Expedited Shipping through December 22nd

As the gift giving season gets closer, we wanted to let you know a few things about getting your items fast.  You can select expedited shipping during checkout to make sure you get your products.  Please be aware that our UPS cutoff is 3pm, and in order to give us enough time to pack your items, you should make a purchase by 2pm MST, Thursday, December 22nd.  If UPS guarantees arrival on Friday (sometimes they don’t, right before Christmas), you will receive your purchases in time for Christmas.  We can also send items through other carriers.  Just contact us before making your purchase to discuss shipping options.  We’re happy to help!

New Ways to Browse Our Collection

We’ve just added the ability to look at your search results or category selection in several different ways.  You can pick the view that suits your preference.  On the right hand side of the page near the top is a box to select a view.  You can choose Grid, which shows results in thumbnails.  You can also select two different list formats, Simple, and Expanded.  These give you a no-nonsense top to bottom list of items.  You can still click on the item or photograph for the full view of all photos and description, and then go back to your group list. Try it now on our vintage Native American jewelry group.

Some Thoughts on Giving During the Holidays

I heard an editorial the other day by Adam Frank on NPR.  He called it “Pepper Spraying the Holidays”, and in it he wondered if the emphasis on producing more, and buying more, was so ingrained in our psyches now, that we are unable to change.  Lest you think he’s just another bleeding heart, however, he offers this insight: “I like my stuff as much as the next guy. I embrace the technologies I use and the capacities for their production. From a solidly made rake to a brilliantly designed app, making things is what we do. That being said, we desperately need to figure out if a balance can exist between how much we take (from the planet) and what we make.” This struck a chord.

This buffalo inkwell and pen tray only says it was made in Austria. Who made it? What informed his or her impression of American Bison? How did it get to this country?

I left a solid job marketing high tech electronic equipment due to similar misgivings.  It was not lost on me, that the company I worked for was in the business of producing “better” things so that the last thing you bought from them was thrown in the trash. What I do now is so much more rewarding, and it’s the original Green industry. I know there are some folks out there who just don’t “get” antiques.  Most of us, though, find the examination of a vintage item thought provoking, wondering about the path that brought it to the here and now. I pretty much always learn something new from something old. Sometimes an object reminds us of someone we love, who may be gone, but it evokes a fresh memory that otherwise may have gone unremembered. Sometimes a piece looks like it was tailor made for someone we know, even though it’s gone through other hands before now. My favorite days at Cayuse Western Americana are when a client comes in, looks around, and then something triggers about one piece in particular.  It’s usually very spontaneous and visceral, and that’s when I know I’ve done my job well.  The piece will sell itself without any intervention from me, simply because it speaks to the client.  I can’t remember the last time a flat screen tv made me react that way (although GM* Tom seems to have had heart palpitations when he saw “the one”). Among Mr. Frank’s suggestions for this season’s gifts was “see if you can find things that will last, things that are made really well”.  We suggest that you take this search to thrift stores, consignment shops, high end antique galleries (shameless plug), Craig’s list, Ebay, garage sales – whatever floats your boat.  I can guarantee that as you sift through the millions of items consumers have valued in the past, you will find something worthy of being loved yet again. It will be made really well.  It will last. And you’ll be a good citizen of the planet. Happy Hunting!   *Gallery Manager Tom You can read Adam Frank’s full essay here.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from everyone here at Cayuse Western Americana!

We appreciate you taking the time to check out our new website, feel free to look around, and make sure to contact us if you have any questions!