Althea Cajero designs and makes elegant jewelry which can be worn as every day pieces as well as for special occasions. In 2013, Althea Cajero and her husband Joe Cajero were named Living Treasures by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, a great honor for any artist, but especially poignant for a husband and wife.

Althea’s heritage is from two pueblos. Her mother, Dorothy Tortalita, was a full-time silversmith, and her father, Tony Tortalita, was a lapidary jeweler, and is now a tribal leader of Santo Domingo Pueblo. Her parents made their living creating art and selling their work under the Governor’s Palace in Santa Fe and at art shows. Her appreciation for art came from growing up and being around it. She knew that one day art would be a part of her life, not really knowing whether it would be through collecting, selling, or creating it.