Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Tarachel to be featured in Cowboys and Indians

An amethyst and sterling silver necklace designed by Bonsall’s Sue Johnson has been selected for inclusion in a future issue of the glossy magazine Cowboys and Indians which features Western artists. Johnson found out about her jewelry’s selection for the nationally-circulated magazine April 13 after speaking with an associate editor. “It’s definitely exciting,” Johnson said. “It was a goal that I had set.”

Johnson’s actual goal to have her Tarachel jewelry featured in a national publication had a 2008 timeline, so that goal was achieved ahead of schedule. “A blessing and a fluke, I think,” she said. “I’m just excited to see how somebody else viewed our jewelry through her camera lens.”

Tarachel, which is named after Johnson’s two daughters, sells custom-designed jewelry, belt buckles, denim jackets, and scarves. Johnson started Tarachel in Spring 2006.

Johnson first displayed Tarachel products at the Poway Rodeo in September 2006. In December 2006 she made her debut as a gift show exhibitor during the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, sharing a booth at the Cowboy Marketplace gift expo at the Mandalay Bay with the Sturdee Brothers apparel company. (Alex Hassinger, who is a partner in Sturdee Brothers, is married to Johnson’s sister.) Cowboys and Indians has a booth at the Cowboy Christmas gift expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center during NFR.

In March Johnson received a call from a Cowboys and Indians sales representative who told Johnson that someone from the magazine had seen her work. That Thursday she was asked to send three necklaces to Albuquerque by the following Tuesday morning.

“It’s literally an open call if you will. People from the magazine contact people who they’ve met along the way,” Johnson said.

Johnson sent two turquoise pieces of jewelry and a three-strand necklace with a multi-colored amethyst gemstone. The article will feature sterling silver jewelry, and the rough cut amethyst stone is suspended from a sterling silver disc.

Johnson initially heard that she had made the first cut, when the photographers sent their selections to the magazine editors. The article plans to feature 36 pieces of jewelry, and Johnson’s amethyst necklace is expected to be one of the lead pieces.

“You just need something that takes you over the hump,” she said.

Johnson had returned from a vacation to Texas on April 10. The following day she learned that she had been accepted back to the Cowboy Marketplace gift expo, this time for her own booth.

The 2006 Las Vegas Marathon began and ended at the Mandalay Bay and was run the day after the conclusion of the National Finals Rodeo. The Mandalay Bay parking lot was reserved for marathon-related use while the gift show was still taking place. This year the Las Vegas Marathon will not take place at the same time, so the parking lot will be free for the December 7-15 Cowboy Marketplace. “Been a good week,” Johnson said. “It’s just exciting stuff.”

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/27/2024 20:57