Meet Elias NotAfraid of Elias Jade Not Afraid in Southern Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elias NotAfraid.

Elias, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began beading when I was 12 years old while living on the Crow Indian reservation to help escape hardships while growing up. I started out by taking apart my great grandmothers beadwork to figure out her techniques. Over the years I began to learn other beading technique used by my tribe and started to challenge myself in my work.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In the beginning it was hard because no one would show me how to bead when I would ask (most likely because I was very young) so I took it upon myself to learn and would get help from others once I started to get the technique down. I would sometimes bead (nontraditional) items and would be told by a few people that what I was doing was (wrong) but I didn’t let it stop me from doing what I love.

Please tell us about Elias Jade NotAfraid.
I am a Native American bead artists who specializes in wearable art and jewelry that can be passed down from generation to generation. I try to set myself apart from other artist by incorporating my own style and colors by using my tribe’s designs using quality materials while educating others about the design and materials used in my work. I recently did a collaboration with B. Yellowtail and Crate & Barrel by designing 2 rugs based off my beadwork for their 2018 spring collection.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have begun to start collecting vintage and rare cut seed beads at an early age.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.byelltail.com/eliasnotafraid
• Email: eliasnotafraid@gmail.com
• Instagram: @eliasnotafraid
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Elias-Jade-NotAfraid-514980795558219/

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