New Indigenous-owned FirstNationsGallery.com showcases jewellery designed by Indigenous artists of the Pacific Northwest
Founder John Velten wants to create the largest collection of its kind in North America by helping other Indigenous artists access tools, tech, and precious metals
John Velten.
WITH THE RECENT launch of FirstNationsGallery.com, founder and artist John Velten is not only building what he hopes will be the largest collection of Pacific Northwest Indigenous-designed gold and silver jewellery in North America. He’s also increasing such artists’ access to the tools and technical savvy they need to bring their culturally significant designs to market, providing them with remote and digital-creation assistance and access to precious metals.
A jewellery designer himself, Velten offers emerging and established artists mentorship and the support they need to transform their ideas and sketches into market-ready, fine jewellery.
“It's really to bring more means for artists to be able to monetize their work as well as getting in front of the faces of the consumer audience, especially a cultural consumer audience,” Velten says in a Zoom interview with Stir. “With the lack of resources within the First Nations community, I felt like there is a need for that. As an artist, I created a lot of accessibility for myself, like learning how to run a laser machine and create more jewellery. And it became one of my main sources of income, and the same goes for a lot of other people that I’ve been able to work with.”
Sterling-silver Moon Earrings by Grant Pauls.
Velten, who is of Dene and German ancestry, says he has always been interested in art and has been creative since a young age. “That was my mode of expression,” Velten says.
Despite his passion and talent—he received ongoing praise from teachers—Velten experienced hesitation about pursuing a career in the arts. Instead, he got an electrician’s diploma at age 17 and worked over 3,800 hours in the field before realizing it was not for him.
A fateful encounter with a friend of a friend linked Velten to respected Tahltan multimedia artist Alano Edzerza. “I quit my job the next day and moved into his place and basically had a full-on arts apprenticeship,” Velten says.
Chilkat Earrings Series - 1, Chilkat Abstraction, by Mark Preston.
Through his mentorship with Edzerza, Velten gained the foundation not only for fine arts but also the necessary knowledge for starting a business. In the years that followed, Velten studied at the Visual College of Art and Design in downtown Vancouver for 3D modelling and animation and received artistic training and guidance from other local Indigenous artists such as Rick Adkins, Phil Gray, and Klatle Bhi. Portions of Velten’s works have been commissioned by the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Mural Festival, and Lunar Fest, among other organizations.
Velten says he was not expecting to open a jewellery business; rather, the opportunity fell into his lap. The online shop was a product of marrying his background in the digital field and his networks in the arts community. Through the virtual gallery, Velten is able to provide other Indigenous artists with the resources needed to craft jewellery pieces that become products for retail.
FirstNationsGallery.com currently offers over a hundred different products like earrings, pendants, rings, and more, all created by Indigenous artists from the Pacific Northwest, with more to come.
The online shop’s catalogue features works by Mark Preston, who is of Tlingit and Irish ancestry, for example. Preston has worked in various mediums, such as paper, cloth, wood, metals, stone, and glass. His experience with jewellery comes from studies of silver carving with well-known master jeweller and carver Phil Janze of Gitskan Nation.
“Mark Preston is a really great example of somebody in the older generation who has honed his craft and has been able to produce and digitize a lot of his work,” Velten says.
Other Indigenous artists, such as Grant Pauls of the Tahltan Nation and Shawn Aster, Gitxaala (Kitkatla, Ganhada Clan), use a combination of various jewellery-making techniques to create a range of intricate pieces.
The Lineage Bracelet by Grant Pauls.
Velten’s own jewellery is showcased on the website. A notable piece is the sterling-silver Beaver Ring, which he says signifies the establishment of foundation, especially for the shaping of community and the education of young minds. The gallery’s artists carry traditional knowledge relating to other crests and symbols, such as Raven, Eagle, Wolf, Killer Whale, Thunderbird, Hummingbird, Bear, and more.
There’s The Lineage Bracelet, made in sterling silver, with 14 18-karat-gold eyes across seven frog links, designed by Tahltan Nation artist Grant Pauls. Revered for its communication skills, the Frog represents adaptability, knowledge, and the power to traverse worlds. Gerren Peters’s sterling-silver Thunderbird Earrings represent the proud, powerful, and noble being that features prominently in stories throughout the Northwest Coast. Peters was raised in the Coast Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth artistic traditions.
Velten says his goal with FirstNationsGallery.com is to be able to serve other artists by creating a global distribution channel and an accessible environment to transform their art to jewellery.
“This will be for not only First Nations artists, but all artists who might want to venture into making jewellery by using more advanced and new technology,” Velten says. He notes, too, that artists receive higher earnings from each sale made on the website than they would from an art gallery or museum gift shop.
Beaver Ring by John Velten.
More information is at FirstNationsGallery.com.
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