Beyond Online: Announcing a New Retail and Studio Space

We are so excited to announce that as a part of our overall mission and goals, Beyond Buckskin will be launching our first storefront and studio space! It will be located in Belcourt, North Dakota, on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. This space is set to open with a celebration on May 7th, which will coincide with Beyond Buckskin’s annual online Anniversary Sale - a blazing 24-hour storewide sales event with amazing deals to thank customers for their year-long support. Please mark your calendars to join us in this in-person and online event!

P4xBBB Style Mixer Recap and Musings

I believe that when you combine fashion designers, stylish folks, music, and a space to mingle, magic can happen. And by magic, I mean creativity gets ignited, inspiration is spread, support is affirmed. These elements are critical to maintaining a Native American fashion movement. I'm not the only one who believes this. Beyond Buckskin recently teamed up with Navajo fashion bloggers (and academics, scholars, and professionals) Presence 4.0 to host our second style event in Phoenix during the annual Heard Indian Market.

We were honored to have Jared Yazzie of OXDX Clothing, Kevin Dakota Duncan of Painted Warrior Designs, Sun Rose Iron Shell of Warrior Status, and Nanibaa Beck of Notabove Jewelry in attendance to share their designs with us.

BBB Anniversary Sales Event

Happy Anniversary to Beyond Buckskin! One year ago today I launched the Boutique not know what was going to happen - would people respond to this new thing we've started? Would they support it? Would it provide new opportunities for Native American designers and artists? Would the world take notice?

The boutique launched the morning of May 7, 2012. I was still in Tempe, finishing up my contract with ASU and putting to end a dark chapter in my life. I put my heart and energy into this new project. "It could work," I thought.

Beyond Buckskin Street Style Fashion Show

Last weekend, the awesome folks at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor helped me to launch and host the first ever Beyond Buckskin Street Style Fashion Show (click here to read more about the weekend).

The models for the show were all students (a great combo of beautiful faces from all backgrounds) and the garments for the event came from the Beyond Buckskin Boutique as well as the Beyond Buckskin personal collection of Native-made fashion. The students remixed the items to make them their own and rocked it out on the runway. The talented photographer Brita Brookes was in attendance and did an amazing job of capturing the fun and creative energy of the night. It was definitely an inspiring experience.

The First-Ever Beyond Buckskin GIVEAWAY!

I promised the fans of Beyond Buckskin on Facebook that if we reached the 3,000 Fan mark, I'd start giving away free stuff. Welp, we hit that mark today, so here you have it - The First-Ever Beyond Buckskin GIVEAWAY!

Over the next 5 weeks you will have a chance to win something new from the Beyond Buckskin Boutique to keep for yourself or to give to someone special. First up, you have a chance to win these adorable baby moccasins by Jamie Gentry who runs her eco-friendly children's collection, Love In Everything.

Designer Profile | Paul Rowley

We've got a brand new artist on the Beyond Buckskin Boutique site and he's a really cool dude named Paul Rowley.

He's Haida and Tlingit and he creates cool hats in classic fashion forms using traditional cedar bark weaving techniques.

It's an honor to add him to the roster of artists on BBB, and I got the opportunity to ask him some questions about what he does. So here you go folks, meet Mister Rowley:

Chippewow Blossoms | BBB x Mea B'Fly Collab

I have a really cool job. I get to work with Native American fashion designers and artists on a daily basis. I'm hardly an artist, but their creativity inspires me more than they'll ever know.

A couple weeks ago, I was on the phone with one of the artists represented on the Beyond Buckskin Boutique site. Her name is MaRia and she heads up the super fresh Native-centered small jewelry business known as Mea B'Fly. She had an idea to do a collaboration with Beyond Buckskin for an exclusive earring design.

Father's Day Gift Guide

Bling out your dad (or your baby's daddy, or your main squeeze who happens to be a dad) in some Native-made gear.

Here's 7 cool gift ideas that range from bracelets to tees to belt buckles to bandanas, and range in price from a slick $25 to a more handsome $1,100.

For more gift ideas, check out the Father's Day section on the Beyond Buckskin Boutique site.

Artist Profile | Kristen Dorsey

Beyond Buckskin is proud to introduce the fabulous Ms. Kristen Dorsey.

Dorsey is a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation. She is a silversmith artist who seeks to bring the power and beauty of ancient Southeast Native American symbols to the present through her exquisite jewelry collections.

Always an eye on the past, Dorsey brings the meanings and stories forward with each of her creations.

Boutique | First Week Thanks

It has been an amazing week! The all new Beyond Buckskin Boutique launched seven days ago and the feedback has been great. Thousands of visitors checked in to see what Indian Country has to say about fashion. We landed sales of Native-made fashion and accessories every day, and I wrote some healthy-sized artist checks this morning for the sales made this past week.

Support Native Made, Not Native Knock-Offs

With Native American cultures inspiring and influencing the broader fashion industry these days (you can see it splattered all over fashion magazines and catalogues), I think it's time we start including (actual) Native American artists in this movement, rather than just our awesome inspiring cultures. I mean, we (the people) still exist.

And this is one of the reasons why I decided to launch the Boutique.

Sneak Peek: Beyond Buckskin Boutique

Dear readers-

It's been a busy one over here - I have been uploading the new Boutique site with awesome new fashion, jewelry, and accessories, and I'm getting pretty excited for the launch on Monday!

Here are screenshots of some of the items that will be for sale at the Beyond Buckskin Boutique -

Beyond Buckskin To Launch Online Boutique

Dear readers,

On May 7, 2012, Beyond Buckskin will launch the Beyond Buckskin Boutique – an online gallery store specializing in Native-made fashion, jewelry, and accessories. The site will serve as an extension of this blog.

All items sold through this premier Native fashion boutique will be hand-selected by Beyond Buckskin author, Jessica R. Metcalfe, Ph.D. (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) and will represent a variety of styles, regions, and price ranges.