The Fabulous Jewelry of Nestoria Coriz

Nestoria Coriz is the daughter of Lupe Pena and granddaughter of Santiago and Trinidad Pena. She began learning all facets of heishi, bead and stone work from her grandparents at the age of 6. At that time, there was little if any electrical power at the Santo Domingo Pueblo and so all jewelry work was created by hand.

As a teenager in the early 1960's Nestoria learned to make silver jewelry when she began working at Turpen's in Albuquerque alongside her father, Lupe Pena. Nestoria is now in her mid 60s and has created numerous award-winning necklaces. She is self-taught  in all aspects of the design and construction of her necklaces & jewelry. Nestoria uses the highest grades of  stones and shells in creating her unique pieces.

Nestoria's three sons, Daniel, Rodney ans Simon, are all following in the family tradition of creating and crafting unique pieces!

We have a small selection of Nestoria's and Daniel's necklaces available right now on our website. Any of them would make a perfect gift! The ceremonial necklaces can be worn by a man or a woman.

Ready for the holidays!

 

Perfect gift for the woman who loves turquoise!

Are you beginning to think about your holiday gift shopping? Well, we are ready for you. We have just returned from a jewelry buying trip through northern New Mexico and we brought back a large assortment of new contemporary, vintage and dead pawn Native American Indian jewelry. Please keep an eye on our New Arrivals section of our website to see our newest gift ideas. We will be adding items every day!

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Navajo Rug Auction, Cownpoint, New Mexico

In October, I went to the Crown point Rug Auction on the Navajo reservation while I was traveling and bought a few Navajo rugs. It was great fun and you don't have to worry about "fake" southwest style rugs made in Pakistan or some other country halfway around the world. The Navajo weavers bring the rugs to the auction that very evening - an hour or two before the auction starts - and you can meet some of the weavers if you want. They hold the auction at the new Crownpoint Elementary school  the second Friday of every month, viewing at 4pm and auction begins at 7pm. Here's a peek:

We're Moving!

We are moving to New Mexico which means our website Tumbleweeds Jewelry will be temporarily closed until we finally get ourselves situated in our new home. We have chosen Tularosa, New Mexico as the spot where we will begin the next phase of our life. We will be using this "down-time" to re-vamp our website, giving it a little southwestern facelift. We'll also be doing some major Indian jewelry shopping, so we will have a whole new collection of Native American jewelry available shortly!

Things move a little more slowly out here in sunny New Mexico. So we hope you will be patient with us!

Meanwhile, until our website is back up and operational, we will be selling our Native American jewelry on EBAY. Please check us on Ebay, where we will have some new and exciting pieces of contemporary, pawn and vintage Native American Indian jewelry by some of our favorite Navajo and Zuni artists. Now that we are located in New Mexico, we will have greater access to all the fabulous jewelry of the region!

  


 

Navajo Kirk Smith - His life & His Jewelry

Kirk Smith's Old Pawn Style Silver Jewelry

Kirk Smith was one of the best Navajo silversmiths in recent times. His work was always top quality and he used only the best stones and materials. Kirk Smith was killed by a drunk driver in an unfortunate tragedy on September 17, 2012. He was only 55 years old and in his prime, both as a jeweler and as an individual. He will be deeply missed by family, friends and Native American Indian jewelry collectors and traders everywhere.

Kirk came from a well known family of silversmiths  and he began working with silver as a
youngster in the 1960's at his grandfather's workshop. He made jewelry off and on until 1980, when

he returned to silversmithing full time, working with and learning from well-known artist and brother-in-law Harry Morgan. Kirk became an acclaimed artist is his own right by consistently creating investment quality old pawn style jewelry.  With heavy silver, detailed craftsmanship and beautiful stones, Smith's pieces won many awards through the years. Although he changed his style over the years, Kirk remained true to the traditional heavy silver work of the Navajo. At the time of his death, Kirk had surpassed his one-time mentor, the late Harry Morgan, becoming one of  the best practitioner of classic revivalist Navajo design.

  Kirk usually set his jewelry with high-quality stones in vibrant colors with interesting natural matrix patterns. His pawn finish mimics the appearance and patina of naturally aged sterling silver.



Kirk always tried giving back to his people. He taught silversmithing to several other well known silvermsiths, including some of the Martinez family, Fred Brown, Dean Brown and Anthony Skeet. He also was one to help many Navajo different families whenever he could.


We are fortunate to have obtained a large selection of Kirk's bracelets, rings, earrings and pendants shortly after his death. Kirk Smith's work is considered collector and investment quality. With the recent price increases in both turquoise and sterling silver in the last few years, Kirk's beautiful pieces are an excellent investment not only in terms of their high quality turquoise and precious metal but because of the acclaimed artist who created them.

Check out our selection of Kirk Smith jewelry on our website and Ebay below.

Kirk Smith Old Pawn Style Jewelry for sale at Tumbleweeds Jewelry