Passing of the torch
‘IAM MY OWN BOSS,” said jeweler Megan Concha. Inspired by her father, Rodney Concha, founder of Taos Pueblo’s “Taos Arts,” Megan Concha has grasped the torch of the family legacy and is running with it. Fueled by a deep-rooted responsibility to family, Megan is driven by that need to carry on the family craft of stamping conchos.
Megan Concha has been hammering out her own work since 2018, and though Concha has only been at her father’s workbench for a short time, her knowledge of the craft is vast and backed by her inherited natural talent.
“I started with stamping. My Pops had an order that was sitting for a couple of weeks, untouched, and I had to take a shot at it,” said Concha. Concha takes her time with each unique piece she works on. Concha’s repertoire is inspired by her dad. It’s a line of work that has taken 30 years to perfect and is now being re-visioned by a new generation.
She is unafraid to share the spotlight with her sisters-in-arts and heroines. “Thank you. Thank you all for being so inspiring,” she said of the women who have inspired her. “My grandmother Concha was a bread baker like my mother. They both ran their own business. I have many family members and childhood friends who are up and coming or are already deep in the entrepreneur world here at the pueblo, many who have shown and given support as I was just starting out. These women give me the hope, strength and encouragement to give it my all.”
Concha was born the year her parents founded Taos Arts, a small shop inside the pueblo, and though Concha grew up around the arts, she only first picked up her father’s tools a couple of years ago. Taos Arts was put on hold when Concha’s father started getting sick. Her father was only able to fill small orders and soon, Concha’s family had to face the reality of their father going on dialysis three days a week. Concha’s father suffers from renal failure and is in need of a kidney transplant. That’s when Concha made the decision to carry on her father’s legacy. “I rolled out three practice pennies and took a swing, gained enough confidence to stamp the silver using the same process my father did. After that I just kept going, it came very natural to me, reviving Taos Arts soon became a must,” said Concha.
Concha first started selling her jewelry alongside her mother, Mary Romero, of Mary’s Baked Goods, at Taos Pueblo. A small table set up next her mother’s bread stand in their front yard was the humble reintroduction of Taos Arts. “With simple concho earrings we had a great response, so we hustled all summer selling with my mom,” said Concha.
Concha’s sudden success was stunted by the pandemic. She said the pueblo’s closure meant going “online was our only option, and had been well overdue. So in March of this year I brought Taos Arts online with a website and to different social media platforms,” said Concha.
Carrying on her father’s work was the perfect comfort for Concha as she faced the first steps of coming to terms with her father’s health. “It’s not hard to be there for your parents as an adult when they always set forth goals and good examples for you as a child,” said Concha.
Using silver coins from 1964 or earlier, Concha uses the same process that her father did. Concha prefers to make her own bezel cups, links and other little findings. She works with traditional Southwest-style stones, like turquoise, coral, lapis, onyx and garnet. Concha’s more contemporary work includes some semiprecious stones such as amethyst and peridot. “When I work, it’s with my father’s tools that are almost as old or older than me, they feel like family members,” said Concha. Her father’s designs are the foundation for what Concha stamps, but as of late she has been trying to broaden the design collection of Taos Arts by adding 50-plus more designs.
You can support this Taos Pueblo artist by checking out her website, taosarts.com, or her Instagram page @ taos-arts, and her Facebook page by the same name. Concha said, “It is truly an honor, when I sit at the anvil my father worked at with hammer in hand stamping the designs he created while creating my own. As he’s sitting right there with me, I am able to ask what he thinks when I have an idea or when I’m stuck and need a different perspective. I feel like I found what I’m meant to do and be. I am my own boss; I am Taos Arts. I am proud to carry on the legacy my father built.”