Cleaning Turquoise Jewelry

Use caution when caring for and cleaning turquoise jewelry. Turquoise is a beautiful stone that is porous so preventative care should include avoiding grease, oil or any other harsh chemicals. When cleaning turquoise jewelry, use a very soft and slightly damp cloth only. Do not submerge your jewelry into water, use any ultrasonic cleaners, chemicals or even soap. Polish any silver on the piece with caution. A polishing cloth is a safe way to go.

Avoid putting your turquoise jewelry in extreme temperatures or sunlight for long periods of time. This can alter the stone's color. When storing your turquoise jewelry, it is best to keep it away from any hard gemstones so it does not get scratched. Follow these simple steps so extend the live of your jewelry for years to come!

Native American Drum Care

Special care needs to be given to your Native American Drum, whether painted or not because they are natural. Most drums are made with either deer or elk hide and some kind of wood frame. The most important thing to remember is to store your drum in a cool place. Do not store your drum in extreme temperatures, especially heat! This can cause the hide to crack and shorten the life of your drum.

Oils from your hands are actually good for the hide. This is also why you should never touch or play someone else's drum without asking permission.

The basic rules with drums are that heat takes out the moisture and raises the pitch. When it is cold, drums will sound flat and can be adjusted by warming them up but do so with caution! Some people like to oil their drums. This is optional and not totally necessary. We do recommend if you purchased a drum as an art piece that you take it off your wall regularly to play/handle it and wipe any dust off with a soft cloth. Do not use any chemicals. Most painted drums use earthen paint but have been protected so that they can be played or used in sweat lodge.

Native American Basket Care & Cleaning

The best advice with baskets is to be extremely careful displaying and cleaning them, especially baskets that have dyed elements to them. Do NOT display them in extreme temperatures or direct sunlight. They will fade over time and shorten the life of the piece. Baskets can become dusty but we recommend using a duster or soft cloth and not submerging them in water. Do not use harsh chemicals to clean them.

Carved Plaques & Masks

Do not display your carved wall plaque or mask- you guessed it- in direct sunlight or extreme temperatures! Sound like a broken record yet? This is a good rule of thumb for any art and jewelry. Most Pacific Northwest Coast carvings are made from red or yellow cedar. Red cedar and any paint on it will fade in the sun. It can also crack the wood. Cedar is a malliable wood which makes it a great wood for carving but also vulnerable to cracks. They can get dusty. We recommend using a soft duster or cloth. Those cans that blow air are good for any fully painted pieces or for carvings with carved lines. These can be picked up from office supply stores.

The only wood carving that seems to be resilient against the elements are the Athabascan spirit masks that Adam John carves. He uses cottonwood bark which is more durable and does not crack.

Pottery Care

The Navajo Horse Hair pottery is definitely fragile! But the good news is that it is not critical to keep it out of the sun. If you are using a vase, be sure to check that it can hold water. Many vases, including most of the ones we sell, cannot when bought as is. You can buy an acrylic spray at the hardware store to line the inside of it. We recommend at least two coats. Once it is dry, it should be safe to hold water. We will gladly spray any vase you purchase from us for you. We do not automatically do this because most people are not using it for this purpose and want to keep the piece natural. The acrylic spray is also great for repairing any minor scratches.

If you purchased a wedding vase that will be used once in a ceremony, it should be fine.

Wool Knits or Weavings

For Cowichan knits: Use lukewarm water, just a little cooler than your hand, to which a small amount of wool soap or minute amount of detergent has been added; mix well. If too much soap or detergent is used, you will wash out the lanolin that makes your knit waterproof. Gently and quickly squeeze the water through the soiled parts of the knit. Rinse in two or three waters of the same temperature as above. Squeeze out water, roll quickly in bath towels to eliminate as much water as possible, stretch into shape, lay onto a rack to dry. Your knit should come out like new as it was washed after knitting, which should have eliminated any chance of shrinkage.

Follow the same instructions for woven wool bags, blankets and scarves. Some Coast Salish weavings are machine washable on handwash setting with Woolite. Be sure to find out when purchasing any woven items.

Feather care

Yes, you can even care for your feathers! We are speaking here of domestic feathers like the ones we sell. If your feather looks a little mangled or stuck together, hold it over steam and then smooth out. I personally have a large bunch of feathers in a vase and they can get quite dusty. They are not fragile and so I usually take the whole bunch in one hand and lightly hit it against my other hand. All the dust usually flies out of it and the feathers remain unharmed. I have also washed feathers that I collected. Run the feather under real light flow water then smooth out on your pant leg.