Beyond Buckskin launched in 2009 by Jessica R. Metcalfe (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) as a website dedicated to showcasing and promoting our continent’s first artists and original designers. In 2012, the original blog website expanded to include an online boutique as well. The origin story of this boutique is rooted in positive activism and a desire to share our cultures with the world through fashion design.
Based out of North Dakota, Beyond Buckskin is dedicated to advancing creative small businesses located throughout rural and urban communities by providing an online store where customers can connect with Native American fashion designers and jewelry artists.
We currently work with over 40 individual artists and small businesses to get their incredible and unique work out to a broader audience. Our designers all advance traditional Indigenous artistic practices by bringing ancient designs, natural materials, and cultural stories to modern fashion. Diversity, beauty, utility and tradition come together in the garments and accessories we share with the world – from our hands to yours.
Y?u I’m Vina Brown, owner and operator of Copper Canoe Woman Creations.
My ancestral Ha??zaqv?a name is ???qva g??w?aqs, which roughly translates to Copper Canoe Woman.
I create modern, on-trend, Indigenous jewelry that’s infused with elements of my coastal Indigenous culture and identity. I design pieces I want to wear, big statement pieces with a deep connection to ancestral strength and elegance.
We create luxury cuffs handcrafted by Navajo artisans in New Mexico to create timeless, ethical heirloom jewelry, designed to empower the women who make and wear them.
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples in Manitoba, including my Anishinaabe ancestors, created beautiful patterns to adorn their pottery collections and host of bone tools. Most of the surviving pieces are held by museums now, but I think the world needs more than exhibition- we need these patterns in our homes provoking thought; we need them bridging gaps; and, we need them inspiring our loved ones. The Indigo Arrows line picks up where my ancestors left off.
From the very young age, Azita was inspired by and appreciated beauty of fine jewelry. This appreciation and love started by her dad, introducing her to the fine art of jewelry and her mom’s artistry as fine clothing designer. Azita was also an academic high achiever and exceled at math and science. She pursued her formal education in engineering and science leading her to becoming a Structural Engineer. About 20 years ago, she came across a small bead store and her artistic passion guided her to take a beginner beading class. She was immediately transported into a realm that she truly loved. She started studying the work of famous European designer and self-teach the art of wirework and pearl knotting. Azita relates easily to the landscapes of both mountains and beaches. Her loves of hiking and gardening put her in touch with the colors, shapes and textures of nature.
SARA JEMAA
Jewelry Manufacturing