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November 18, 2019 1:29 PM   Subscribe

About 5 years ago I bought some silver and turquoise original earrings in Santa Fe. I lost one and would like to contact the store, whose owner *might* have been the artist, to see if they can make me another single one, or if they would sell me the same earrings again. Do you know what store it might have been?

Santa Fe is totally filled with these kinds of shops so googling gives me no idea what its name might have been. It was a small store on one of the side streets near the Georgia O'Keefe museum. In addition to southwestern jewelry they sold other gifts, I think woven handmade shawls/blankets, maybe gourmet sw delicacies like salsa, pottery, and then there was the jewelry case with artist-made jewelry.
These earrings were very unique, a long thin silver triangle with delicate inlaid bits of turquoise in a mosaic effect. I would like to contact the shop, just to try; they weren't that expensive but were my favorite earrings, ever.
posted by nantucket to Shopping (12 answers total)
 
Response by poster: No edit button ps: Not that salsa is necessarily a delicacy of course, I mean they might've sold a local fancy jar of salsa.
posted by nantucket at 1:33 PM on November 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


I am pretty familiar with the various Santa Fe jewelry stores, but that description is not going to really narrow it down. Half the gift shops in Santa Fe fit that description. There's one store that is definitely not the one that you're looking for that I would contact, though. Ortega's on the Plaza works with like three dozen or more makers, and if anyone would know who made your piece, it would be them. I'd send a letter with a picture to their address, include your phone number, and ask them to call you. They have outstanding customer service and I recommend them highly.
posted by wnissen at 1:46 PM on November 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


As you note, these shops are thick on ground, and it'll be tough to figure out which one it was (and if it's even still there).

I think your best lead will be to look at the back of your earring for an artist's mark. If it was truly a piece of Native American-made art and not something mass-produced, there should be an indented mark in the silver. You can compare that mark to those on this page, and perhaps you can contact the artist directly for a replacement.
posted by amelioration at 1:49 PM on November 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


Can you post a photo of them? I'm picturing something like these but I could be way off.
posted by notjustthefish at 1:57 PM on November 18, 2019


Did you pay cash? If you used a credit or debit card, can you check your statements from the time of your trip to see if you can find the shop name?
posted by alygator at 2:47 PM on November 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


It would help enormously if you could narrow down whether they were made by a Native American craftsperson living in one of the Pueblos or Reservations. A lot of the finest pieces in Santa Fe are, but there's a huge amount of excellent jewelry that's simply "Indian style".

Ortega's is a good bet. Wind River Trading Company may also be a good place to start; at least when I lived there 25 years ago they were excellent, large, and had a pretty good reputation.
posted by Nelson at 2:56 PM on November 18, 2019


Cruise Google street view around the museum to see if you recognize the shop?
posted by smokyjoe at 4:47 PM on November 18, 2019


Response by poster: It would help enormously if you could narrow down whether they were made by a Native American craftsperson living in one of the Pueblos or Reservations.

No, it was not sold as Native American art. I seem to remember the artist was in the shop and was a white southwestern middle aged guy. Thanks so much for all the ideas so far! Unfortunately for the credit card idea (which is a great idea) it was a gift while on a trip and I can't ask the person who gave it to me.
posted by nantucket at 4:54 PM on November 18, 2019


I find that wandering around the city on Google Street View sometimes helps prompt my memory.
posted by anastasiav at 5:53 PM on November 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


It sounds like you still have one of the earrings. A picture of it would really help.
posted by Jubey at 6:24 PM on November 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


If you choose to go the Google Street View route, note that you can choose a set of street-level images to browse from several periods in the past - the neighborhood you describe has sets for 12/13 and 4/14, among others.
posted by Glomar response at 7:55 AM on November 19, 2019


Response by poster: Follow up: I called some of the stores mentioned here, and found it! Thanks so much everyone.
posted by nantucket at 5:53 PM on November 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


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