Our Artists
Most of what we sell was made by a specific person, and for a lot of our customers that is the point. These pages let you shop by the maker rather than by the stone or the shape.
Silver Star Jewelry has been buying in Old Town Scottsdale since 1979, which is long enough to have followed some of these artists across most of their working lives. A few of them have died, and their work cannot be replaced.
Artists with a collection here
- Thomas Singer — Navajo. Overlay animal pendants, two-tone gold and silver, hand-made beads. Our deepest single-artist collection.
- Herbert Begaye — Navajo. Heavy 14K gold over sterling silver cuffs, link bracelets and rings.
- James McCabe — Navajo. Squash blossom necklaces and cuffs built from vintage Liberty and Mercury dimes.
- Andrea Lonjose — Zuni. Figural inlay rings, pictures drawn entirely in cut stone and shell.
- Clayton Tom — Navajo. Night Sky inlay: Yei figures under opal stars.
- Quandelacy — Zuni. Amy and Dick Quandelacy, hand-inlaid rings and earrings in silver and 14K gold. The finest inlay we carry.
- Effie Calavaza — Zuni. The classic silver snake bolo ties and rings in turquoise and coral.
- Edison Yazzie — Navajo. Cobblestone and geometric inlay on leather bracelets.
- Ambrose Tsosie — Navajo. Night Sky link bracelets, including a reversible one.
- Frank Yellowhorse — Navajo. Bold geometric inlay bracelets, bear and buffalo pendants.
- Calvin Begay — Navajo. Mosaic inlay, award-winning, widely collected.
- Michael Perry — Navajo. Tufa cast and overlay with top-grade turquoise. Three pieces, all heirloom level.
- Debbie Flanagan — a local Arizona artist. Hand-coiled, hand-painted clay javelinas, dogs, cats and nativity sets. Not jewelry, and the friendliest prices in the store.
Also in the store
These makers have too few pieces with us right now to justify a page of their own, but the work is here and worth knowing about. Stock changes, so it is worth asking.
- Robert Leekya — Zuni, and the name collectors will notice on this list. He was a son of the great Zuni carver Leekya Deyuse and worked with his wife Bernice from the 1950s onward, known for bold turquoise nugget work and channel inlay. We have two pieces, including a 14K gold bracelet.
- Edwyn Morgan — Navajo. Four pieces.
- Marlean Haley — Navajo. Four pieces.
- Leo Feeney — three pieces.
- Mark Yazzie — Navajo. One piece.
- Freddie Leekya — Zuni. A hand-carved pipestone fetish.
- Derrick and Nichelle Edaakie — one piece.
How we attribute a piece
We name an artist only where our own record of that piece names them, and we describe an artist as Navajo or Zuni only where we can support it. Where we cannot, we say nothing rather than guess. Under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act that matters, and it matters more to us than a better-sounding sentence.
The same applies to signatures. Not every genuine piece is signed, and an unsigned piece is not a lesser one. Where a piece carries an artist stamp, its own listing says so. You can read more on that in our Turquoise Guide.
Everything here is handmade with natural stones. Come and see it in Old Town Scottsdale, or shop by stone instead.
