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.