New Online Store Postings

I am plugging along posting jewelry online, adding 22 new pieces this past week. Most of them are vintage Native American jewelry and mid-week I decided to switch things up a bit and post some different jewelry items. No sales yet on the new pieces but there has been a lot of interest! Two new items for the designer jewelry category are the Lois Hill necklace above and the Zina Beverly Hills earrings below.

I have several Zina pieces but it turns out the others must be in Scottsdale because I cannot locate them here. I will get them posted this fall!

I posted this amazing amber ring by Navajo artist Sam Piaso this week - it is rare to find Native American jewelry in amber and searching online I found very little by this artist currently up for sale. This is a very special ring and wonderful quality with great attention to detail.

I am all caught up with the watches on stretch bands for now and by posting this watch all of the remaining very special Tucson Gem Show 2024 finds are now online. Looking ahead to next week, we do not have any new estate sales over Labor Day weekend as our upcoming clients preferred different weekends. I do have four estate sale packages to complete so it may be a bit of a tall order but the goal is still to get the rest of the vintage Native American jewelry online so I can launch the online sale on EstateSales.net the first full weekend of September.

I posted several personal pieces this past week as well - the highlighted photo is of a 3-strand necklace of handmade Navajo Pearls by artist Marilyn Platero with beautiful bead caps by Geneva Apachito. Marilyn's pearls have been my go-to for many years - I have them in a number of different sizes to go with various pendants. I thought I wanted a multi-strand and purchased this one a couple of years ago but it is a bit serious for me. I am hoping to sell it for what I paid. For the right person, this is a fantastic forever piece - it goes with everything, can be dressed up or down and will never go out of style.

I am a huge fan of Chimney Butte jewelry - they are a prolific Navajo family who makes really cute pieces. The first year I fully attended the Tucson Gem Show they had a booth there but it was crowded so I did not attempt to look. I regret that because I have not seen them at the Gem Show since. So I am relegated to purchasing pieces through other distributors. The first pendant is Wild Horse magnesite which is a really pretty cream color stone with brown veining. I have another Chimney Butte pendant with this stone so I am letting this one go. The concho pendant is darling but a little small for me so I have never reached for it. I photographed a third pendant but after trying it on decided to keep it! I will hang onto the photos in case I change my mind.

I was not actively looking for new bedroom furniture for Scottsdale even though there is none since Mother moved out but I just loved this set from our favorite monthly pop-up store, Old Brick House Market in Mesa, AZ. Each month they send out an email with tons of photos of everything they will be offering for sale. Their furniture is revamped vintage so it is great quality and very reasonably priced. I was pleased to find out that there were a total of four pieces - the long low dresser, two nightstands and a highboy. I actually wish it was a color because the walls are white but I will work with it and add color in other ways. I purchased the set sight unseen and had it delivered to the house this past Thursday. Luckily the owners of the pop-up are quite familiar with us - they have been over with furniture several times in the past when Mother was buying pieces to decorate her space. I totally trust them and since I had no one to meet them there I just gave them the lock box code. They were probably wondering where her pieces were! I would love to finish decorating in Scottsdale but it is not in the budget right now. I am hoping to be ready for it in two years.

Since the owner was at the home doing the delivery I asked her if we could hire someone in our group to modernize Mother's big beautiful pine bookcase which is still at my house since she does not have room for it in the apartment. She said they are too busy redoing the pieces they find but actually told me how to do it. I feel I can do anything I set my mind to but I am not into DIY projects. I would love to get the dated finish off the bookcase though, it would be amazing fixed up.

Ever since things have settled down after Mother's moving and real estate sales, I have taken the opportunity to really buckle down and work to accomplish my goals for the online store. It has felt kind of like being a hamster on a wheel though. Kuochun and I both had Amazon returns so Saturday night we took a little break and brought them to the Whole Foods in Park Ridge. What a great time to shop at Whole Foods! There were very few people there. I will definitely remember this for the future.

Kuochun had the idea to stop by Rand Red Hots for a quick dinner on the way home. He does not love the fresh cut fries but knows I like them so he put it on the summer bucket list. It is funny how our tastes are so different - I am condiment-averse and get my hot dogs plain and Kuochun gets them with everything! I splurged and got a chocolate malt with whipped cream, they have a great one. Every time Kuochun asks them if he can order an extra hot dog with no fries and every time they say no. They have a very simple yet effective menu. Two hot dogs with fries and the chocolate malt was less than $16.00, cheaper than McDonald's!

Unfortunately there was not a single good weather day for photographing clothing outdoors all week - it has either too hot or the sun was not out. We are in for several very hot days early next week but by the end of next week the high temperatures will be down to about 80 degrees. The plan is to get more of the clothing photographed when the weather is better.

I received this super cute sweatshirt by Blue B this past week which had a later release date than the other pieces I ordered. It has real embroidery which is a great quality touch!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and I will see you next time!