A Study in Inspiration

Well we officially hit the one year anniversary of launching our Native American Jewelry of the Month club. We've had so much fun putting each box together!

For this month, I wanted to offer up a case study of inspiration. There is this magnificent old jingle dress, made by Mary Bigwind from White Earth over 80 years ago, stuck in my mind. It was a simple sleeveless dress, with less than 5 rows of tin cone jingles on black velvet. It’s so chic and elegant, but also, you can feel the healing power vibrating out of the image.

LaKota Scott: Woven Jewelry

I'm always amazed by the jewelry produced by Navajo artist LaKota Scott.

Each piece is handmade using copper wire woven around a thin leather cord, and transformed into a mini Navajo basket that you can wear as earrings, a pendant, or, now, a bold cuff.

I barely have the patience to weave at the normal basketry size, let alone the teeny tiny micro 1.5" wide mini size. I am just totally impressed. Scroll down to see more examples of her work.

Native Steez!: Nine Cool #nativefashion Images from Instagram

I love Instagram. I'm a visual person, and I love scrolling through the images posted by the good folks that I follow. I find it inspiring. I love searching certain hashtags too, like #quillwork and #beadwork, and I like looking through the images tagged with the #nativefashion hashtag.

I've selected some of my personal favorites, which range from jewelry and accessories, to couture and runway shots; from moccasins to high heels, and from the Northwest to the Southwest. Check out the selections below, and if you're on Instagram, follow us @beyondbuckskin. Let us know who your favorite people are to follow on Instagram for Native fashion and art images.

Presence: Showcasing Stunning Native Jewelry and Fashion

I am beyond excited for next week – I’ll be heading to Santa Fe to bring Beyond Buckskin to the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Indigenous Fine Arts Market (IFAM).

We will be hosting various fashion events throughout the weekend, and for one event, we are teaming up with IFAM and the Native Jewelers Society (NJS) for a Jewelry Showcase fashion show. I’m working with Nanibaa Beck, the IFAM Fashion Coordinator and NJS member, on the event. I sat down with her and asked her a few questions about the upcoming showcase, which will be held Friday, August 21 at 6:30pm at the Santa Fe Railyards in New Mexico.

Scroll down to read our interview now!

Fest Fashion Sans Headdress: How to do Coachella/Native-Inspired Fashion Right

We are kicking off the music festival season, and I want to do all I can to ensure that we do not continue to witness the tacky headdress outbreak that we've experienced in the past several years (just say no to fashion mistakes like Alessandra Ambrosio, left). So, to help out, we've got some non-offensive, super hot, festival-chic Native American fashion options for you music fest lovers out there. These items are made by Native artists and designers, and they are meant to be appreciated by people of all backgrounds, and, the items start at only $22.

Artist Profile | Nalaga O'Brien

Avis Nalaga O’Brien, a Haida/Kwakwakw’wakw artist, was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia. She belongs to the Kaa’was Staa’stas Eagle Clan from Kiusta Village in Haida Gwaii and the Geegilgum Clam of the Likwiolk people of Cape Mudge. Nalaga’s introduction to the treasures of the Northwest Coast started when she learned to weave from her older sister, Meghann O’Brien. This was the beginning of her journey to where she is now, embracing the richness of her cultural heritage and creating jewelry and artwork that reflects the beauty of Northwest Coast Native design.

The Shokmalli’ Collection by Kristen Dorsey

"Fluidity and grace, light and shadow, keeper of the secrets of the stars, she controls the movements of celestial bodies. 

The wind is her breath. 

She is the ancient one. 

The sky serpent, soft as a delicate spring breeze fluttering blades of grass, and terrifying as electric bolts crack across the sky, trees are uprooted, buildings toppled as rain floods the fragile life of earth. 

Giver of life, taker of life, seductive as the twinkle of starlight in the darkened night." 

- Kristen Dorsey

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.

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.

Artist Profile | Michael Adams

One of the Beyond Buckskin Boutique's newest artists is Michael Adams. Born on the Hopi reservation and surrounded by culture and art, Adams was inspired to create his own style with jewelry. He looks to his parents for inspiration; his mother is a Hopi/Tewa potter and his father is a Katsina doll carver.

He hand-cuts, shapes, and then paints a unique design on each pair of earrings. He explained, "I love to incorporate color and Hopi symbolism into my designs all referencing nature." Click below to read our interview with him.

Artist Profile | Michelle Lowden

Michelle Lowden is the owner of Milo Creations, and hails from the Pueblo of Acoma. Located in New Mexico, Acoma is known as being the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America.

Interestingly, it is this ancient legacy that informs the contemporary work produced by Lowden (she is pictured left, wearing a pair of her earrings). She specializes in creating jewelry hand-painted with detailed geometric designs on lightweight basswood. Although her designs have a distinctive urban street vibe, her inspiration actually derives from traditional Acoma pottery, which is historically known for its intricate and dazzling patterns.

Braver: A New Project Fundraiser for the American Indian Cancer Foundation

Beyond Buckskin is proud to announce the BBB launch of a new earring design developed by MaRia Bird (Navajo/Hopi) for the American Indian Cancer Foundation. The earring, titled Braver, was created to raise money and awareness for cancer education, outreach, and supportive services for American Indian and Alaska Native people. This limited edition Powwow for Hope earring was launched in March.

"I'm very grateful to be a part of this project because I lost my father to cancer in 2009," explained MaRia Bird, the earring's creator.

RAIN: Virgil Ortiz x Kenneth Johnson

Cochiti Pueblo artist and fashion designer Virgil Ortiz teamed up with jewelry designer Kenneth Johnson (Muscogee/Seminole) to create the stylish and modern RAIN Jewelry Collection.

The RAIN Collection is a bold unisex jewelry line of necklaces, earrings and cuffs that feature symbols from the natural elements that Ortiz uses to create his pottery. These designs can be seen on the VO signature sterling silver cuffs, which feature symbols of water, sun and the wild spinach plant that is required to prepare the black paint Ortiz uses to create the geometric designs on his clay works - and are actually reflected in the geometric designs themselves.

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 | JT Willie

Navajo artist JT Willie is the brains and creativity behind JTW Bead Designs.

I first saw Willie's work at the Santa Fe Indian Market a couple years back. His designs are striking and bright. My favorite work of his would have to be his jewelry that combines silverwork with beadwork.

Originally from Twin Lakes, New Mexico, Willie started beading as a teenager, learning techniques from his family, beaders, steamstress, and silversmiths. At the age of 16, he learned the style of beadwork from the Kiowa and Comanche Tribes of Oklahoma. He researches different styles of beadwork and incorporates them into his own unique style.

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.

Native Treasures

The annual Native Treasures: Indian Arts Festival is on the horizon, and I thought I'd share a quick post about the event.

Native Treasures is touted as Santa Fe’s only museum-quality Indian art show and sale. All of the participating artists are specially invited by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture to represent the best and brightest of the Indian art world. Over 200 Native artists participate, and many of them are included in the Museum’s permanent collection.

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.

Turquoise Soul's Feather Frenzie

Here's your sneak peek of Turquoise Soul's new collection of earrings and accessories.

Dubbed Feather Frenzie, the new collection will pair feathers with hardware for some sassy Native-made jewelry.

Turquoise Soul is headed up by Wabanoonkwe Cameron-Hernandez (Ojibwe), who did the photography and make-up for this shoot, which features model India Lowery Jones (Lumbee).