If you haven’t been to Garland’s Navajo Rugs in Sedona, it is something to put on your list. At Toh-Atin, we specialize in quality Navajo weaving, as does Dan. Dan’s father, Bill, and my father shared a love for the art form of weaving and the culture of the Native people of the Southwest, and they passed that love down to us.
As the number of trading posts on the Navajo reservation declined, it became increasingly important for weavers to have outlets to sell their rugs beyond the reservation. Dan and I work with weavers who bring their rugs to us regularly, and since we are about 7 hours apart, we seldom see the same ones.
One of the women whose work I have always admired when I’ve seen it in Sedona is Susie Mike. She weaves several different styles of rugs and is one of the few women who sometimes weaves large ones. She enjoys creating Storm patterns, but I adore her Ganado weavings.
We have a client from Albuquerque who bought one of Susie’s weavings about 20 years ago and contacted me to ask if we would sell this weaving and donate his share of the sale to the Animal Humane Society of New Mexico. He said it was time to deaccession his collection, but wanted the money to go to his favorite charity.
Of course, I said yes. What a wonderful way to give a gift and pass a beautiful weaving along to someone who will truly enjoy it!
