WE ROAR Magazine issue 04 - Magazine - Page 62
Who is a fashion designer right now that really
inspires you?
Oh boy! That's a good question! There are so
many. Most of the songs that hit me hard are the
ones that my mother used to sing to us at
bedtime. She would sit on the end of our beds
with her guitar and sing to us.
Valerie Davidson-Oar, Red Loon Woman, owner
and creator of Giggy's Beads Boutique. Val is an
Elder with so many stories to tell and she tells
them all through her works. She has recently
stepped out of her comfort zone of jewelry
making and is now creating incredible wearable
art. She is not well known, she is a struggling
artist, and she is determined to succeed. I admire
that.
She had her own radio show in the 1970s,
where people could call into the station and
request songs. If she did not know the song, she
would promise to learn it by the next show. She
mainly sang country songs by artists like Patsy
Cline, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, and others. I
do not listen to country music normally, but
when I hear one of the songs that she used to
sing come on, I am immediately howling along
with it.
How has your business and fashion been a
healing tool for you and how can it be for
others do you think, too?
What's a big lesson you learnt (the hard way)
in business?
My mother was a residential school survivor and
had many issues with addictions so growing up
was exceptionally difficult and intergenerational
trauma was prevalent in our home. I spent a lot
of time in foster care when my mother would go
to prison. Being able to step out of that life, even
for a moment, allowed me to see that not
everyone lived that way.
Trust. That is still a big one. There are so many
people who cannot stand to see someone doing
what they love and doing well. Especially in the
Indigenous communities. They have been
oppressed for so long that it has become
ingrained in their behaviors. Finding a way to
both avoid that and change it has been the most
challenging thing I have to deal with in my
business.
It has helped me to see that no matter your
circumstances there is always a way forward. If I
can help just one more person to escape that
lifestyle, I have done what I set out to do. I
believe that I have achieved that, I believe that
everyone deserves that chance.
What do you feel
accomplishment to date?
is
your
biggest
Do you consider yourself a rebel at all?
Not quitting when things got too hard.
I have always been and will always be a rebel!
LOL! I am the odd duck out in my family, and I
wouldn't have it any other way,
What's one word that you'd like people to
associate with you?
Compassionate.
What's a song you can't help but sing to when
you hear it?
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