Navajo inlay artist Jimmy Poyer has been working with us for approximately 40 years, since we relocated to our large gallery building in Durango. He is a unique man as well as an incredible jeweler.
Many inlay artists are working today, but Jimmy is different in a couple of ways. First, he tends to use a more subtle color palette. Secondly, while many people work with inlay wax, casting the silver or gold into which they are inlaying the stones, this is not the case with Jimmy. Every piece of metal that he inlays is handcrafted one piece at a time, and every stone or shell is untreated and cut by hand.
Poyer is an accomplished musician and was once the lead singer of a well-known band. He first put the “Jimmy Poyer Band” together while attending BYU in Provo, Utah. Initially, they did most of their work on the Navajo reservation, but soon traveled around the country, sometimes at their own venues and sometimes playing warm-up for bigger acts. They performed alongside some of the biggest acts in country music.
I asked Jim if he ever thought he would hit it big in the music business, and he said, “Jackson, I thought I had made it when I got my own motel room!”
When he was home between trips, he started working for Jimmie Harrison, a well-known jeweler from the Farmington area. When the day came for him to give up the music business, he went out on his own as a silversmith. He still occasionally picks up his guitar, and one day he showed up at the gallery with it. I don’t think he believed that we believed he was a musician, but after about twenty minutes, no one in the gallery doubted his ability.
Jimmy recently came in with a nice selection of small earrings perfect for Valentine’s or any time! We thought you would like to see them!
