We are very excited to offer you a sneak peek of a pair of beautiful beadwork earrings created by artist Jaymie Campbell of White Otter Design Co especially for the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM). The earrings are joining other handmade items acquired by the museum for its In Their Footsteps exhibit – recently re-developed by Emma Knight, RAM’s assistant curator of Indigenous Studies – which highlights the work of Indigenous jewelry and clothing designers.

Jaymie’s Dbaajmowin moose hide floral earrings are beaded onto and backed with home-tanned moose-hide using vintage beads, freshwater pearls, metal cut beads and 24kt gold plated beads with 14kt gold hooks. The earrings are one of two items recently purchased and donated by Friends of Royal Alberta Museum (FRAMS) to the RAM Indigenous Studies collection. FRAMS would like to recognize all its members and friends who have helped to make these purchases possible thanks to their generous support.

Read the story behind FRAMS’ other recently gifted item – a poncho jacket by Heather Crowshoe of Heather Crowshoe Couture – here.

About the Artist: Jaymie Campbell, White Otter Design Co

Jaymie Campbell is Anishinaabe from Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario. She was born in Jasper and grew up in British Columbia before moving home to Curve Lake. She then returned to Alberta and lived and worked for many years in Grande Cache. White Otter Design has been featured at Toronto Indigenous Fashion Week Marketplace (2018 & 2020), Otahpiaaki Fashion Week (2018 & 2019), and the Adaka Cultural Festival (2019).

Jaymie’s work is inspired by her Anishinaabe heritage and is also influenced by the time she has spent with the Cree people of the Rocky Mountains. She owes great gratitude to the Cree elders who have taught and continue to teach the old ways that inspire much of her work. Jaymie wants to inspire young people to know they can be both athletic and artsy, scientific and spiritual, warriors and artists.

In 2015, White Otter Design Co was born as a way to connect with my ancestry, carry on traditional art practices and use my creativity as an outlet to rest and heal. It allowed me to embark on projects with my family, community and to immerse myself in culture. I have had the great fortune of being mentored in the old ways and being able to marry that with contemporary design and fashion. Beadwork became medicine and allowed me expression.

Jaymie Campbell, White Otter Design Co

Follow Jaymie and White Otter Design Co on Instagram @whiteotterdesignco