Runner-up
Beaded Billie Hat
Indigenous beading takes hours of design and precision work, plus skill and quality materials. All of that is on display on Sakihta Swag’s Beaded Billie Hat. The fedora-style hat (made by Gigi Pip) showcases stunning glass beadwork on its brim and headband, making up more than 1,000 beads. For owner Racquel Fraser, she loves the look of beaded hats, and using fashion and style as a medium of expression and celebration of her Cree culture. Beading is not only a creative outlet but a meditative activity. “Our people believe that beads have spirits and that when you are making a project you must have a “good mind” while working on it,” says Fraser. “This forced me to turn my self doubt and feelings of failure into positive self-care and create something beautiful out of a difficult time in my life.”
