Profile | Ken Williams

Ken Williams (Arapaho/Seneca) was born into the beadwork tradition. His early years were spent on his father's Seneca reservation in NY where he started observing and experimenting with beadwork. As a teenager, he spent time with his mother's family, master beadworkers themselves, at the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Here he began to take on bigger, more complex projects. While at IAIA, he was mentored by Teri Greeves and began to develop his own style which mixed a contemporary aesthetic with traditional beadwork. Ken now focuses mostly on fancy bags of all sizes and shapes, each a beautiful creation with its own story to tell.

(from the Native Treasures website)

Artist Profile | Nathalie Waldman

My friend Nathalie Waldmen recently started making and selling hand-made leather purses that were inspired by her Dene heritage - she is a member of the Dene First Nation Dogrib Tribe located in the Northwest Territories.

Her bags are embellished with long flowing fringes, beaded rosettes, and fasteners made of silver, bone, and shell. Most of the purses have adjustable straps that can be detached, allowing the purse to be hooked to the belt loops on your jeans. They come in colors ranging from very bold (hot pink, turquoise, and purple), to more subdued or natural hues (such as tan, white, brown, and black).

You can find her purses in boutiques throughout Santa Fe, and she launched her first full collection at the 2010 Santa Fe Indian Market last August.






(Me and my friends Alisse Ali and Amber-Dawn Bear Robe try on some of Nathalie's purses.)

You can also find her purses online at the Keshi online store.

Designer Profile | Cody Harjo

Check out the awesome beadwork by my fellow Dartmouth pal Cody Harjo (Seminole/Otoe/Creek/Cherokee/Iowa).

Here's her bio from her Etsy page:

I am an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma with Otoe, Creek, Cherokee, and Iowa descent and a self-taught beadwork artist with almost 20 years of beadwork experience.

Growing up in Oklahoma, I was exposed to many beadwork traditions and always listened with an open heart and mind when other beadwork artists offered advice and guidance. My initial focus was on Otoe style beadwork, but now starting to explore traditional Southeastern designs. I am also a constant student for anyone who chooses to teach me about their tribe's traditional patterns and colors.

I consider myself a contemporary beadwork artist because I love to work with colors and designs that cross the boundaries of "traditional." I believe beadwork is an art form that should always evolve. After all our ancestors did not have access to glass beads until European arrival. Beadwork represents a tradition of adaptation in its highest form for our American Indian people.

Currently I'm busy working and going to grad school for media studies, so I am unable to attend art markets at this time. But this does not stop the beads... because beadwork is a part of who I am. It's like a daily exercise and meditation.







Harjo was also featured on Martha Stewart's show, and you can watch the clip by clicking here.

Profile | TSOUL Jewelry

I came across this jewelry and accessories company on NDN Circle. The Navajo-owned company is TSOUL by KLT, and is dedicated to creating jewelry or wearable art focused on sustainability and uniqueness.

Some of their creations use common materials such as bolts and lace, and even recycled washers from various appliances, to create wearable appealing jewelry.

The necklaces are strung on either a string or ball chain with a recycled metal piece as the staple and beaded around in Japanese Miyuki beads in different tribal patterns.

The newest staple to the collection are their bangles, which come in all sorts of colors (bone, daffodil and cobalt) and patterns (Tribal & Navajo) and stones (spiny oyster, jasper and turquoise).

The designer is going to have a sample sale today, Saturday (7/31/10), at Earls Restaurant in Gallup, New Mexico.

Below are some examples of recently hand-made creations. The first is a necklace made with recycled copper piping with a Navajo water blanket design:

Artist Profile | g jewelry

For some fantastically fresh earrings, check out g jewelry's new blogspot -

g jewelry is graffiti inspired artwork for your ears handmade with love by Tina G - check her out at:

http;//twitter.com/gjewelry
http://www.myspace.com/ootsukaeliza
http://www.facebook.com/ootsukaeliza

I own a pair - got them at the great low price of $10 at the Protect Ya Neck art show during the Heard Indian Market in PHX last month. [My friend Brez was like "Jessica! we got earrings to sell you!" I'm a huge sucker for earrings.] But I love them - they are lightweight and comfy and look super fresh with any outfit - from casual to dressy.

(shopping for G Jewelry earrings with the talented Jody Naranjo - and she's wearing a Pilar Agoyo shirt!)