About
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgS9wpi4cTk
My Mission is to help people feel confident about themselves and be connected to our culture.
I want to help with cultural revitalization through teaching. We have the ancestral connections through our hands and our ways of being and doing. This is our wellness.
Brenda Lee Asp, was born in the Yukon. She was raised in both Yukon and Northern British Columbia. A member of the Crow Clan, her diverse ancestral background consists of Northern Tutchone First Nation from the Snag area of the Yukon and Tahltan from Northern B.C. Brenda’s extended family lineage consists of Atna, Upper Tanana and Tlingit cultures as well as European ancestry is Swedish and German.
Brenda Lee Asp captures her family values, with foundational traditional cultural teachings to bring life to her pieces. Made from unique, organic fabrics that feel good on the skin. She designs and creates with pride and appreciation for her teachings; honoring her wellness and healing from trauma and spirituality; in doing so, she believes this pride and appreciation transfers to every final owner. Creating is her medicine and helps her to maintain wellness within. This is what she wants to share with the world.
"Growing up we spent time creating with our hands, sewing with machines,and time on the land in the Yukon picking berries, wild mushrooms and cooking by the campfire while enjoying a cup of campfire tea; enjoying the land whenever we could. I also recall harvesting salmon in the Stikine River with her family at Tahltan. Harvesting and using materials from the land and earth elements creates the backdrop for my artwork, prints, jewelry, and designs."
-Brenda Lee Asp
Brenda Lee Asp scarves and accessories
are stunning and elegant.
“Famous designer Marc Jacobs once said ‘Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them.’ Clearly, he never saw Brenda Lee Asp’s garments and accessories. They stand on their own as art - a unique expression of her life and ancestry. In her work, Asp draws upon her German and Swedish background as well as the traditional art of the Tutchone (Yukon) and Tahltan (Northern B.C.), Tlingit (Alaska) peoples. Bold, beautifully balanced shapes contrast with softness; silk, velvet, cashmere, rabbit, and organic bamboo – ‘though I use leather and spandex sometimes, too,’ she laughs. Asp’s line of story capes sell as fast as she makes them; wearable art in which every detail has a symbolic narrative meaning. Her printed silk ties pair royal blue with her own take on paisley; dynamic black and white floral or fish motifs. Her earrings are both pretty and punk – porcupine quills are dyed hot pink, purple, blue. ‘For me, my creations are about empowerment,’ she says. ‘There is a sense of confidence in the forms, but each piece needs to be comfortable as well. I can feel the strong presence of my Grandmother and Aunts when I’m sewing them.’ Asp, a member of the Crow Clan, will often incorporate printed drawings or beaded artwork into her fashions. ‘I like to play with variations in each collection, and see how they evolve. That’s my passion, that evolution! I love watching how each piece re-invents the one before, how it morphs into something new.’ Her signature Night and Day Shawls have all evolved in different directions. Dark tones sit next to lighter shades in masterful use of contrast and reversal. ‘The garment affects how the art is seen, and vice versa,’ she says. ‘Sometimes it’s hard to rein in my excitement!’”
- Sarah Swan