Field Trip: Santa Fe

BTS with Caroline Miller and model Courtney Fox , in designs by Nonamey and Dawoozhii .

While these days jewelry-making is my full-time gig, my previous career involved not only running a multi-brand boutique and e-commerce site, but also doing editorial styling for runway shows and photoshoots. Even still, once in a blue moon, I get invited to style a non-Talisman-related project that is so up my alley that I can’t resist. A month ago, one such opportunity crossed my path, thanks to Matthew Morris Salon and Caroline Miller photography. The job? Caravan down to Santa Fe to pull looks from the 30+ indigenous fashion designers taking part in Native Fashion Week Santa Fe (NFWSF), and style them in creative ways for an editorial shoot that would be pitched to national publications for the benefit of the designers.

I was intrigued and honored to have the opportunity to work with such incredible talent. Once in Santa Fe, I met designers who blended traditional craft techniques that had been passed down for generations in their respective tribes, with cutting-edge fashion. Photographed at the El Rey Court Inn, the result was a photo campaign that was nothing short of breathtaking.

Other highlights of the trip included bringing my mother down for the ride (it was Mother’s Day weekend, after all), and attending the runway shows, which were impeccably orchestrated thanks to my friends Jenny and Mary at JAM Productions. Mom and I also made a stop off at the International Folk Art Museum, where I got to scope their exhibit of talismans from around the world (!). Thank you to Matthew Morris and Caroline Miller for having me!