Indian jeweler from New Mexico finds big audience in Japan

Friday, February 17, 2012  

Michael Kirk, an Isleta Pueblo / Navajo Nation jeweler from New Mexico, has found fame in a far-away place: Japan.

Kirk was featured in a Japanese travel magazine 14 years ago. Now, about 95 percent of his pieces are sent to Japan or sold to customers who come all way to the reservation from Japan.

"We would come home and it was dark and in the backyard there would be a car. And we would say, 'Who is that?' and we'd look and there were some Japanese sitting out there waiting for us to come home," Kirk told KOAT-TV.

In addition to coming to his home, Japanese fans visit Kirk at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market.

Get the Story:
Native American Jewelry Huge In Japan (KOAT-TV 2/16)