Several licensed jewelry vendors have been advertising and selling their items at Bakersfield College for the last two weeks.
Godo Palomino and his son, Kenny Palomino, are owners of a Native American arts and crafts kiosk and sell at both BC and Cal State Bakersfield.
“I’ve gotten a lot of students, faculty members and even parents that have come to purchase the items I put out,” said Godo Palomino.
The Palominos display a variety of different accessories and apparel in their kiosk that are styled with an indigenous, Native American look but are also made modern and trendy.
The merchandise advertised are both small and large in size, such as hair and body décor, sterling silver rings and earrings, bracelets, fashion jewelry, clay-beaded trinkets, clothing and handbags.
“The skirts and blouses are made of alpaca wool and cotton and are hand-woven by women in South America,” Palomino said. He described the clothes as “very warm.”
Along with the enjoyment of selling his merchandise, Palomino takes pride in the time that has gone into them and the manual labor spent carefully crafting, molding, soaking and dying them into valuable, marketable goods.
Since arriving on campus, Palomino has noticed a significant increase in his products sold this semester, and attributes the rise of sales to the student population increase.
Busé Erkin is currently attending BC and has taken the time to check out some of Palomino’s items.
“I bought a pair of earrings that are going to make the perfect gift,” said Erkin. “They were inexpensive, and super clean and shiny.”
Emilio Ceballos is also a student that found an item he thought was worth buying.
“I bought this crystal-beaded rosary that I’m wearing. It was only $10, so I treated myself,” Ceballos shared.