A Creative Community Newsletter for Information and Inspiration
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Each week we will send news you need to know about the COVID crisis that will help put us on the road to recovery. We will also give you a glimpse of how our creative colleagues from across the state are using their talent to bring us all closer together!
This week, we're featuring Fashion Designers and getting stylish...even if it's just in the comfort of our own homes.
Big changes are happening to our newsletter in August! In an effort to live our values and support equity and inclusion in the creative industries, we will use our newsletter to amplify voices of BIPOC creatives. Each month we will invite a guest curator who is a person of color and ask that they populate the newsletter with information and inspiration that reflects their perspective and their community. Our first curated newsletter will hit your inbox August 20th.
Also starting in August, our newsletters will come out bi-weekly.
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Having trouble getting unemployment? Not eligible for worker’s comp? Trying to get food assistance during the pandemic? If you are a creative worker in Washington we want to hear your story about accessing government assistance programs in order to advocate for a better future for creative industry workers in Washington State. Take the survey
here
.
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Washington Filmworks is seeking a Full-Time Competitiveness Coordinator with a
passion for supporting the statewide film industry, a talent for utilizing creative problem-solving, and an ability to listen to disparate needs and then prioritize responses. Deadline to apply is August 5. Read more about the position
here
.
Apply for
Runway Renegades’
Grants and Scholarships for Creatives! And while you’re at it pick up some tickets to their September Fashion Show. All proceeds go to fund their grants program. You can also apply to be a part of the show!
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BE INSPIRED
Creative Native Brings Indigenous Creators to the Runway
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Photo Credit: Young Kwak for Inlander
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Angelena Campobasso
is a designer and fashion show producer who grew up on the Colville Reservation and now lives in Spokane. Along with running bead-supply store
Creative Native
, she creates jewelry and accessories inspired by her Indigenous heritage, and works with other artists and designers in the community. She's worked with
Runway Renegades
and the
Hearts Gathered Salish School
on the Colville Reservation organizing shows benefiting the homeless.
We asked her about her inspiration for creating some of her amazing jewelry and accessory designs, and also asked her to tell us a little bit about her favorite Washington designers—you can read that
here.
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You started your first business when you were 18 years old! Will you share with us what inspired you to start your entrepreneurial career at such a young age, and why you started Creative Native?
I believe my mother was my inspiration to do art and be creative. I used to watch her draw her hair and clothing designs since I was very little. She also sewed and designed some of our clothes. We helped her make Indigenous clothing and traditional items sometimes; that’s how we learned to make some of our traditional clothing with my mom and auntie.
I have been doing art since I was a young child. Drawing, painting, sculpting, and now jewelry making and fashion. I started Creative Native in 2002. It was actually funny how I started making jewelry. My ex-husband said he couldn’t afford me, so I needed to make my own jewelry! So, I did…and I couldn’t stop! I decided I would try to vend and see if people would buy my items. My projects sold like crazy! I became obsessed! At the time, I wasn’t working, and I had more time to create. I didn’t have children then, so my mind was more focused on being creative. Creative Native was born!
What you do is so unique!
How do you find a home for your work in the marketplace?
I realized people like homemade, heartfelt, beautifully created, Indigenous items. The art and passion of creation is very much appreciated by folks coming from all walks of life. The Northwest, as well as Tribal areas, are all starving for Indigenous culture and the beauty it offers.
You never really see Native Americans or Indigenous fashion models on magazines or coming down most runways. The light came on one day, I thought, why not? I want to uplift young and upcoming Indigenous models. I have even inspired other Indigenous creators to go for it. They too have done fashion shows and teamed up with Runway Renegades to do a show or two. The Northwest is wide open.
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Why are jewelry and accessories such a major part of fashion?
Adding the final touches, such as jewelry and accessories, are the ornaments on the tree. To really stand out of the crowd, you have to add the extra glamour! Women want to feel special and adored. Wearing beautiful jewelry does that, it can actually change your mood, and adds that glamour to any outfit!
How do you balance your creative life and your business life?
I love creating beautiful things and wearing them, it brings me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel wonderful. I love making people feel more beautiful, helping them express their beauty, putting them up on the runway and teaching them pride in their culture, in themselves, showing them how beautiful they really are.
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Photo Credit: Debbie Mitchell
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At the same time, we are doing work for non-profits which makes this work much more meaningful. In some of my spare time I create things, walk away when I get too tired, or create another day. I either get up earlier in the day or work later in the evenings or weekends, and still have a passion for my planning profession and being a mother.
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Creative Native's First Fashion Show.
Photo Credit: Debbie Mitchell
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In what ways did growing up on a Reservation influence the work you design now?
When I was a kid growing up on the Colville Reservation, I didn’t realize things were different in other parts of the world or even outside the reservation borders. I remember when our parents would bring us into the nearest city, which was Spokane, coming down I-90 into the city, I thought: "wow!" I was excited shopping in the malls, seeing all the different kinds of people, seeing all the styles of jewelry and clothing always inspired me.
When I got older, I realized how precious our people really are. How there are hardly any Indigenous people who reside in the U.S. after it was colonized. I realized that knowing and preserving our culture is so very important. If you lose who you are, where you come from, and you cannot express yourself and your culture somehow, then you can become lost. Having a close-knit community, belonging to a tribe, and a realizing of self, has inspired me to this day to be creative in everything that I do.
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SUPPORT COMMUNITY
Look Good and Give Back
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Want to get some clothing, jewelry, accessories and oh-so much more from Washington locals? Check out
From Here
, an online store out of Spokane that features exclusively Spokane based makers.
Have a look at Native owned and operated
Eighth Generation
and do some shopping.
This Seattle-based company
distributes fashion, jewelry, and authentic wool blankets from Indigenous designers across the country.
Sport your PNW pride on your sleeve, literally, with apparel from
The Great PNW.
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CREATIVITY IS EVERYWHERE
Global Fashion at Home
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The
Fashion and Race Database
provides an accessible, academic treatment to one of fashion’s most critical topics facing us today.
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Washington Filmworks (WF) is the private 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that manages the Motion Picture Competitiveness program as well as a diversity of resources for the creative industries in Washington State. WF's mission is to create economic development opportunities by building and enhancing the competitiveness, profile and sustainability of Washington State’s film industry.
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At Whipsmart, we are unapologetic advocates for creative people and businesses. We give creative professionals the tools they need to succeed, by meeting them where they’re at—offering intentionally curated mentorships, job opportunities, and business resources scaled to every stage of their career.
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