According to an Associated Press story out of Gallup, N.M., traders and makers of American Indian jewelry have seen sales drops of as much as 80 percent since the U.S. recession began in earnest last fall.
One of those interviewed was the owner of Richardson’s Trading Co., one of the oldest such businesses in Gallup:
In Gallup, there’s a saying — perhaps exaggerated — that 80 percent of the world’s American Indian jewelry comes through the western New Mexico hilltop town. Whatever the figure, there’s no disputing that local traders who sell jewelry and other crafts, such as colorful wool rugs and pottery made by members of the nearby Navajo, Hopi, Acoma and Zuni tribes, are also feeling the pinch.
Traders say their wholesale business, which in the past has come from the East and West coasts and Texas, has fallen between 25 and 40 percent this year.
“We don’t have the numbers that we used to have. That’s because their business is down,” said Bill Richardson, the 91-year-old owner of Richardson’s Trading Co., which sits among a line of jewelry stores on historic Route 66. “They don’t need this stuff. What do you need this stuff for? You can’t eat it.”
If you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, you may want to consider throwing some business to the Indian jewelry shops. It sounds like they can really use it.