YOUR SUCCESS MATTERS
Some of the risks associated with scaling a business include: 1. Overexpansion: Growing too quickly or expanding into new markets without adequate preparation can lead to overexpansion, which may strain resources and lead to inefficiencies[1]. 2. Operational Debt:...
When scaling a business, it's important to avoid common mistakes to ensure successful growth. Some of these mistakes include: 1. Scaling Too Early or Too Late: Scaling too early, before establishing a solid base, or scaling too late and missing opportunities can be...
The top 8 challenges service-based entrepreneurs faced during periods of rapid growth are: 1. Maintaining Consistent Quality: Service businesses must ensure a consistently high level of quality to retain clients, which can be challenging as the business scales up.[1]...
by ALYSIA HUCK.
“Whenever I create, I want the youth to be able to see, you know, our culture,” explained Lauren Good Day, Native American artist. “I want them to see our stories live on and I want them to be able to see themselves and what they wear and what they see. So, I feel that it’s so important the work that I’m doing, because I’m not only educating non-native people, I’m also inspiring the youth and the generations to come.”
Inspired by family and cultural heritage, Lauren Good Day has been fascinated with Native American art since she was a child.
Her mother and grandmother taught her the importance of art not only as an art form, but a way of life.
“As Native people, you know, we’re just taught to create,” Good Day said. “We’re just taught to express ourselves through our esthetic and our material culture. So, it was something that came very naturally to me and something that was passed on from my grandmothers.”
Good Day says her mother, Deborah Paint, recognized her strength as an artist and encouraged her to follow that path into adulthood and share the beauty of Native American culture with the world.
“I feel like I’m really showing them, you know a good way of life. I’m showing them that you know our stories and who we are, and our art and our esthetic culture are important,” Good Day said.
After earning a bachelor of arts degree in indigenous studies, Good Day started her career creating one-of-a-kind, high-value art, including ledger art, bead work and fashion design.
“All of my 20s, I was a professional artist showing at the most prestigious juried Native American art shows, such as Santa Fe and the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona,” Good Day said.
When she entered her 30s, Good Day wanted to reach more people and share all she and her heritage had to offer.
“Historically, women, we were the homemakers. We were the ones that guided our families. We created our clothing. We did the beadwork for our families. So, what I want to do is I want to teach people and share people the beauty of our culture from a feminine perspective,” Good Day explained.
That’s when she decided to expand and create more accessible items, such as ready-to-wear clothing.
“Everything that I create is appropriate for everyone, native and non-native people, to collect, wear and love. I feel that what I create shares a story, and I feel that if they find beauty in it and they can appreciate it, then that’s cultural appreciation,” Good Day shared.
Good Day says it all starts with a story, an idea or a thought that she wants to share.
From there she sketches, and then draws, beads or makes it into something wearable.
Working out of her studio in her home, and with the help of her partner, assistant, photographer and her children, it’s a round-the-clock operation.
“After I send the kids to school, I’m working on social media. I’m talking with vendors. I’m working and developing new fashion designs. By night. I’m working on individual pieces after the kids go to sleep, whether it’s beadwork or cultural dress or I’m working on ledger drawings,” Good Day said. “So, there’s always something that I have going on, and the work never stops. But luckily, I love to do it. “
And all that hard work has paid off, with some of her work recently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Indian in D.C. in an exhibition called Unbound, celebrating narrative art among Native nations of the Great Plains.
“So being acknowledged there on a huge national level was such an honor,” Good Day said. “I’ve also been featured in Vogue in Style magazine, cowboys and Indians and numerous other publications as well. So I feel that it’s really amazing to see, not only on a local level, but a national level, the attention that native art and my art as a fashion designer and as an artist has attracted.”
Despite all of the national recognition, staying connected and involved in her community is important to Good Day.
But above all so is instilling the values of Native American tradition in her children.
“I want them to see how beautiful our culture is and how important our stories are, and everything about who we are continues to live on,” Good Day said.
See Original Article at KXNet
