Miramontes Collection (David and Marcella Hirschy) Biography
The Miramontes Collection brings together Mexican and Southwestern designs in wearable and decorative art. The collection of hand wrought silver is created using traditional tools, methods, and designs developed by Mexicans, Native Americans, and early artisans of the Southwest.
Marcella and her husband David design and create jewelry, leather, and furniture that reflects the influences of Mexican, Native American, and cowboy artists of the Southwest.
Miramontes, Marcella’s family name, means “view of the mountains.” Born in Clarkdale, while her father was a miner in Jerome, Marcella’s roots are solidly in Arizona. The Miramontes Collection is named to honor the mountains and beauty of the Southwest as well as our Mexican Heritage.”
For most of her professional career, Marcella was an educator of Hispanic youth from Coachella, California to New York City. She founded and directed Bridges, a highly successful school in Manhattan. She then returned to live in Prescott.
Marcella says of her change in careers: “I loved working with parents, teachers, and students for more than 30 years and now I have the opportunity to pursue my other dream – creating art.”
In December of 1997, the Miramontes Collection was featured at the Smithsonian National Design Museum in New York.
Historic Pueblo Crosses
The pueblo cross necklaces are a result of the intersection of cultures, the colonial Spanish and pueblo peoples in New Mexico.
As the pueblo peoples developed silver smithing skills, they adopted the double bar cross to represent the dragonfly and used these crosses in their necklaces in the late 1800s.
While the double bar cross is clearly Spanish in origin, it is used by the pueblo peoples as their own religious symbol. The dragonfly led to the creation of some of the most beautiful personal adornments of the last century. In addition to the distinctive double bar cross, the pueblo peoples used a wide variety of single bar crosses as documented in The Heart of the Dragonfly, by Alison Bird. They also used stone and glass beads freely, resulting in bold statements of color and a layered look.
The Miramontes necklaces in this collection are contemporary creations using tools and techniques of the last century.
Many of the beads are old trade beads dating from pre-Columbian era to the 1800’s. These old beads lend a historic value and uniqueness to the necklaces in the Miramontes collection.
The Miramontes Furniture
Our quarter sawn oak furniture is crafted and finished with care and methods that evoke the turn of the century arts and crafts/mission style. Marcella and David designed each piece as a work of art, combining beauty, function and style. All designs are copyright Miramontes.
The mortise and tenon construction is accomplished by Prescott craftsmen, including Earl Johnston and Richard Irland. Marcella and David stain and finish each piece with a hand rubbed wax and oil process that gives the furniture a timeless feel. These pieces are as comfortable with a hundred year old Morris chair as with contemporary furniture.
"The Miramontes furniture is by its nature a limited production and made to order. Our commitment is to complete your order and ship within ten weeks." - David & Marcella
