Introducing Relios at Uptown!

If you know Relios then you know that we have a wide variety of ways for you to buy our jewelry and connect with us. We have our retail website (http://www.reliosjewelry.com) and a store in Texas. We also have jewelry available on Amazon. And we have profiles on Facebook and Myspace and this blog. But the hope of every business is to grow, and Relios is preparing to add a new member to the family.

On November 14, 2008 Relios is adding a new retail location at ABQ Uptown. This new store is going to be at the heart of Albuquerque's newest and hottest shopping destination. The ABQ Uptown area is chock full of great upscale retail and dining spots where you can find everything from culinary gear to clothes to jewelry and sandwiches to steaks.

Located next to Marcello's Chophouse on Q Street, our new store is going to offer a wide variety of our products from our discounted Corazon line of jewelry up to our new Collection pieces. Coming right before the holidays, our new store is going to be a great place for you to find the perfect holiday gifts.

We're not just excited because this is a new store. It's our first Relios branded location, and our first location in our hometown. The new store is just a short drive away from the factory, and it's going to make it possible for us to get a better handle on the jewelry styles and colors you like.

If you live in the Duke City or you're just passing through, drop by and look around the new store when it opens. Need the details?

Relios Jewelry at ABQ Uptown
2201 Q Street NE Suite A
Albuquerque, NM 87110
(505) 888-9603
Store hours:
10am to 9pm Mon. -Th.,
10am to 10pm Fri.-Sat.
12pm to 6pm Sun.

ABQ Uptown is at the intersection of Louisiana and Indian School, just a block North from the Louisiana exit of I-40.

Following the wave -- What's hot in jewelry?

You might have caught the spread in Elle Magazine or our posting on fall fashion, but the big colors for this fall are jewel tones. Especially purples and blues. It's not limited to the stunning shoes, elegant holiday dress, or the new scarf you've got for this year's big holiday family outing. You're seeing a big a splash of color in this fall's jewelry collections as well! In particular you're seeing two stones really capture the imagination of designers: lapis lazuli and malachite.

Lapis If turquoise is number one in the world of southwestern jewelry, then lapis is easily the second most popular stone. Lapis has been a valued stone since well before Predynastic Egypt, and if you recall from our earlier post about fall fashion, purple was alleged to have been Pharaoh Cleopatra's favorite color. Well, would you believe that her famous blue eyeshadow was made from crushed lapis? Lapis was first mined in Afghanistan, but today many sources around the world supply us with this vibrant blue stone. Along with turquoise, lapis is one our favorite stones here at Relios. We love the potent blue hues. You'll find a great selection of lapis jewelry on our website. But if you don't find something there, and you still want those blue tones for this fall, try our Tempting Teals Collection which is new for 2008.

Compare our lapis jewelry (earrings and necklace) and our Tempting Teals 8 inch 3-strand bracelet to the jewelry mentioned in Elle Magazine.

Malachite Green with envy? Your friends will be when they see you decked out in our malachite jewelry or if you're looking for other green jewelry browse our selection in our new Gorgeous Greens Collection. Malachite gets it's rich green color from the weathering of deposits of copper. Archaeologists have found that malachite has been mined in Timna, Israel (King Solomon's Mines) for well over 3,000 years. Domestically, there are sites throughout the United States where malachite is found, but it's especially prominent in Arkansas and Arizona. One of the largest known pieces of malachite in the US is "The Tazza," a large cup-like sculpture presented to August Heckscher by Czar Nicholas II.

We have an assortment of malachite jewelry, such as these necklaces and earrings. You might also like our Gorgeous Greens Collection.

Once you've finished finding the lapis and malachite jewelry that fits your mood, take some time to see what else we've got for you in our Fall Collections or our Outlet jewelry!

Remember, the holidays are coming fast! Find great gifts at Relios Jewelry.

The Sun Sets on the Santa Fe Indian Market

We're sad to see it go, but we know that if the SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market didn't come to an end, we'd have nothing to get excited about next year -- and we get pretty hyped up about it!

But while we've still got Indian Market 2008 on the noggin, we wanted to share some of what Bill, Carolyn and Susan found!

Award winners

As in years past, Bill and Carolyn Pollack, our company President/Founder and Vice President/Lead Designer respectively, sponsored an award at this year's Indian Market. It's part of a philosophy about dedicating Relios to giving back to those we benefit from. We use recycled silver to take care of the environment, and by sponsoring an award at the Indian Market we honor the people immersed in the southwestern culture that inspires our jewelry.

This year, Bill and Carolyn sponsored the Best of Jewelry Classification award. The winner was Rebecca Begay for her seed pot, a fresh and fun piece of silver decorated with a light-hearted floral design. Along with her husband, Darryl, Rebecca creates her floral design castings using tufa stone.

Rebecca Begay with Carolyn and Bill Pollack

Other award winners include Sheldon Harvey, who picked up two awards, and Fritz Casuse, who won a first place award for his flat spider ring set. Andrew Rodriguez also went home with two awards!

New Friends in the Relios Family

Just as we did with Roderick Tenorio some time ago, we made some new friends at Indian Market this year. We're going to be working with three new native designers we met at the Indian Market and we think you're going love their designs.

First is Cody Sanderson. Cody caught some looks with his naja pendant and a venus flytrap inspired sculpture (a collaboration with Pat Pruitt). His embossed graphics style really turned some heads.

Cody Sanderson

Next we've partnered with Fritz Casuse. Fritz's jewelry pieces display an air of dimensionality that really bring something new to the table. We really liked his "tube" drop earrings and the bracelet with dangling amber stones.

Fritz Casuse

Rounding out the trio of great designers we've partnered is Veronica Benally. Bill and Carolyn spent some time with Veronica talking about her daughters, Hope and Venus and their budding talents. Both of her daughters are planning pieces for a show in May. Good luck, Hope and Venus!

Veronica Benally with Carolyn Pollack

Reaction to the Indian Market

It seems that this year's style in jewelry has moved away from traditional Native American/southwestern design. Bill, Carolyn and Susan came across a varying gradient of styles, but it seems that the move towards more contemporary design has found a home with the designers at the Indian Market this year. When you look at the scuplture by Cody Sanderson and Pat Pruitt, the teardrop cluster piece by Colin Coonsis, Sheldon Harvey's painting, and Rebecca Begay's seed pod, you can see that contemporary design is taking root in Native American art.

It will be fascinating to see which direction the art and jewelry at the Santa Fe Indian Market will take in 2009. We can't wait!

In the meantime, be sure to visit the Relios homepage often as we roll out new jewelry collections and introduce our new design partners in the coming weeks! And don't forget our ever growing outlet section where you'll find real deals on genuine, natural gemstone jewelry and discount sterling silver jewelry.