Tucson

After the National Estate Sale conference, we embarked on our longest travel day ever! We flew from Nashville to Phoenix with a layover in Dallas, then got the rental car and made a pit stop in Scottsdale (had to stretch our legs and check out our favorite jewelry stores in Old Town!) before driving nearly two hours down to our Airbnb in Tucson. The host requested that we meet him in person between the hours or 4:00-9:00 PM and we made it at about 9:15 which wasn't too bad. We stayed in a mid-century modern apartment building which had six units. This was our unit in the lower front. The apartment was very comfortable and perfect for our stay. It was also nice not having to take our belongings up and down the stairs.

We really enjoyed the location which was literally across the street from a bunch of antique stores. We only made it to one but they had an amazing collection of vintage and old pawn Native American jewelry. I found a wonderful mid-century modern turquoise pendant on a chain with a sunburst design. The turquoise stone is kind of busy so I need to get a solid color shirt to wear it with. We also took our host's advice to check out Bobo's across the street for breakfast one day, awesome diner food! Apparently people travel from all over to eat there and it was just a stone's throw away from us.

Our first stop was to Kino Sports Complex where my intention was to buy heavily from my favorite Tibetan vendor, her bohemian jewelry has been so popular these past two years. She did have a lot to choose from but was kind of apologetic, saying other vendors were buying up her pieces before the show even started, marking them up 5 times and then selling them at the same show! She said next year I could come early and buy to get the very best selection. She is so sweet! There were a lot of new designs this year so I loaded up, there are plenty of great pieces to see. Here is just a sampling...


We also found a new vendor, Buffalo Dancer. They are Native American from the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. The actual artists were on hand selling their pieces, which are very charming and well made. There are earrings, pendants, hair ties and barrettes in the collection and they are reasonably priced. I have been looking for heart jewelry for three years and was glad to finally find some!


Because the weather is so delightful in Arizona this time of year, many vendors set up their wares outdoors. Mother fell in love with a booth loaded with exotic Turkish rugs, because she was their first sale of the day she was able to negotiate a great price on a runner for her kitchen which she just had remodeled. It just arrived in the mail to my house last night and she is excited to put it in place. She also bought a couple of pillow shams for her living room and said next year she will definitely buy more!


One thing I regret not buying were some really cool wood blocks made for printing on fabrics. I would have used them as decorative props for jewelry. I thought they were kind of pricey and figured I could find them in one of the wholesale shows for less. I never saw them again. Next year I will be a buyer!

Our next stop was the JOGS Show, it is a wholesale show and not open to the public. It has always been our favorite show. I bought lots of wonderful whimsical fine silver pieces from our favorite vendors from Thailand. Last year the adorable charm bracelets flew out the door and we were able to snag more. I always have the vendor add an extender chain to the bracelets to be sure they fit wrists of all sizes. I also picked up darling earrings, necklaces and pendants. Here is a sample...


I also picked up select pieces from the wonderful Mexican vendor I bought from last year. Their specialty is quality reproductions of classic vintage Mexican jewelry. I always seem to gravitate towards flowers, the Mexican style are especially charming so that's what I got!


The advantage of staying in an Airbnb is that we don't have to eat out every meal as we have a full kitchen at our disposal. However I thought it would be a good idea to have one nice meal in each spot. We loved the old school Italian restaurant Caruso's last year, they have been in business since 1938 so we went back again. Garlic bread is one of my favorite foods and theirs is amazing! We both got Caruso's specialty, a plate of spaghetti and ravioli with meatballs.


Downtown Tucson is a pretty cool place! Here are a few more photos that I snapped while walking around...




I think that's enough for now so I will continue with our Tucson and Tubac adventure next time!