Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Agaton Howes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?
My mom Laurel always had art available to us. We were always invited in to cook, paint, and be messy. She told me when I was young to “Find something you love to do and someone willing to pay you to do it.” Often now I am still blown away by how dead on this advice was for all of her kids. That was powerful.
Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Heart Berry began at my kitchen table as I sewed, beaded, and made custom beadwork, regalia, and cultural items for my community here in Fond du Lac Reservation in Northern Minnesota. The strawberry has been a regular part of my work and in our language it is “Ode’imin” or Heart Berry. We have many stories about the strawberry but the lesson around working with the heart is universal. I learned quickly that my community needed to learn HOW to connect with cultural art and began teaching Moccasin making and to date have taught well over 800 people how to care for their families through Makizinikewin. In 2014, I began my collaboration with Eighth Generation’s Inspired Natives Project and have since grown into a digital artist, CEO, and running my business locally. We have successfully taken back production and design of the wool blanket and creating alternatives to appropriation of Native Art. At Heart Berry we grew from the kitchen table to the trailer to our current HQ! This year we will be hosting our holiday market and classes in house. For me the pride and joy is translating our traditional art onto contemporary formats. Whether its wool blankets or art installations, I love this place where the world converges. Everyone loves Native art and we can now provide this for everyone in the marketplace. My proudest moment this year has been donating over $17,000 to child welfare and land preservation initiatives. I want everyone to know we are making Ojibwe art for all. For you.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
IN 2017 we had just launched a large line with Duluth Pack, a local canvas goods store. A month after we had invested a large sum in these products, held photoshoots, product development, the Duluth Pack store hosted the Trump administration in their store. We decided immediately we could not be connected to them and publicly pulled our products and donated them to a local young adult drop in center. The payoff was the following day we had record sales. And moreover we were able to stay in line with our value system. As a business owner this is a top priority for me.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Louie Gong was my mentor for 8 years as part of the Inspired Natives Project. Louie has since sold Eighth Generation to the Snoqualmie Tribe and moved on to enjoy making art. I knew who Louie was and loved how he would combine traditional native art with his business, how he painted skate parks and was building an innovation in native commerce. When he messaged and asked if I would consider collaborating with him I literally clicked my heels. It was an incredible ride of mentorship from learning how to build a website, contracts, photos, social media, and really every part of a business he pushed me to learn. I am so grateful that he saw when we all do better we all do better and he has brought so many artists with him on this path to success.
Contact Info:
- Website: heartberry.com
- Instagram: heartberryco
- Facebook: Heart Berry
- Youtube: Heart Berry
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Nedahness Greene MN United Eighth Generation