British Vogue photograph by Craig McDean supplied by Jennifer Younger.
THE ART OF NATURE
REZ13 collaboration with Jennifer Younger
Jennifer is a Tlingit artist from the Southeast Alaskan town of Yakutat of the Eagle Kaagwaantaan.
REZ13 is thrilled to announce we will be doing a photoshoot and documentary collaboration with Jennifer Younger in the summer of 2025, in the Okanagan Valley.
Jennifer Younger Designs. It takes a village which then becomes a community.
Everything that Jennifer has produced is shaped and inspired by nature and her home environment where she is surrounded by traditional ways of life. Ultimately for Jennifer, it is all about community. Everything she creates has its own story. Her earrings based on salmon eggs and herring eggs which while that doesn't sound sexy, the end result always is – they are masterful little sculptures.
Stay tuned for info about this exciting collaboration and in the meantime check out Jennifer Younger’s Instagram gallery. Also see the gallery of her work, below.
Jennifer Younger Design - Tlingit Carver of | Handmade Jewelry
Jennifer is a multi-award winning copper and silver jewelry designer. Her goal is to have her work in all parts of the world and she is keen to see non-Native celebrities and everyday fashionistas embracing Native design. Jennifer is sensitive to the fact that even though there is an Indigenous uprising, Indigenous people are still being kept in their own box. She wants to change that.
Jennifer is reaching out to stylists to say that her work is Native-made for everyone so if they have people that they want to accessorize with her jewelry, she’s game as she feels that's really showing true appreciation for the art form.
Caitlin Blaisdell photographs supplied by Jennifer Younger Design
Looking forward with the best of the past
“Looking back takes me forward.” Younger, who is of the Eagle Kaagwaantaan clan and now lives in Sitka, Alaska, looks to Tlingit form-line designs and spruce-root basket weaving patterns to inform her freehand pieces, each of which are totally unique.
Younger didn’t grow up immersed in her Tlingit culture, because her grandmother experienced abusive and oppressive assimilation policies at an Indian boarding school, an all-too-common phenomenon in Native communities. In 2012, she decided to take up the art of formline design to better connect to her heritage, learning from father-and-son artisans Dave and Nicholas Galanin.
Since then, Younger has made a name for herself—one of her pinnacle moments was when her work was on the cover of British Vogue. As a designer she is known for her intricately carved cuffs, earrings, necklaces, and body chains made of silver, gold, and copper with abalone, turquoise, and other earthly accents. Younger has also branched out to other themes like butterflies and hummingbirds.
“I want to introduce formline to people who aren’t familiar with Northwest Coast designs,” she says. “I have some special pieces that belonged to my grandmother, but I want the next generation to take pride in their heritage and carry on this form, so I create more contemporary pieces for everyday wear.”
Excerpt from W Magazine
Caitlin Blaisdell photographs supplied by Jennifer Younger Design
Caitlin Blaisdell photographs supplied by Jennifer Younger Design
“I am fulfilling my dream of pursuing something related to traditional Tlingit art, while having the freedom to express my own style. My hope is that you will enjoy something I’ve created.”
~ Jennifer Younger
