Kukwstumckacw/qagaasakuq/thank you for your interest in my beadwork and art- all the support is greatly appreciated! The short answer is no.
I come from a family of many crafty matriarchs- my St'at'imc grandma still beaded in her 90s. Beadwork allows me to connect with my cultures and my ancestors, and brings me tremendous joy.
I get multiple requests daily through my shops and across my social media channels for custom work, so I thought I'd take a moment to address the reasons I have chosen not to do it.
I have always been an artist, ever since I can remember- even having an art scholarship for my first stint in college. When I was a small child, my great great aunt Hattie would sit with me at a tiny table and create masterpieces with me. My grandmas taught to me sew, crochet, and bead, so beadwork and crafts invoke special memories for me.
I have always been an artist, ever since I can remember- even having an art scholarship for my first stint in college. When I was a small child, my great great aunt Hattie would sit with me at a tiny table and create masterpieces with me. My grandmas taught to me sew, crochet, and bead, so beadwork and crafts invoke special memories for me.
When we owned a tattoo studio, I was excited... at first. But the haggling process, and attempts at bringing to life the designs of someone else, turned it into a chore. I found that I was no longer expressing my own creativity, it had merely become a monotonous job.
Since beadwork truly is medicine for me, and it's a way of connecting with my family, cultures, and ancestors, it's very sacred. I don't want that to change- ever. I don't want to risk beadwork becoming a "chore." Further, all my pieces are created with positivity and meditative thought. I don't want to create pieces with negative, or even neutral, thoughts.
I may change my mind at some point, I'll let my ancestors guide me. For now, and for the foreseeable future, as I want to create the best possible and send out only good medicine... I do not do commissions/requests/custom work.
Kukwstumckacw/qagaasakuq/thank you for your understanding!
Do you accept returns?
At this time I do not accept returns or do exchanges. I'm only one person, and each piece is created by hand, which takes a lot of time. Since I'm not a mass producer, it's not practical for me to accept returns.
Can you remake an earring or other item I lost or broke?
Probably not, unfortunately. While I may repeat some designs, most are one-off, some may have a couple variations. I often come across random centers or beads that are unique, limited in supply, and/or no longer available. I also don't keep templates for many items, coloring of beads with different lot numbers will vary, and natural products, such as hand-processed dyed skins cannot be replicated.
I saw some earrings I liked, can you copy them and make them for me?
While this would technically fall under my policy of not doing custom work, this is its own category for ethical reasons. Some sellers have been in financial need and I will buy patterns every so often to help them, and change them up a bit to keep them different. However, as an artist, I respect the creativity and processes of other artists, and will not copy their work. If you see a design you really want, please reach out to that particular artist to order.