Ironically, we went to Gallup the week after Indian Market. A friend, a professional from Santa Fe, had told me that she passed through Gallup on her way back home and saw some interesting jewelry there. She was correct. I saw much better examples of metalwork and inlay on sale at the local traders than what had been on the booths at Indian Market. Interesting also, was the fact that a number of these artists don’t bother with Indian Market anymore. There were three or four Navajo silversmiths who had work at more than one store, and when all items were viewed it appeared that they had in fact been experimenting stylistically.

Fact: I made better purchases in good ole Gallup than in Santa Fe. What does this tell us?