Come To The Stagecoach For So Much More!
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I think we can all agree that this has been a very strange year so far. The Coronavirus seems to have impacted nearly every industry in some form or another. One odd issue that we have been facing is acquiring the merchandise that we need for our store. I could give you examples from any of the different product categories that we offer. However, the availability of Native American jewelry has been the most problematic for us.
Many areas of the American Southwest have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Gallup, NM, the home of David Rosales and his team of Native American jewelry artists, was completely locked down to outside visitors for some time around April. David Rosales has since reopened but is still facing restrictions on how many people he can have working at any given time. Due to this, it is taking them longer to make jewelry for orders. There is another outfit that we get most of our turquoise jewelry from that we have had even more trouble with. It recently took several weeks for us to reach someone from their company. When we finally were able to, they told us that they are not able to send us any Native American jewelry at this time. There must be some problem that is preventing them from making jewelry right now.
As you can imagine, it is a challenge when we are not able to get new Native American jewelry, which is the bread and butter of our entire store. Fortunately, we have an ace up our sleeve that most other jewelry stores do not: we have an experienced silversmith with all of the tools and knowhow to make jewelry right here at Stagecoach! As you probably know by now, my father, Gary Glandon, was taught by Native American jewelry artists many years ago and has been making beautiful jewelry ever since. Because of the challenges that we have been facing recently, Gary has doubled down on creating his pieces, as I will show you.
New White Buffalo Jewelry
White Buffalo jewelry continues to be very popular for us. It is a unique stone that many people actively search for when shopping in stores like ours. Less than a year ago we met with a member of the Otteson family who is one of the mine’s owners. He had a brand new type of White Buffalo that he named White Lightning. Looking at the stone you can see why he chose such a name. The jagged white lines resemble lightning bolts firing through a dark and stormy sky. Gary picked up a few of these stones and the pieces that he created were purchased very quickly.
Fast forward to today and Gary has just created three new pieces of White Lightning jewelry. He made a pendant, bracelet, and a pair of earrings. All three of these match and would make a wonderful set. Gary used some traditional silver-work with these three pieces, which includes the silver rope and notch design that we see from some Navajo Native American jewelry artists. All three of these pieces can be found on our website at the time of writing this. If you are interested in a highly exclusive type of Otteson White Buffalo jewelry then you will certainly want to see these three pieces.
It is almost uncanny how well this White Buffalo pendant matches the earrings.
You can read more about the elusive White Lightning Jewelry in our previous blog article.
Turquoise Mountain Jewelry
Gary has a nice collection of other stones besides White Buffalo. He has several different types of turquoise, most of which are 100% natural. Turquoise Mountain is one type that he obtained not long ago. This is part of the large Kingman mine that is located in Arizona. Kingman is such a large stake that it is made up of several different segments with all sorts of different looks and qualities. This is one of those segments and it looks different than much of the Kingman Turquoise that you normally see. These stones have a mixture of blue and green with a bright yellow matrix. The miner told us that not only is this yellow matrix very pretty but it is also quite rare. These stones might make a list of some of the prettiest turquoise that I have ever seen. I love this stone so much that I even purchased a ring that my father made with one. It is stunning and is easily my favorite piece of jewelry that I own.
Such a stunning turquoise pendant with one of the prettiest stones in Gary's collection.
Gary made a matching pendant, bracelet, and ring set with these stones. All three of the stones are extraordinary and I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. The matrix that you see with the bracelet and ring is so pretty and looks great with the bright blue coloring. The larger turquoise stone in the pendant has such a fine mixture of color along with the aforementioned yellow matrix. All three are simply exquisite.
I have to mention the unique silver-work that Gary added to these three pieces. Both the pendant and bracelet have silver notches added to the side. When I look at the pendant these remind me of a compass rose from a map. These notches are laid out slightly differently on the bracelet. As soon as Gary had the bracelet complete, one of our employees said that it looked like a buffalo. Now that is what I see every time I look at this piece. Do you see the buffalo head when looking at this turquoise bracelet?
Don't you love the contrasting colors in this turquoise bracelet?
All three pieces of turquoise jewelry have a unique texture effect that Gary has just started using. He got a new texturing hammer and is enjoying the look that it makes. He repeatedly taps the silver with this hammer to create what I would call a squiggly design. Admittedly, it is a little difficult to make out in the pictures but the effect is really fun and unusual. Look for more jewelry from Gary with this texturing.
New Jewelry On The Horizon
Gary’s Lear Year is not complete just yet. He is actively working on new jewelry at this very moment. I am helping him with a couple of new pieces that we hope to finish soon. These will be a little different than what you may be used to but hopefully neat nonetheless. We are experimenting with some new techniques and a somewhat different style. I will share these with you when they are finished.
You can explore Gary's Full Jewelry Collection here. Be sure to check this periodically as I add and remove products frequently. Each piece of jewelry is one of a kind and sometimes they do not last long.
I am also excited about the new set that Gary is currently working on. He will be unveiling an altogether different stone that he has never used before. All I can tell you is that it won’t be turquoise or White Buffalo but I can promise that it will be beautiful. Be on the lookout for this when he has it completed. In the meantime, let us all encourage Gary to continue making these beautiful pieces of jewelry. He has been on such a creative streak and we need to keep him going! I promise to do my part in sharing his newest creations with all of you wonderful fans!
This was in my spam folder. Well not any more. I read it all, looked at it all. I knew you were good, but goodness the articles were most informative and can’t wait to see what Gary does next. Love your store and have for years.
Skylar Glandon
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