T.Skies (Turquoise Skies): Our History

T.Skies is our own business, and this is our own entry in the directory. Based in Albuquerque and founded in 2014 by Mateo James, it works in two ways that it keeps deliberately apart: a signature line designed and made by a team in our Albuquerque workshop and stamped TSKIES, and a gallery of work by named independent artists, each piece listed under its maker (owner-provided; our Native-made page). Everything below comes from our own published pages. No history book covers us, so we don't claim a place in the story of the older businesses in this directory.

Founding

T.Skies, legally Turquoise Skies Inc., was founded in 2014. The shop and workshop are at 8106 Menaul Blvd NE in Albuquerque, the workshop in Suite B, and the company also runs a gallery inside the Albuquerque International Sunport (our Native-made and Craft & Cast pages). Our pages don't yet tell the founding story, or say when the Menaul shop or the Sunport gallery opened, so we won't guess at it here.

Its founder, Mateo James, has been "at the bench since 2007, working in the Southwestern tradition" (About Mateo James).

People

The signature line is a team product. In our own words: "Most of our jewelers are Navajo. We have makers from other tribes too. We have makers of European, Mexican, and Spanish descent. They all work side-by-side in our Albuquerque workshop, and every signature T.Skies piece is the work of many hands — designers, silversmiths, stone-setters, polishers" (Native-made page). We post live video from the workshop so buyers can see who is making the pieces and how.

Some of the artists our pages tie to T.Skies firsthand:

  • Philbert Secatero (Navajo/Diné), whose work is made at our bench.
  • Vinita Cowboy (Navajo), whose beads are sold in the gallery under her own name, and who worked with us on the Bead Maiden collaboration.
  • Diego Cruz, who sells his own pieces in the shop.
  • Drew Ruiz and Verdy Jake, whose profiles draw on the T.Skies team's firsthand knowledge.
  • Nick Nez, a guest artist on a T.Skies live show in March 2021.

Our pages describe the T.Skies Artist Co-Op as "our 501(c)(3) preserving handmade Native American and Southwestern jewelry traditions" (artist profile pages).

Marks and what to look for

Two kinds of mark tell you which side of T.Skies a piece comes from.

TSKIES is the workshop's mark. "Every signature T.Skies piece is stamped with the TSKIES hallmark. That mark tells you it came from our collective workshop." Because the line is made by a mixed team, it is never sold as Native-made: "Our signature line is never marketed as Native American–made because it isn't — it's a team product, designed in the Southwest tradition" (Native-made page).

A maker's own name or hallmark marks the gallery pieces. "Every gallery piece is stamped with the maker's name or hallmark," and each is listed "with the artist's name and tribal affiliation (with their permission)." Where an artist and the workshop collaborate, "you'll see both the artist's hallmark and the TSKIES hallmark on the work, and we don't hide either contribution" (Native-made page).

Two words we use carefully: "Handmade — the artist forms the piece from raw stock, part by part, by hand. Handcrafted — pre-made components, assembled and finished by hand in our shop" (Handmade vs. handcrafted).

Where it stands (as of 2026)

As of 2026, T.Skies sells in person at the Menaul shop and the Sunport gallery, and online through its Gallery Jewelry collection (Native-made page). The workshop also runs Craft & Cast, design-your-own sessions (Craft & Cast). Our hallmark library, the T.Skies Native American Hallmarks Library, documents makers' marks from the T.Skies gallery collection.

We'd rather be plain about what we are than borrow a history we don't have. As our Native-made page puts it: "T.Skies operates with the same posture: name what we are honestly, decline what we aren't."

Sources

  1. T.Skies (owner-provided, 2026-09-28): founding year 2014.
  2. T.Skies, "Native-made" page, tskies.com/pages/native-made (address, three places to buy, workshop team, TSKIES hallmark, signature-line statement, gallery listing policy, collaborations, posture statement).
  3. T.Skies, "About Mateo James," tskies.com/pages/about-mateo-james (bench since 2007).
  4. T.Skies, "Handmade vs. Handcrafted Jewelry," tskies.com/pages/handmade-vs-handcrafted-jewelry (definitions).
  5. T.Skies, "Craft & Cast," tskies.com/pages/craft-and-cast (workshop location).
  6. T.Skies artist profiles: silversmith-philbert-secatero, silversmith-vinita-cowboy, silversmith-diego-cruz, silversmith-drew-ruiz, silversmith-verdy-jake, silversmith-nick-nez, silversmith-mary-coriz-lovato (co-op description).

Part of our Southwest Jewelry Business Directory.