MUSEUM SHOPS | April 2024

We're giving the Shops a bit of a spring refresh, with new product lines arriving throughout the spring and into summer. We are featuring three of our favorite new jewelry lines this month that really sparkle, both in their design as well as their company ethos.

At the George Duncan and Sheryl Kelsey Shop at Vladem Contemporary, we've added Salt Grass Jewelry made by local artist, Kristi Frank Montano. Salt Grass is a love letter to New Mexico, characterized by symbolic shapes and textures observed in the high desert. Each piece embraces a slow-made ethos, prioritizing quality, craftsmanship, and attention to detail. Kristi is known for using recycled silver in her pieces and upcycling metal scraps into beautiful earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets.

At the Colleen Cloney Duncan Shop at Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, we've added necklaces from House of Sutai made by Peshawn Bread. Our collection of House of Sutai dentalium and pearl necklaces are both innovative and romantic. Peshawn Bread is a Comanche, Kiowa and Cherokee multifaceted creative with their own brand House of Sutai where they focus on jewelry design and innovative fashion with Indigenous aesthetics for everyone to wear. Peshawn is following in their mother, Jhane Myers, jewelry crafting footsteps, putting her unique spin on traditional materials.

Leather and glass bead cuff from Sidai Designs of Arusha, Tanzania.

At the Lynn Godfrey Brown Shop at Museum of International Folk Art, our newest addition is Sidai Designs. Hailing from Tanzania, this beadwork collective is working to preserve the age-old Masaai tradition through sustainable employment for Masaai women. By infusing a modern sensibility with traditional techniques, Sidai appeals to a wider market, transforming traditional Maasai beadwork from a one-off tourist buy into a stylish piece for a global shopper. Their earrings, necklaces, and bracelets emphasize the focus on timeless design and slow practices.

Pink conch bead and dentalium necklace by Peshawn Bread of House of Sutai.