Large And In Charge
I posted eleven new items online this week - each and every one very special and beautiful. I was able to follow my plan of posting small groups with two belt buckles and one necklace. Up first is this statement necklace which is absolutely stunning and a great alternative to the typical squash blossom. It is done in the style of a squash blossom but technically is a station necklace with naja because the stations do not have blossoms on them. I just love this one!
Next up was this fabulous turquoise cluster belt buckle with a cobblestone border. I posted it Monday and it sold on Wednesday through a local pickup from Facebook Marketplace. It is difficult to tell the size from this photo but it is large at just over 4" in width. The belt buckle was purchased by his son as a gift for the owner of one of my Tucson Gem Show sources. They have the most amazing pieces from vintage to new and I am sure they see everything. I was honored!
The second belt buckle in this group was this gorgeous piece with faceted turquoise stones. This marked the first time I have ever seen faceted turquoise, it is beautiful in person! It may take a little longer to gather attention online because although I did my usual research I was not able to identify the artist.
Round two began with this amazing station necklace by David Fletcher Garcia, who is a Kewa Pueblo artist. Kewa artists are most known for their beaded and stone inlay jewelry. Although I knew that this was a departure from Navajo work, I found it very interesting to find out its origin.
This belt buckle by Zuni artists Robert and Bernice Leekya was another example of hand cut stone work. I posted it on Wednesday and it sold on Saturday. Come Monday morning it will be on its way. It only has to travel about an hour from me.
This is likely the most valuable belt buckle in my collection right now. It is large and in charge! The center is a spinner - one side is coral and the other is turquoise. It is an investment but is ready to go to a new home!
Round 3 began with this wonderful pendant necklace. It is more contemporary in age but no less beautiful than vintage pieces! It is a great combination of all three colors of spiny oyster shell - orange, red and purple combined with turquoise. The color of the shell varies depending upon the mollusk's diet and the depth of the water in which it lives. This goes from orange to red to purple, shallower to deeper.
I selected this charming Zuni-made belt buckle which was created by another husband and wife team, Bobby and Corraine Shack. The thunderbird is one of several prominent motifs featured in Zuni work and this one has a great color combination, combined with interesting textures and decorative stampings.
The final belt buckle for the week was this classic blanket pattern piece with a turquoise accent. The great thing about these belt buckles is that they can be worn by men or women!
I did start a new group of three with this pendant necklace (to me it looks like an alien but it is really a corn maiden) but that was as far as I got. I pulled two huge rectangular buckles with real scorpions embedded in them but they are not stamped sterling so I want to have them tested before listing. I do believe that the body of these buckles are sterling but the embellishments on the top (one has an eagle and the other a cowboy on horseback) do not appear to be. They were each quite expensive and I purchased them before the price of silver skyrocketed. Regardless they are very unique pieces and I think someone will love them.
In addition to the two belt buckles which sold this week, I sold this butterfly pendant by Navajo artist Kevin Billah through a Facebook group. A while back, someone said they were looking for butterfly jewelry so I posted every butterfly I had. The poster did not seem to buy anything (this happens a lot) but someone else asked me if I still had this pendant. She was really excited to receive this beauty so I hope she loved it!
Speaking of large and in charge, belts are not my favorite thing to deal with but I thought this one was absolutely incredible so I purchased it. I put off shooting photos for a long while and finally decided to take on the challenge. After taking the photos, I sent this photo to Rachel and mentioned that I was thinking of having it evaluated by the expert in one of the Facebook groups who is a professional Native American jewelry evaluator. Rachel belongs to the same group and knows who she is. She responded by saying she was going to ask me if I had a belt and thought she wanted this one! I went through with the evaluation and it came back with a Facebook price at twice what I paid. In a retail setting, it would be even more. It is sterling silver and Kingman turquoise, and from the 1940s. I was glad that I paid a true wholesale price for it as it was definitely an investment. The thing that was throwing me off was the style with the original belt woven through a larger piece of leather. It must have been added later. I will sell it to Rachel for my cost. It weighs nearly 2.5 pounds, I hope she loves it! The silver pieces are tremendous, knowing her she will probably repurpose it. I asked her to send a modeling photo after she receives it.
Thursday was my colonoscopy, this being the third one I have ever had. The first two were at Lutheran General Hospital. Last time I woke up a little early so I was sure to let the anesthesiologist know. He was great about it and that part of my procedure was perfect. The prep was a totally different experience - instead of a gradual process mixing a large container of water with lemon-lime flavored powder, this was two bottles of liquid mixed with only enough water to make 16 ounces. For the first dose at 6:00 PM, I did not see the instruction to mix it in the cup with the water and it tasted bad once I reached the bottom of the cup. The second dose was at 3:00 AM and I mixed it before drinking. This made the entire thing taste absolutely putrid and it took me an entire hour to drink it, alternating with sips of regular water. Good thing I am a night owl so I could handle being up all night.
The procedure was not at a hospital but a surgery center similar to where Kuochun went for his prostate procedure. The facility was great - easy in and out and everything on one level. I am still not quite 100% recovered from the procedure which was also different than past experiences but hope to be feeling better next week. The good news is although the past two times I had polyps, this time I was clear! I do not need to do this again for five years, as opposed to the three year schedule I was on.
After the procedure, I needed to eat something. The nurse advised against anything greasy (which was fine with me!) and I asked her if pancakes were OK. She gave it a big thumbs up so we headed over to our favorite spot, Butters which was only a half mile away. We loved the berry bliss pancakes we shared last time so Kuochun ordered them again and I ordered the cinnamon roll pancakes which are very simple but also fabulous. I have tried pancakes at many places in my lifetime and Butters' pancakes are by far the best.
The rest of the week was spent recovering from the colonoscopy and doing my best to keep up with estate sale work. I did not have much time to add jewelry to the box to ship to Mount Prospect for the jewelry caravan but I did add a few vintage pieces. I think I am going to downsize the box to Flat Rate Medium and send it on its way because it is taking a long time to try and fill the Flat Rate Large.
Next week, since we will be in Prescott for a few days due to the furniture delivery, I will bring some simple things to do in case I have any downtime. I should have some time because I have a week off from estate sale packages. I will bring rings to polish and price and also some jewelry that I can write up, then all I will need to do when I return home is shoot the photos and post. During the day if there is time I will work on unpacking items for the boutique. I am looking forward to bringing up another trunk load of items to sell and getting them out of the garage here in Scottsdale. I probably have two more trunk loads to go. On Tuesday I am taking my car in for maintenance and I would like to bring it up to Prescott this summer so I can use it. That trip, I will bring all of the jewelry, along with some of my clothing that is too warm to wear here in Scottsdale. Slowly but surely I am getting things to the way I want them!
We had a setback with the tile I found for the Arizona room, we need 38 boxes but found there were only 33 boxes in stock. We thought about doing a border to make up the difference but the only colors in stock were black, white and mustard yellow. The subtle greige color which would have been the best choice would have had to been ordered, taking the same amount of time of ordering an entire batch with the pattern. I ended up making the special order the 38 boxes and it will take 12-14 weeks. Fourteen weeks puts us at August 31, which means we will not be able to use the room for most of the summer and I cannot get the furniture for the room out of the garage in Prescott or the living room in Scottsdale. Both Tina and I loved the tile so it will be worth the wait. I have learned to have infinite patience with design projects.
That is all the news for now, see you next time!