked that this would be a good job for him but when I told him they do not get paid he changed his mind.
I did not spend much this year because I need to watch my pennies with all this Prescott renovation going on. I did buy a pair of earrings from Kyle Lee-Anderson who is one of three talented sons of master Navajo artist Allison "Snowhawk" Lee. Kyle was one of Mother's top two favorites of the market and bought pieces from him every year. I have those pieces now. The item I purchased this year was the squash blossom earrings with stars on top which are sitting on the table to the right of the squash blossom necklace. I had it in my mind to get a matching bracelet but a) prices have basically doubled due to the price of silver skyrocketing and b) while there were several to choose from none were the perfect size. I have a bracelet of Kyle's already with alternating shiny round and fluted cone-shaped beads but I really love the stars which were a new design this time. I will check again next year.
My favorite artists who come to the Heard are Arnold and Karlene Goodluck. I speak with them every year and they are such lovely people. Karlene really encouraged me to try on this masterpiece and it was amazing! It looks large but it was not too heavy. However the price of $7,500 was out of the question. I do hope she found a buyer for it. Someone from one of the jewelry groups highlighted this necklace as well and I mentioned that I tried it on. A different person asked the price and the OP (original poster) said she did not know. Since I knew, I offered up the information and some guy gave me a laughing face. Hey, I was just the messenger!
Second in line as far as masterpieces go was this hummingbird necklace which was very cute but up there as well at $3,500. I could just see that long beak catching on things or sticking me!
Miss Navajo Nation was absolutely adorable and we loved her beautiful crown!
The only other purchase I made was actually not jewelry! I was completely enamored by this gorgeous clothing made by an artist from Flagstaff. I ended up buying the skirt in the center of this photo with the turquoise color leaves and mauve florals over the black background. I also purchased a coordinating short sleeve top in black crushed velvet with lots of silvertone buttons sewn on the front, arranged between staggered pintucks. This clothing was not for me but for my mannequin! As soon as I saw the skirt I knew it would be a perfect match for Mother's cowgirl hat, the suede trim laced around the edge have the exact same colors of black, mauve and turquoise. I will dress her up and outfit her with some fabulous jewelry - definitely at least a squash blossom necklace and a belt. It was a bit of a splurge but I am happy with my decision and maybe someone will want to buy the whole shebang! I do not have a photo of her yet, my mannequin here in Scottsdale is a natural color, while the other one which is currently in the garage in Prescott is black. I will post a photo once she is all dressed up and in place in the pop-up shop.
Kuochun pointed out how this artist displayed their chain necklaces with pendants. The excess chain is pooled together in a mini handwoven basket. I have mentioned in the past how I avoid chains because they are difficult to display. Kuochun heard me and remembered! The artists are all very trusting, just about all of them leave tens of thousands of dollars worth of their creations out in the open on tables.
There were not as many characters at Indian Market this time but Kuochun managed to capture a few!
We both loved the work of this Hopi artist, it was really nice to see such colorful work because Hopi jewelry is typically done in an overlay technique without stones.
We took a tour of the museum shop as well and I still have a number of pieces on consignment there. I hope I made some sales! However, I could tell that the attendance was down from previous years and it did not seem like there was tons of buying going on. As an example, I normally make a beeline for Kyle Lee-Anderson's booth because he sells his pieces quickly but this time I did not go there right away and his display was still full. Possibly he made more pieces to bring this time. I was glad to pick up the only pair of squash blossom star earrings he had on display, it will be nice to have a few bright shiny silver pieces to wear this summer. Once again, the line for the cafe was very long so we did not eat there. I would like to have Kuochun try it on a normal day when there is no wait, I have been there twice and it is really good.
We did not stay for any of the performances because my knee was really screaming by that point, it was getting warmer and we still needed to make the walk back to the parking garage. The folks who attended Indian Market were predominately 65+, with many people in their 80s. Lots of men in their 80s standing in the middle of aisles while their wives looked at jewelry, hands on their hips with elbows fully extended. I said this age group is basically the only ones who can afford this jewelry! We followed one of the 80s couples back to the parking garage and the man tripped stepping onto the concrete section separating where the cars go in and out. He caught himself right away and did not fall, thankfully but Kuochun thought he would be funny and pretended to trip right behind him! I did laugh at first but then said maybe you should not fool around like that, you could really fall!
For the second time, we tried to go to First And Last which was less than a mile away and is supposed to have the best sandwiches in Phoenix but we could not find parking. We ended up going to California Fish Grill which is on the way home. This is always a winner and the only place I ever get soda from the fountain! They feature Stubborn Soda products - my favorite is the agave cream soda and I also like the other two choices - Pineapple Cream and Black Cherry Tarragon. Although they are owned by PepsiCo they are a better choice soda, made with cane sugar and no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or artificial colors. I have said it before - if they opened up shop in Chicagoland they would do so well.
I did not expect there to be a Prescott update because Victor the contractor had planned a vacation but I did receive these photos this week. The woodwork above the fireplace is finished and a TV is ready to hang. Most of the carpet tiles are down and the pop-up shop is taking shape. The wall color looks very beige in this photo but I think in person it is more of a greige. A lot of the wall space will be covered with furniture, mirrors and art. I am definitely going to get picture ledges so I can display and sell art without putting holes in the walls. It was a problem in the garage in Mount Prospect - I paid someone several times to redo the gallery walls as pieces of art sold. I left the new owners with a lot of pinholes!
The pop-up shop is supposed to be finished in a couple of weeks, hopefully in time for us to clear out the garage in Scottsdale and do the final move. Both Kuochun and I have a lot of appointments - he is squeezing in all of his annual checkups (primary care, cardiology, urology) before he leaves for China and I start physical therapy next week as well as a scheduled mammogram towards the end of the month. It looks like the only time we will be able to do the move is the weekend before Kuochun leaves. I am waiting to find out if that will be OK. As much as I want to get the stuff out of the garage, I do not want to pay any more money to have the people who are working there to move things around so they can do what they need to do. If we wait until Kuochun gets back in early May it will be very hot and no fun doing a move under those conditions on the Scottsdale end. Regardless, it looks like I will need to wait until the fall to do a garage sale in Scottsdale. In the meantime there is plenty to do with the jewelry - polish and price pieces for the jewelry caravan and try to post other pieces online.
I did not sell any items through the regular online channels this past week due to not being able to post new items prior to that but I was able to post five new pieces, mostly over the weekend. Three of the pieces are high-end vintage, including this amazing 1960s Navajo-made necklace which came from The Navajo Hogan shop which was owned by Carl Luthey and his wife Esther from the 1950s through the early 1970s. This piece must be one of a kind and features Persian turquoise and a carved coral cameo.
I also posted this fabulous 1970s Morenci turquoise station necklace by Navajo artist Sam Piaso. This necklace has some of the most beautiful detail work I have ever seen with the leaves, feathers, fan shapes and 3-dimensional flowers.
The third statement piece I posted was this 1930s-1940s era Navajo-made squash blossom necklace. It has nine blossoms on each side!
The new pieces from this week are two similar 22" necklaces by Navajo silversmith Rose Martin. In my opinion, Rose makes some of the finest handmade beads out there! They are an investment but can be passed down from generation to generation. I have several, including two that I wear together. These are the only pieces in my collection that I stack.
I happened to notice a posting in one of the jewelry groups from a woman showcasing a kachina ring made by the artist Doris Smallcanyon, asking if $575 was a fair price to pay for it. The response was overwhelmingly NO and I posted my two kachina rings by the same artist. I was able to offer them for $250 each, which just happened to be $50 less than the lowest price someone else offered. Although the ring for $575 was larger and had green turquoise stones, this was a way for people to get the look for less. The OP did not respond to me but I did receive a message from someone who was interested in purchasing. I took this photo quickly and have not had the chance to list these rings online yet so at first I did not notice that the bottom stone of the ring on the right had a hairline crack in it. Luckily the ring without the crack worked out for the first person and a second person ended up inquiring about the other ring. I offered her an additional $25 off to account for the crack so we will see if she ends up taking it.
On Monday I received the sad news that Mother's favorite antique store, Camelback Antiques in Phoenix was closing for good. We made a lot of trips there and found fun stuff for several years. Rachel has a number of those pieces now. I would say on our last couple of visits the selection was not as good though and I had not been there since Mother passed. Kuochun and I went on Tuesday and I found a copper colored tin mirror from Mexico and a pair of cute bird figurines for the pop-up shop. We had to leave abruptly to meet the woman who needed to pay me back for the necklace we both forgot she was wearing at the estate sale but I was happy to take care of that and she purchased a cuff bracelet by the same artist as well. I will probably make another trip over to more thoroughly look at everything before they close at the end of the month.
That is all the news for this week - next week I am looking forward to getting on the road to recovery!