Two bodies of work dominate this page. Ronald Chavez, retired Mayordomo of the ditch that irrigates the fields at Santo Domingo, makes reversible inlaid earrings — each side is finished, so either can be worn outward. The Reano family — Charlotte, Charlene, Joe and Janalee — inlay theirs on moon shells in the Hohokam-derived style their sister Angie Reano Owen taught them.
These earrings were made by various artists from Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo from Kingman turquoise. They are 2 inches long with the wire by 3/4 inch wide.
These earrings were made by Ronald Chavez from Kingman turquoise. They are 2 inches long with the wire by 1 inch wide.
Simple and bold: two oval slabs of Kingman turquoise, from Kingman, Arizona. The stone is a soft aqua that leans toward green, crossed by a lacy pattern of olive-green and tan matrix, so each slab has its own markings and the two match without being exact copies. They are polished smooth and hang flat from hook ear wires, each fixed with a wrapped loop. With no inlay or extra beads, the turquoise is the whole design, and the pair works as well with jeans as with something dressier.
Most of Ronald Chavez's work in the shop is inlay, or turquoise carved into feathers and leaves; this pair leaves the Kingman stone plain and lets the matrix carry the design. He lives with his family at Santo Domingo Pueblo, where before he retired he was Mayordomo of the village's irrigation ditch, and his pieces come to the shop directly from him.
These earrings are strung on a post with various materials. Very colorful. They are 2.75 inches long and the beads are 5mm in diamter. Ask for pictures to chose. Or tell me dark or light, plain or multi.
Lapis inlaid on the side with white buffalo, turquoise, serpentine, coral and jet. They are 1.75 inches long with the ear wire and 1/2 inch wide.
These are free-form drops, narrow at the top and widening gently toward a rounded base. The main stone is a rich violet to purple, broken by patches of blue and a fine pale web that runs through it. Down one edge of each earring runs a column of small inlaid bands in turquoise blue, white with gray veins, deep red, pale yellow, yellow-green and orange flecked with black, ending in a block of deep blue at the base. The two are made as a mirror pair, so the inlaid columns sit on opposite sides, and they hang from French hook ear wires with wrapped loops. Light color against dark stone makes them easy to notice without being large.
Several of Ronald Chavez's other earrings in the shop follow the same plan, one slab of stone with a strip of inlay down the side, and his earrings, this pair included, are finished on both faces so either side can be worn out. Jewelry is his spare-time work at Santo Domingo Pueblo.
Made from purple compressed spiny oyster. Inlaid on the side with turquoise, jet and coral. Makes a stunning design. They are 2.25 inches long with the wire and 3/4 inch wide.
Carved in Kingman turquoise. They are 2.25 inches long with the ear wire and 3/4 inch wide. Inlais down the middle with coral, turquoise, lapis and jet.
Inlaid on a moon shell with Kingman turquoise. Accented with lapis, melo shell and mother-of-pearl shell. They are 1.75 inches long with and 1 inch wide. On a post.
Inlaid on a moon shell with Kingman turquoise. Accented with lapis, coral, melo shell and mother-of-pearl shell. They are 1.75 inches long with the wire and 1 inch wide. Inlaid on a moon shell.
Inlaid on a moon shell with Kingman turquoise accented with lapis, jet, coral, melo shell and mother-of-pearl shell. They are 1.5 inches long with the wire and 1.5 inch wide. Inlaid on a moon shell.
Made with Kingman turquoise. . Inlaid on a moon shell with turquoise accented with lapis, turquoise, MOP shell and coral. 2.25 inches long with the ear wire. 5/8 inch wide.
Inlaid on a moon shell with Kingman turquoise. Accented with coral, lapis and MOP shell. They are 1.75 inches long with the wire and 5/8 inches in wide.
Inlaid on moon shell with turquoise and a single red coral , jet or MOP shell center shell. They are 5/8" wide and 7/8" long. They come in either blue or green turquoise.
Feather earrings by Charlotte Reano. They are 1.25" long with the post by 1/2" wide. Made from various turquoises, wiith jet ,spiny oyster shell and MOP accents.
Inlaid on a moon shell with Kingman turquoise with accents of coral, MOP shell, jet and melo shell,. They are 2.75 inches long with the wire and 1/2 inch wide.
Janalee is the daughter of Frank and Charlene Reano. Just starting out to make earrings. I'm expecting great things in the future. These button earrings are 5/8+ inches in diameter ona SS post.
These buttons are all different designs. Mostly turquoise with MOP and coral accents. They are inlaid on moon shell. Silver posts. 3/8 inch in diameter. Write for pictures to choose from.
These are small round button earrings, each inlaid on moon shell and set on a silver post so it sits close against the earlobe. The photo shows three of the designs: one pair with a wide band of bright turquoise beside red, black and pale mother-of-pearl shell; one in soft green with a curved band of red; and one in pearly mother-of-pearl with a band of black along one edge. They are small enough for every day and easy to wear with other jewelry.
These are the smallest of Charlotte Reano's earrings in the shop; her larger pairs, up to 2.75 inches, are inlaid on the same moon shell, and with Percy Reano she inlays whole shells for pendants. She learned inlay, as the rest of the Reano family at Santo Domingo Pueblo did, from the oldest sister, Angie Reano Owen, who built the style on ancient Hohokam jewelry.
Made from Black lip MOP, accented with turquoise, coral and white MOP shell. Inlaid on a "Moon" shell. they are 3/4 inch higha nd 3/4 inch wide. On a SS post.
Made from Kingman Turquoise, accented with lapis, coral and white MOP shell. Inlaid on a "Moon" shell. they are 1 inch high nd 5/8 inch wide. On a SS post.
These earrings are made from natural colored scallop shells from the Gulf of Mexico. They are 3/4"+ wide and 2"+ long with the ear wire. Inlaid with Kingman turquoise and silver wire.
These turquoise earrings, inlaid on shell, match the necklace and shells. They are 2" long (2.75" with the wire). 1" wide. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and silver.
Inlaid on Melo Shell with Gold-Lip MOP Shell and jet. They are 3 inches long with the ear wire and 1 inch wide at the widest point.
These earrings are long, flared shapes, narrow at the ear wire and widest along the bottom edge. The inlay is laid on melo shell in clean straight lines. A mottled blue-green stone with brown and gold matrix covers the top of each earring. Below it a band of black jet runs in from the outer edge partway across, and a second black band drops from its end to the bottom edge; the corner under the first band is filled with panels of gold-lip mother-of-pearl shell in soft pink, while the blue-green stone continues down the other side. Left and right mirror each other. Large but flat and smooth, they hang on French hooks and frame the face well with short hair or an open collar.
Antonio Pacheco made these. Another pair of his earrings in the shop is inlaid on melo shell as well, with turquoise, spiny oyster shell and mother-of-pearl shell, so the pale shell base runs through both of his pieces here.
Kingman turquoise. Spiny oyster shell "corn. Larger than he ususally makes. These are 3.75 inches long with the wire. The beads are graduated from 6mm.
Each earring is a long teardrop loop of graduated turquoise heishe, with the biggest beads toward the bottom and smaller ones toward the top, and a cluster of shaped red-orange spiny oyster shell 'corn' at the low point of the loop. The turquoise is a clear sky blue with dark matrix running through many of the beads, and a small red bead sits at the top of each loop where it meets the ear wire. They show best with hair pulled back or a plain neckline, where the open loop and the touch of red can be seen.
Big earrings and the ja'claw loop are the two things Lupe Lovato is best known for, and this pair is both at once. He has made jewelry at Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo for over 50 years, mostly in spiny oyster shell and turquoise, much of it Kingman turquoise from Arizona, which is the stone here as well.
