Beyond Buckskin x Homeskillet Fest

Greetings from Alaska! I am sitting here at a table next to a window overlooking the ocean. A cruise ship is docked, and tourists are exploring the small town of Sitka on this cool summer day. Smithsonian Magazine recently named Sitka as one of the best small towns in American to visit in 2013.

“There are photo ops galore at the Sitka National Historical Park, site of the last major battle between Europeans and Native Americans on the Pacific Coast,” writes Smithsonian author Susan Spano.

Artist Profile | Courtney M. Leonard

Clay. It is one of the oldest materials used by the Indigenous peoples of this continent to create utilitarian objects. Clay pots held the food that fed our bodies. Clay was also used to create decorative items, spiritual items, and items of adornment. Now, the raw material continues to play an important role in Indigenous traditions and creativity. It is of the earth and is an important facilitator for creation.

Shinnecock artist Courtney M. Leonard takes the material and creates special dangle earrings formed from glittering micaceous clay.

Sho Sho Esquiro | 2013 Collection

Our phone conversation began like most of our conversations: a quick dish about all the recent rad things that our Grammas said or did. While it might be common for Native American or First Nations designers to spend a lot of time with our grandparents, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it is probably not the case for most Canadian or American fashion designers.

For Kaska Dene and Cree fashion designer Sho Sho Esquiro however, lots of good quality Gramma time sits at the core of who she is as a person, and her recent collection (which she dubs her "Grown Up Collection") is clearly influenced by a sense of maturity and a reflection on the past. Traditional Dene and Cree beadwork, shellwork, and sealskin all find their way into her garments as elegant and thoughtful details.

Avis O'Brien | The Frog Print Project

I always get very excited when one of the Beyond Buckskin Boutique artists spreads their wings both artistically and professionally, and so it gives me great honor to highlight the work of Avis O'Brien and her current project.

While we know her through Beyond Buckskin for her beautiful hand-woven cedar bark bracelets and earrings, she also creates other work and has apprenticed under notable artists such as master Haida carver Jay Simeon.

Artist Profile | Caroline Blechert

I am very excited to introduce an artist whose jewelry is unlike any I've seen before. Caroline Blechert uses porcupine quills in such modern and striking ways that her collections are both memorable and enchanting.

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with her about her jewelry business, called Creations for Continuity. Caroline is Inuvialuit, and was born and raised in Yellowknife - a community located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and this influence of the far north environment is evident in her work.

Caroline's work is represented on the Beyond Buckskin Boutique, and you can shop her collection at this link. You can also find her on her Facebook page, or at the lovely Tlicho Store. Click below to read our interview.

Designer Profile | Samantha Hunter

I am proud to announce our newest member to the Beyond Buckskin Boutique roster, Samantha Hunter. She is San Carlos Apache and Hopi, and I first came across her cool powwow-inspired applique purses on Instagram.

Her company name is "Shih' Goh'Zhoo" and the word Goh'Zhoo is used in many Apache songs to represent peace, harmony, happiness, and love. About Goh'Zhoo, she says, "It's just the perfect feeling, anything and everything good." Click below to learn more about her work and what inspires her.

Cher Thomas | Designer Profile and Interview

I was very honored with the opportunity to catch up with O'odham and Yuman fashion designer Cher Thomas, owner of Cher Thomas Designs, about her most recent work. I first became aware of Cher's clothing designs while I was going to grad school in Arizona. She is a member of the Gila River Indian Community and I had seen her work in local shows. As a third generation seamstress, the act of making garments - both traditional and fashion-forward - runs in her family.

She was recently featured in Native Max Magazine, and in June she was spotlighted in the Brave Wings Charity Fashion Show held in Scottsdale. Here, she debuted her Spring 2013 collection, Desert Ballerina.

Click below to read my interview with her about this fabulous show.

Beading, Honoring, and Walking With Our Sisters

I just got home from the post office not long ago. I carried a very special package - a small brown envelope, actually - to the counter and shipped it off to Christi Belcourt in Ontario.

Christi is not only an extraordinary Metis artist, but she is also an extraordinary person with visionary ideas. One of her latest endeavors has hundreds of people willingly participating in a very important and powerful project. That project is called Walking With Our Sisters.

A year ago, Christi sent me a message detailing the basic concept - she wanted to create an art installation to honor and raise awareness for the 600+ missing and murdered Indigenous women of Canada and the US.

Mea B'Fly July Farewell to Four Designs

In keeping with our mission to bring you the newest and greatest items for the best price, we are making room for new inventory by MaRia Bird (Mea B'Fly) by retiring some of her designs.

Mea B'Fly earrings are a great fusion of the powerful past with the energy of today. Each graphic print is made by Bird, starting with a focal background image that she elaborates with other design elements. She hand-produces each earring by adhering the small art prints to a wood base and topping them off with surgical steel earring hooks and jump rings.