We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natasha Sanchez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Natasha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My mission is to keep the art of traditional beadwork and crafts alive. I like to incorporate folkloric images in my art that are connected to the indigenous cosmovision of my culture, the concept of what we call Sumak Kawsay (the good life). By continuing to create intricately handmade crafts, we can bolster our abilities to remain a self-sufficient peoples, connected in reciprocity with nature.

Living in a colonial and capitalist society, life can be so fast-paced and filled with convenience. Living in a world of fast-fashion, fast food, and online shopping can cause us to disconnect from nature, and make us accustomed to obtaining things quickly. Things as basic as water, food, and clothing may be taken for granted and under appreciated. By engaging in traditional crafts, I am able to slow down, practice mindfulness, and create with intention. This helps me not only connect with the ancestral knowledge that has been lost within my lineage, but to appreciate where our things come from. Many of us aren’t connected to the people who grow our food or the people who sew our clothes, who are forced to work in unsafe working conditions. This makes it easy for us turn a blind eye to mass production and the pain it causes the earth, as well as the community.

Creating beaded art can teach you a lot about patience, making mistakes, having grace with yourself, strengthen your motor skills, and brush up on your mathematics. Traditional crafts such as beadwork, weaving baskets, carving tools, tending to plants, dyeing fabrics, etc can help us be self sufficient and keep the uniqueness of our individual cultures alive.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My work is inspired by indigenous practices, specifically those of my Quechwa and Taino ancestors of Ecuador and Borikén. I have been practicing beadwork since 2013. I was introduced to the craft while living in the Amazon of Ecuador. I had the privilege of living there for three years to reconnect with my ancestral ways and learn from those who continue to practice traditions in daily living. I took one class taught by an Andean woman who visited the Kichwa community I was living with, and was immediately hooked. From there I taught myself how to recreate things I saw and developed my own methods and style. As someone who struggles with untreated ADHD, bead weaving is one of the only things that helps me focus and slow down.

I make earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and wall hangings. The work that I am most proud of is my necklaces and wall hangings. My beadwork is made to last for years, and I hope people who buy my work can pass it down to other generations. Handmade products are not meant to look factory made, and I love how each piece is unique. I like to offer repairs to my customers if ever needed because there is always a way to save a piece of beadwork or mend it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have worked many jobs, but beadwork has always been my side hustle, my passion when I come home from my day job. During a time that I was pregnant with a high risk pregnancy, it became my full time job. My son was a preemie baby, and both him and I almost died multiple times during my labor. He was in the NICU for 10 weeks. Once he became a year old, I left an abusive relationship while having no outside income and was living out of state from family. For two years, I raised my son who had developmental disabilities completely on my own while working a full time day job and studying to start a new career. I moved three times, and struggled so much to survive in a society that doesn’t make it easy to raise children. Through it all, bead weaving was always there, and honestly helped keep me sane and motivated.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I keep in touch with customers through social media, mostly Instagram although it seems like the platform is really changing. I have returning customers who I am grateful for and make me feel happy that they love my work. I have made friends with people who follow me online and I have actually met some of them in person. I think that sharing your story and authenticity helps people connect and build community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tuchasanias.bigcartel.com/
• Instagram: TuchaSanias
• Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/tuchasanias
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@natashasanchez4689

Image Credits

Aurianna Oricchio
Jeremiah Verdecias
Kateshia Pendergrass