Where I Hiatus: Tucson, Arizona
“For years I had heard people talk about the famous Tucson Gem Show, so when my girlfriend proposed to go this year I immediately said YES!”
—Sael Bartolucci, Founder of House of Hiatus
Loews Ventana
Canyon Resort
When I find an excuse for a ladies weekend trip I always take it, especially if the destination is close enough to drive to — allowing me to take some or a lot of goodies home! My besty Hui, a jewlery designer based in NYC called me up and proposed going to the Tucson Gem Show, which I had heard about for years and was so very curious to visit. We enlisted our friend Oanh, also a designer and collector, who had already been once. Her and I drove from L.A. to Phoenix where we picked up Hui from the airport and immediately hit up the famous Pizzeria Bianco for a much needed fuel stop.
We then headed to Tucson to our hotel, the Loews Ventana Canyon where, curtesy of American Express, we got a beautiful room facing the mountains for 3 nights. We did not know what to expect other than the pictures we saw online, and the property outright surprised us! Nestled in the Sonoran Desert at the feet of the Catalina Mountains. Tthis playground of visitor delights includes: the Lakeside Spa & Fitness Center, 2 golf courses and tennis and pickleball courts and 2 swimming pools! We made sure to make reservations for massages the week before we arrived, as we knew we would be walking a lot at the Gem Show and why not get pampered a little?
We really enjoyed walking around the property, up to a stunning water fall, the path to which was framed by the epic Arizona Saguaro cacti that dotted the property and can reach up to 40 feet! We spent some time by the pool where we enjoyed the lovely winter sun and of course, margaritas. Our Amex package included a luxurious breakfast, that we took advange of every am before heading out for the day.
Our favorite evening at the hotel, was sitting in the downstairs bar lounge area by the fire, sharing a few delicious plates and cocktails, then ordering dessert to the room…which of course we had on the balcony while we star-gazed in awe of the Arizona sky!
The resort, designed by architect John Hill, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, was built in 1984, using the soil from the surrounding land. With sustainable landscaping and the preservation of native plants and wildlife habitats, this is one the country’s first environmentally conscious resorts.
The Gem Show
“Of course size matters, no one wants a small crystal collection!”
Hui & one of the biggest crystals at the show, by Sael Bartolucci
How can one sum up the Tucson Gem Show? It is a massive event that takes place over many, many football field sized tents, with everything from petroglyphs to diamonds. It is an understatement to say I have never been to such an extensive exhibition, and I love to travel, collect and find niche markets around the world. I was very thankful that Hui made a list of the top locations and tents she wanted to visit, in a way editing down our exposure to 1/3 of what was actually there. Hui makes beautiful hand-made silver jewelry and has recently been including a variety of stones to her collection. This was a wonderful opportunity for her to be inspired and take home some beauties to work with!
“Meanwhile Oanh and I followed her around and got lost looking at endless rows of rocks from all over the world and occasionally entertaining the idea of what a 6 foot tall amethyst from Brazil might look like in our living room! LOL!”
The Gem Show has something for everyone, it is virtually impossible to go home empty handed! We ended up all finding our special talismans and because our team was made of particularly “deranged” shoppers, we also hit all the thrift stores and antique malls we could fit on the drive between the hotel and the show each day. Some of our favorite finds of the weekend were from the latter locations, which spoke to our southwestern hearts!
We had a few lovely meals, at Ceres Pasta, a fun hole in the wall serving freshly made pastas and at El Tumerico, a vegan-vegetarian LatinAmerican restaurant where everything we had was A+!
Our very last stop heading out of town was Medicine Man Gallery, owned by Mark Sublette, a sought-after speaker on Western and Native art, and author of numerous catalogs in the field. I recommend visiting both the museuem and the gallery which are next to each other. What an absolute treat to see such a beautiful collection of Southwestern relics and art.
