Emily's Trading Post is an online company that guarantees you will receive only the finest Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Santo Domingo and other Southwest Native American Indian Jewelry.
Boyd worked on the Navajo, Hopi and Apache reservations for a number of years and thus developed a love for the people and their craftsmanship. We make monthly trips to the Reservations to purchase selected jewelry for you.
Pictured above are three of Boyd's prized Hopi Kachinas from his collection. They are: the Eagle, Clown and Cow Kachinas which are over 50 years old. The Hopi traditionally made these Kachinas as a single piece from drift cottonwood root. After the figure was hand carved it is painted all-over with a white wash, usually native kaolin clay. It was then detailed using native mineral or vegetal dyes applied with yucca brushes.
We not only carry traditional sterling silver and inlay jewelry, like the bear pendant shown on the home page, but also jewelry that has been in dead pawn for years such as the beautiful squash blossom that was pawned in 1951.
If you are looking for an item that you don’t see here just call us or drop us an e-mail describing the particular item and we will attempt to locate it for you. When we find what we believe you are looking for, we will photograph it, e-mail this along with a complete description for your approval.
As you probably know Native American Jewelry is distinctive to the artist and the craftsman’s tribal origin.
· Hopi craftsmen are normally silver craftsmen and use few stones but rather concentrate on silver overlay. The designs are cut by hand (often, with one continuous cut) and then soldered to the silver sheet below...which is incised with beautiful patterns of its own. The completed work is infinitely more than the sum of its parts.
· Navajo craftsmen made jewelry consisting of mostly turquoise, shell and red coral. Early Navajo jewelry was traditionally large, heavy pieces and many times consisted of “chunk” turquoise.
· Zuni craftsmen made very delicate inlay jewelry, many times representing animals and birds.
· Santo Domingo craftsmen make (what is known as discoidal beadwork) rough cut stones which are first drilled, ground smooth and then strung on a wire. The artist then holds both ends of the strand and carefully draws the beads back and forth across a grinding wheel or other rough surface, shaping the heishi.
As time has passed it has become more and more difficult to determine the craftsmen’s origin from their jewelry. Due to one artist copying another and marriage between tribes.
Since we both love Cars and Airplanes, Boyd felt that the MEN in your lives also needed somewhere to buy their special toys. So we have collected an array of quality items that are proven and guaranteed to make him happy and at the same time save you money.
