Visit the Gaits'i Gift Shop
Gaits'i Gift Shop is open Monday-Sunday, 9am to 5pm
Your visit to Sky City will not be complete without a visit to the Gaits’i Gift Shop. Browse authentic world renowned Acoma Pueblo pottery, Native American turquoise jewelry and other fine art by artisans from New Mexico and Arizona.
Gaits’i Gift Shop features a selection of Acoma pottery, famously hand coiled and tempered with walls so thin they ring with the clarity of a bell. Acoma pottery has been revered by art collectors for more than a century.
Members of the Haak'u Museum get 10% off most purchases.
Online store opening soon!
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Featured Artist
Dan Vallo is a Member of the Acoma Pueblo. He spent his younger years living on the reservation in Acomita, and there he watched his grandmother Helen R. Vallo make pottery. Dan also spent time with his great uncle Clyde Hunt, AKA Chief Sunny Skies, who was a well-known silversmith. “This is where I get my artistic inspiration”. Dan now lives in Belen, New Mexico, where he is building a studio and Gallery.
While mostly known for his Flint knapping creations, woodworking has always been his hobby. Dan Started flint knapping in the late 1980s, mostly self-taught until the onset of Google and YouTube, where now anyone can watch a video on the basics of flint knapping.
He was inspired by the many arrowheads he found while out exploring the Acoma reservation and hunting in the fall. His father Henry Vallo, also an accomplished silversmith, showed him the basics of flint knapping.
In the early days he just made small arrowheads and small tools trying to replicate some of the pieces he found, later on actually using his tools for hunting. In 2001 Dan went on a Hunting safari in Africa and was able to use his primitive arrows and stone knives, that trip really opened the doors to the art world.
While shopping for gifts, Dan picked up many art pieces and displays, the items were all very unique and all handmade. Soon after that trip he started making flint knapped knives with interesting display stands to show off the knife. The very uniqueness of his art is what makes it so interesting, not one of his knives are the same.
Dan started attending various Indian markets in the last few years and has really enjoyed the many fellow artists he has met and the encouragement they have provided regarding his art. The handles of his pieces are all different, just by the nature of the materials: antler, hardwood, leather and cholla cactus wood, which has been a favorite of some.
In 2019 Dan started to use some of his grandmother's pottery designs on the handles. The challenge was that the natural pottery paints that Acoma potters use is designed to be baked in, so the traditional paint could not be used. Dan experimented with various different types of paint and is now using acrylic paint to create the beautiful designs on his art.
During the last 4 years Dan has collected native clay from various sources on the Acoma Reservation and processed his own clay that he uses in his pottery creations.
Recently he received a 1st place award for his pottery work at the New Mexico State fair, along with Best Diverse Art the last 3 years at Bernalillo Indian Arts Festival as well as many other 1st place awards.
Dan was awarded Best of Show at the Prestigious 2024 Santa fe Indian Market for an amazing piece called “Pueblo Revolt” and 1st place in Pottery Figures division.
Dan has created a unique style that is now his signature in the Acoma Pottery community.