Traditional Indigenous Beadwork Practices Meet Design Technology

Indigenous bead artist Whitney Horne expands her creative beadwork through digital tools.

New tools inspire colourful fashion line

Indigenous bead artist Whitney Horne has acquired new tools to digitally illustrate original bead-weaving patterns. Her designs are inspired by historical Inland Tlingit sewing and weaving practices, old stories, local landscapes and wildlife. In 2020, she began applying her designs in a new fashion collection using glass beads, four types of beading looms and a variety of threads. Her line will feature pieces such as bags, hat bands, necklaces, bracelets, belts, cuffs and wall art.

Enhancing time-honoured family sewing customs

Horne is a citizen of the Teslin Tlingit Council and part of the Dakh’laweidi Clan. She grew up amid her family’s sewing customs, and she is the keeper of her family’s box of patterns. The project provided her the opportunity to deepen her knowledge while using digital bead software and expanded her creative potential as an Indigenous artist. She plans to debut her new collection in 2021.