News provided by Santa Fe Crafts
Piles of Pawn refers to vintage Southwestern Native American Jewelry. This biannual show is our most popular sale of the year. It is a rare opportunity to see and purchase the widest selection of all kinds of Native American jewelry anywhere west of Santa Fe.
When: Friday & Saturday, December 9-10, 2022
Hours: 10:00AM – 5:00PM both days
The pawn system in the Southwest has been in service for over 100 years and is still in use today. In the Southwest, many Native people living near reservations don’t use banks. When they need extra cash or if they want to safely store their possessions they will go to the trader at their preferred pawn shop who will take in their belongings in exchange for cash for a specified time period.
If the person fails to return for his possessions they become the property of the trader who may, after a certain amount of time passes, sell the items. This system has been beneficial to both the Native people as well as the traders who support them.
Our Piles of Pawn Native American jewelry sale is made possible by our Indian trader friend who scours the Southwest for all kinds of Native American jewelry which he finds in pawn shops, from artists and other dealers. His family has been involved in Native American jewelry for well over 60 years.
Twice a year, he loads up his van and brings his treasures out to us here in South Pasadena and for a couple of days, he unloads his van at our gallery. Customers dig through his boxes to search for and find something unique.
Santa Fe Crafts Native American Gallery
1123 Mission Street South Pasadena, CA 91030
(626) 799-3070
Regular business hours: Wednesday – Saturday 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Contact: info@santafecrafts.com