Visiting Santa Fe

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Santa Fe. My parents decided to escape the Florida humidity, and I took the opportunity to visit them in one of my favorite places. Even though I’ve been to Santa Fe a few times before, I decided to ask for travel recommendations on social media. Y'all gave me some GREAT ideas! 

The timing for this trip coincided with the amazing Indian Market, the annual festival of Native American art and goods. Santa Fe Indian Market is widely known as the place where Native American art and culture meets the world. As a primary vehicle for showcasing Native American arts, Indian Market also serves as a principal means for advancing the careers of many of today’s noted American Indian artists. (from about SWAIA)

Walking through the market was SO inspiring! The beadwork, jewelry, and rug weavers in particular blew me away. It’s one thing to scroll through Instagram, but to see artists with their work and get to interact with them was such a pleasure. It made me realize how STARVED I was to witness others’ creativity! Just look at these beaded vans from C. Holy Bear. 

Beaded Vans from C. Holy Bear (photo from Vogue)

You’ll notice that this photo is not my own (it’s from Vogue). That’s because I didn't take any photos at the Market. It didn’t feel respectful to the artists to capture their work that way. So instead I soaked everything in with my own eyes, and had great conversations with a multitude of makers. I want the inspiration I got from the market to translate into my future work, while knowing it’s coming from my perspective. By not taking photos I give myself a better chance at transmuting this creativity into something unique to my designs.

When Bella and I reached the end of the Indian Market we discovered...a whole other market! On the other side of the old court house was another market for artists and makers who can’t/don’t apply to the highly competitive Indian Market, or who haven’t gotten in. 

At this market I got the coolest pendant made out of Fordite (aka Detroit’s Agate), made by George Willis, a Choctaw jeweler. Fordite is formed from the buildup of layers of automotive paint on the skids that they paint cars on! I love it so much, you are sure to see it in future photo shoots. 

By Sunday afternoon we were exhausted and ready for a siesta, and luckily the annual Indian Market Fashion Show was streaming live!  Bella and I climbed into bed and watching it together (can you say happy Mom?) I was SUPER intrigued by the four North American Indigenous designers showcased, and am following them all now to see their future work.  

Fashion-show looks by Lauren Good Day
Photographed by Shayla Blatchford

The timing of my trip turned out to be so perfect. Not only because of the Indian Market, but also because Candice from Farmer’s Daughter Fibers was in town with a trunk show at Hacer Santa Fe! I got to meet her and try out a few of her beautiful fibers. After a year of not traveling, I treasured the opportunity to see yarn in person and get to squeeze it with my own two hands! Buying yarn online is a necessity, but definitely not my favorite way to buy fiber. I also learned more about Sisters United, and let’s just say that Lola has a little plan that I think we can all get behind! Stay tuned for more about that. 

One of the recommendations we got from Facebook was Meow Wolf, the immersive multimedia art gallery experience. It was spectacular and mind blowing, although I wasn’t as relaxed as I would have liked to have been because of COVID. I definitely plan to go back once I can enjoy myself a bit more. 

One afternoon I went up to the Museum of International Folk Art to see their exhibit on Afghani War Rugs. I’ve seen Afghani and Kurdish rugs, but not with military and political motifs before.

From the exhibit: This unique subset of handwoven rugs can teach us about the innovative nature of rug design and production, as well as the long history of foreign involvement in Afghanistan. Rug producers, provoked by decades of traders and invaders in the country, adapted traditional motifs and compositions, translating them into depictions of world maps, tourist sites, weapons, and military figures. Over the years, rug makers have continued to update popular imagery and themes to reflect current events, changing technologies, and the tastes of potential buyers. 

If you’re interested, the museum has a virtual exhibit here.

If you follow me on Facebook or IG you also know I enjoyed some bead shopping at Beadweaver. I got beads for a few new designs, and a new finding that I won’t show you yet because it is DEFINITELY going to be part of a future Lola’s Choice kit! 

I didn’t mention food, but you can believe we ate a lot of it! We had amazing chile rellenos, mole, more chile rellenos, and blue corn lavender lemon donuts from the farmer’s market! YUMMMMM!

I hope y’all have enjoyed seeing bits of my time in Santa Fe! It’s been awhile since I wrote a blog post savoring my travels!

(this blog post is brought to you by A LOT of exclamation points... I clearly missed traveling and won't be doing it again for a while!)