Instagram Has Turned Into A Source Of Funding, And Patronage, For Indigenous Beadwork Artists

When artists drop collections on Instagram, they often sell out in a matter of minutes. Beadwork takes time; there’s no way to mass-produce, and that’s part of the value. For artist Jaymie Campbell, Anishinaabe, from Curve Lake First Nation near Ontario, “the amount she puts into every piece means it isn’t possible to fully scale up to meet demand, and that’s OK. Each earring or pendant is ‘a piece of me, and my family and my story.'” – The New York Times