Sunday, September 28, 2014
Ralph Lauren Sweater and a stack of bracelets
This is my new Ralph Lauren Indian Blanket sweater and a stack of vintage Navajo and Zuni bracelets that I just listed on etsy.
You can find them here
Saturday, September 20, 2014
A Picnic at Myrtle Creek
Today, we were wanting to have lunch, but a quiet and restful sort of lunch. No loud busy joints for us! I remembered that last time I was shopping for plants at Myrtle Creek Nursery in Fallbrook, they had added an organic cafe. It's darling!!!
The fun thing is that you order from a rather limited menu, but your lunch comes in a picnic basket with a blanket and you can have a picnic lunch anywhere on the beautiful grounds. We chose here:
Next time we are going to have lunch down here:
It was a relaxing lunch. There was an acoustic guitar player that just made this beautiful place more atmospheric. We then did a little shopping.
We took a stroll over to the red barn and fed the goats too!
Came home with the night-blooming jasmine that I was looking for was well as a lovely memory of a nice lunch with Em.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
A Talented Needle Felt Artist
Last night, I was creating a list on Etsy called "Ride on the Beach". I found this amazing needle felt artist who works from Israel. Her name is Daria Lvovsky. I fell in love with this little horse that can be found here by special order. She can make one by special order that looks just like your horse. She also does many different animals. The thing that blew me away was that her photos looked so much like my photos of KhalaBlu. Check it out:
I think that I need to be saving my money to order one of these. How could I not?
Fresh Finds...
Just listed in my Etsy shop:
Learn more here:
Learn more here
Learn more here
Learn more here
And fresh listings on One Kings Lane:
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Beach-Glass Strands
Today, I started listing my collection of sea-glass or beach-glass necklace strands. More will be added during the week.They were not found at the beach, but are vintage African trade beads from Kenya. My picker is from Kenya and he goes every so often and brings back beads and indigo fabrics the are all vintage, hand made and beautiful with rich natural dyes.
The beads originated in Italy and were traded for goods for centuries. The beads are 50 to 200 years old. You can wear them or display them in your home. I have a big wooden bowl filled with them.
You can find them in my Etsy shop are in my One Kings Lane shop where they sell out within a few hours of listing. Very popular item, but hard for me to get. I work to find the rarest, most prized colored of beads in the largest size possible.
The beads originated in Italy and were traded for goods for centuries. The beads are 50 to 200 years old. You can wear them or display them in your home. I have a big wooden bowl filled with them.
You can find them in my Etsy shop are in my One Kings Lane shop where they sell out within a few hours of listing. Very popular item, but hard for me to get. I work to find the rarest, most prized colored of beads in the largest size possible.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Navajo Pawn Jewelry
This article is from an ebay guide that I did last year. Thought I would share it here as well.
So you want to collect vintage Navajo or Indian jewelry? You are browsing the web and keep seeing the word "pawn". You see "dead pawn" "old pawn" "Navajo pawn". Does this mean that this piece of jewelry came from a pawn shop? Does it mean that someone sold it for melt to a pawn shop and now you can buy it and call it pawn? Well, it often means that the seller bought it from a pawn shop because it was sold for melt, but unfortunately most of what you see being offered as "pawn" is not true pawn, not to the sophisticated and well informed collector.
So, what is "Navajo Pawn" anyway?
Here's the thing...For over 100 years, the Navajo People, The Dine', used the reservation pawn shop or trader the same way that the urban dwellers use a safe deposit box. A safe place to keep the valuable family jewelry.
The jewelry is pawned and stored at the pawn shop and the loan is paid and the jewelry worn for ceremonies and special occasions only to have the jewelry returned the the pawn shop for safe keeping after the event. A family may keep items pawned for 10 or even 20 years. The pawnbrokers know this and the jewelry is safe with them. Once in a while a family will let some pieces go to be sold, or someone passes away with no family and these pieces are released for sale as "Dead Pawn". Pawn is Native American jewelry that was owned by, worn by and pawned by Native Americans. It is not tourist jewelry that was sold to a pawn shop in Boise, Idaho and resold to be resold again. Most of what you see being offered as pawn, is indeed NOT.
Here is a photograph of privately owned genuine Indian pawn:
So you want to collect vintage Navajo or Indian jewelry? You are browsing the web and keep seeing the word "pawn". You see "dead pawn" "old pawn" "Navajo pawn". Does this mean that this piece of jewelry came from a pawn shop? Does it mean that someone sold it for melt to a pawn shop and now you can buy it and call it pawn? Well, it often means that the seller bought it from a pawn shop because it was sold for melt, but unfortunately most of what you see being offered as "pawn" is not true pawn, not to the sophisticated and well informed collector.
So, what is "Navajo Pawn" anyway?
Here's the thing...For over 100 years, the Navajo People, The Dine', used the reservation pawn shop or trader the same way that the urban dwellers use a safe deposit box. A safe place to keep the valuable family jewelry.
The jewelry is pawned and stored at the pawn shop and the loan is paid and the jewelry worn for ceremonies and special occasions only to have the jewelry returned the the pawn shop for safe keeping after the event. A family may keep items pawned for 10 or even 20 years. The pawnbrokers know this and the jewelry is safe with them. Once in a while a family will let some pieces go to be sold, or someone passes away with no family and these pieces are released for sale as "Dead Pawn". Pawn is Native American jewelry that was owned by, worn by and pawned by Native Americans. It is not tourist jewelry that was sold to a pawn shop in Boise, Idaho and resold to be resold again. Most of what you see being offered as pawn, is indeed NOT.
Here is a photograph of privately owned genuine Indian pawn:
Here is a photo of old Navajo jewelry that is not pawn:
They look the same don't they?
How do you know what is genuine pawn and what is not? If you do not want to drive to the reservation to buy from the pawn shop and you do not know Navajo people who will sell you old family jewelry, you are going to have to trust the sellers that you buy from. If your heart tells you that you that you need to collect something, then you have to put your brain to work learning about that thing. Read books, ask questions. Use that "contact seller" link and ask the seller why they call the item pawn. Some sellers use the word simply because they see others using it.
With pawn you may be lucky enough to find a piece with the pawn ticket attached. That is a rare find. And do be aware that there are fake pawn tickets. There is a seller in Southern California that does Native American arts auctions and he places fake pawn tickets that he made on all of his pieces. I see his jewelry resold as the real thing.
Look for provenance, which is also a rare thing. A piece may be pawn, found at an estate, but most dealers do not think to ask for the story on the piece or information is not available.
You will notice the two pieces in the lower photo above, the tourist jewelry, that have the whirling logs in the design. There are those people that believe pieces bearing this symbol are automatically pawn. This is quite a false assumption. I find this symbol on more tourist pieces. Seeing this symbol means that the piece has good age and was most likely made before 1940. It is a symbol that is a sacred image that represents a legend that was used in healing rituals. Some consider it to be of good luck and representative of the circle of life. It has nothing to do with WWII and is not proof of pawn.
It looks old, but it's not pawn. Is it tourist jewelry? Is tourist jewelry valuable? Of course it is. Old tourist jewelry is highly collected and is very valuable. Here's the two concho belts. One is pawn, one is not.
How do you know what is genuine pawn and what is not? If you do not want to drive to the reservation to buy from the pawn shop and you do not know Navajo people who will sell you old family jewelry, you are going to have to trust the sellers that you buy from. If your heart tells you that you that you need to collect something, then you have to put your brain to work learning about that thing. Read books, ask questions. Use that "contact seller" link and ask the seller why they call the item pawn. Some sellers use the word simply because they see others using it.
With pawn you may be lucky enough to find a piece with the pawn ticket attached. That is a rare find. And do be aware that there are fake pawn tickets. There is a seller in Southern California that does Native American arts auctions and he places fake pawn tickets that he made on all of his pieces. I see his jewelry resold as the real thing.
Look for provenance, which is also a rare thing. A piece may be pawn, found at an estate, but most dealers do not think to ask for the story on the piece or information is not available.
You will notice the two pieces in the lower photo above, the tourist jewelry, that have the whirling logs in the design. There are those people that believe pieces bearing this symbol are automatically pawn. This is quite a false assumption. I find this symbol on more tourist pieces. Seeing this symbol means that the piece has good age and was most likely made before 1940. It is a symbol that is a sacred image that represents a legend that was used in healing rituals. Some consider it to be of good luck and representative of the circle of life. It has nothing to do with WWII and is not proof of pawn.
It looks old, but it's not pawn. Is it tourist jewelry? Is tourist jewelry valuable? Of course it is. Old tourist jewelry is highly collected and is very valuable. Here's the two concho belts. One is pawn, one is not.
The concho belt at the top is tourist jewelry. I bought it new in Gallup, New Mexico in 1992. I bought it from a wholesale Indian trader. It is sterling silver and well made. The conchos are hand stamp decorated and the artist did a great job. It is lighter in weight and comfortable to wear.
The belt on the bottom is pawn. I bought it from a Navajo/Apache man. It is a family piece that he had stored in a shoebox in his workshop. The conchos have seen a couple of belts over the years and it has been in the pawn shop many times. The conchos are thick and heavy. The belt weighs a couple of pounds. It has no pawn ticket, but it has provenance.
The difference between tourist jewelry and pawn is that tourist jewelry was made to be sold to tourists. It is lighter in weight for the most part, to keep the price down. Pawn was made for, owned by, worn by and pawned by Native American people.
The belt on the bottom is pawn. I bought it from a Navajo/Apache man. It is a family piece that he had stored in a shoebox in his workshop. The conchos have seen a couple of belts over the years and it has been in the pawn shop many times. The conchos are thick and heavy. The belt weighs a couple of pounds. It has no pawn ticket, but it has provenance.
The difference between tourist jewelry and pawn is that tourist jewelry was made to be sold to tourists. It is lighter in weight for the most part, to keep the price down. Pawn was made for, owned by, worn by and pawned by Native American people.
The three bracelets on the left are tourist jewelry. The three on the right are pawn. They are all valuable and beautiful. If true pawn is what you quest, buy from sellers that you can trust.
Things to be aware of:
The certificate of authenticity or COA, means nothing. Anyone can print one. Look for real pawn tickets, but know that they are a rarity. Ask questions and work with knowledgeable dealers. (I rarely list a piece as pawn. If I suspect that is is pawn because of the construction of the piece or something that I have been told of the history of it, I will state only that I suspect that it is pawn.)
Also know that just about 1975 there was a huge buying craze of Native American jewelry in the USA. It was the "Beanie Babies" style craze of the 1970's. Indian jewelry was being made as fast as possible, mines were being mined like crazy and fakes were also being made in great quantities. There is nothing wrong with 1970's Indian jewelry, but it is often sold as pawn. And the fakes, well, that's a subject for another guide.
I hope that I have helped you. Vintage jewelry is a wise investment that you can wear and enjoy.
The certificate of authenticity or COA, means nothing. Anyone can print one. Look for real pawn tickets, but know that they are a rarity. Ask questions and work with knowledgeable dealers. (I rarely list a piece as pawn. If I suspect that is is pawn because of the construction of the piece or something that I have been told of the history of it, I will state only that I suspect that it is pawn.)
Also know that just about 1975 there was a huge buying craze of Native American jewelry in the USA. It was the "Beanie Babies" style craze of the 1970's. Indian jewelry was being made as fast as possible, mines were being mined like crazy and fakes were also being made in great quantities. There is nothing wrong with 1970's Indian jewelry, but it is often sold as pawn. And the fakes, well, that's a subject for another guide.
I hope that I have helped you. Vintage jewelry is a wise investment that you can wear and enjoy.
Just Listed!
I was out buying this weekend even though it was so hot and humid. I just have to replace the items that have been selling out so fast with fresh finds. I am listing on my website, etsy and One Kings Lane all day. Here are some of the fresh finds:
Click here to learn more
Click here to learn more
Coming to One Kings Lane:
I will be adding sea-glass strands to my website this week. They sell on OKL as fast as I can find them and add them.
This amazing sterling silver cannetille bracelet is waiting to be included in an event on OKL. If you love it, contact me. I am willing to place it on my website for sale, just for you!
The fobs are set with genuine gemstones: a moonstone, a hand carved intaglio bloodstone and a bell with a red carnelian clapper.
Just listed on Etsy:
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