martha's vineyard Gazette Article
landry harden
01/18/2019
Photos by Ray Ewing
SIOUX EAGLE CLOSING SHOP MEANS NEW BEGINNING
The idea arrived last summer during a day spent journaling on the beach. Sioux Eagle had just turned 65 and was looking to try something new after several decades of running her Vineyard Haven jewelry store. She said the schedule was taxing — early mornings, late evenings, six days a week — with little time left to do what she loves most: making jewelry in her West Tisbury home studio.
But she wasn’t ready to retire either. Her decision? Eliminate the commute and make the place where she creates also the place where she sells.
“I just love making jewelry and I had this space so I thought, it’s time for this segment of my life,” Ms. Eagle told the Gazette earlier this week while walking around her new showroom. “Now I have 20 steps to work instead of driving into town.”
Ms. Eagle officially closed her Main street storefront late last month after 22 years of selling jewelry and other handmade goods from Island artists. She said the new shop is tentatively set to open in the spring and will carry only her own designs, with reduced hours and hours by appointment. She added that the extra time and a studio downstairs will allow her to work at her own schedule.
“It’s going to free me up considerably,” she said. “You can forget your girlfriend’s birthday, call me at 6:30 at night and I’ll say, yeah, come on over.”
Ms. Eagle said she started Sioux Eagle Designs 35 years ago inside Crispin’s Landing, and has been passionate about the craft since she got a summer job selling for Scott McDowell and Gino Powell in Edgartown in the early 1970s. She said she was so drawn to the work that she earned a metalsmithing degree in college and then started managing the jewelry store Silver and Gold in Vineyard Haven. In her free time, she honed her style and sold designs in gift shops across New England.
“I like exotic, exquisite and extraordinary jewelry,” she said. “I’m less interested in something that is trendy than something that will stand the test of time.”
In 1983, Ms. Eagle moved to the Island permanently and launched Sioux Eagle Designs. She named the shop after herself, and said customers were often confused not to find more Native American jewelry when they stopped by.
“Then again, you didn’t forget the name of the store,” she said.
Much of her hand-fabricated work is already on display in the showroom, surrounded by trinkets and icons collected over the years. Ruby red slippers sit on the windowsill and wooden woodpeckers guard a selection of pearl necklaces, reflecting Ms. Eagle’s passion for birds and the natural world. Natural light reflects through rubies, sapphires and emeralds, creating small rainbows on the walls.
Ms. Eagle said that one of her goals is to make the space as dazzling visually as her work, so people want to visit whether or not they end up buying anything.
“Making little areas for your eyes to be able to rest, that’s important to me,” she said. “At the very least if people don’t find what they were looking for then they had a good experience being here.”
As Valentine’s day approaches, Ms. Eagle said she is considering opening up the space for the holiday. In the meantime, she has a head full of designs to start working on and a few more boxes to unpack.
“I’m moving in the right trajectory. I loved doing that [managing the Vineyard Haven store] for many years and I loved all of my loyal customers, but I also got away from making my own stuff. What I want to do is make more jewelry, on my own terms.”
The idea arrived last summer during a day spent journaling on the beach. Sioux Eagle had just turned 65 and was looking to try something new after several decades of running her Vineyard Haven jewelry store. She said the schedule was taxing — early mornings, late evenings, six days a week — with little time left to do what she loves most: making jewelry in her West Tisbury home studio.
But she wasn’t ready to retire either. Her decision? Eliminate the commute and make the place where she creates also the place where she sells.
“I just love making jewelry and I had this space so I thought, it’s time for this segment of my life,” Ms. Eagle told the Gazette earlier this week while walking around her new showroom. “Now I have 20 steps to work instead of driving into town.”
Ms. Eagle officially closed her Main street storefront late last month after 22 years of selling jewelry and other handmade goods from Island artists. She said the new shop is tentatively set to open in the spring and will carry only her own designs, with reduced hours and hours by appointment. She added that the extra time and a studio downstairs will allow her to work at her own schedule.
“It’s going to free me up considerably,” she said. “You can forget your girlfriend’s birthday, call me at 6:30 at night and I’ll say, yeah, come on over.”
Ms. Eagle said she started Sioux Eagle Designs 35 years ago inside Crispin’s Landing, and has been passionate about the craft since she got a summer job selling for Scott McDowell and Gino Powell in Edgartown in the early 1970s. She said she was so drawn to the work that she earned a metalsmithing degree in college and then started managing the jewelry store Silver and Gold in Vineyard Haven. In her free time, she honed her style and sold designs in gift shops across New England.
“I like exotic, exquisite and extraordinary jewelry,” she said. “I’m less interested in something that is trendy than something that will stand the test of time.”
In 1983, Ms. Eagle moved to the Island permanently and launched Sioux Eagle Designs. She named the shop after herself, and said customers were often confused not to find more Native American jewelry when they stopped by.
“Then again, you didn’t forget the name of the store,” she said.
Much of her hand-fabricated work is already on display in the showroom, surrounded by trinkets and icons collected over the years. Ruby red slippers sit on the windowsill and wooden woodpeckers guard a selection of pearl necklaces, reflecting Ms. Eagle’s passion for birds and the natural world. Natural light reflects through rubies, sapphires and emeralds, creating small rainbows on the walls.
Ms. Eagle said that one of her goals is to make the space as dazzling visually as her work, so people want to visit whether or not they end up buying anything.
“Making little areas for your eyes to be able to rest, that’s important to me,” she said. “At the very least if people don’t find what they were looking for then they had a good experience being here.”
As Valentine’s day approaches, Ms. Eagle said she is considering opening up the space for the holiday. In the meantime, she has a head full of designs to start working on and a few more boxes to unpack.
“I’m moving in the right trajectory. I loved doing that [managing the Vineyard Haven store] for many years and I loved all of my loyal customers, but I also got away from making my own stuff. What I want to do is make more jewelry, on my own terms.”
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