Jenny's View Dear Friends,
You may have heard that
SWAIA, which puts on Indian Market (and where I serve on the board), had three of its managers unexpectedly resign in the last few months, which, needless to say, caused a bit of a shakeup. The good news to come out of it is the heartfelt response from our longtime artists. They pulled out all the stops in their donations this year for the live auction at the gala, which is a fundraiser for SWAIA, creating pieces the likes of which we’ve never seen.
Jeweler
Jesse Monongya flew in from Scottsdale and brought the showstopper, a huge 18K gold belt buckle adorned with lapis, turquoise, coral, and diamonds, valued at $78,000. “You helped me—now let me help you,” is what he told our chief development officer, Charlene Posild. Additional work of Jesse’s is also being showcased at Tom Taylor in La Fonda. I highly recommend that you stop in and see the stunning color combinations and the intricate inlay designs on his belt buckles. You may even catch him in the store during the Market. In addition to Jesse’s belt buckle, individual artists have contributed conchas for two collaborative concha belts valued above $20,000 each. “‘SWAIA has always been good to me’ is what they all say,” Charlene reports. “Artists have been beelining it to SWAIA to help show their support!” Auctioneer David Karp is also donating his time, flying in from Alaska to oversee the bidding.
The gala may be sold out by the time you read this, but many items (less stratospherically priced) will be available for early bidding
online, and you can sneak a peek at the top treasures. Lucky for you and me, looking is free!
See you at the market—where I hope to be bidding against you at the gala.
Jennifer Lea Kimball
