Pqge 10
Spilyy Tymoo, Wrm Springs, Oregon
July 24, 2003
"My beadivork is my art, my art is my life, "
Wanda Suppah VanPelt
Beading brings good things to life
Change happens.
Changes are what Wanda Suppah VanPelt is going through as
manager of the Traditional Treasures Gift Shop and the Dollars
and Cents Thrift Shop on Wasco Street. She doesn't mind, though.
The changes are headed in the direction she wants to go.
Budget restrictions and unforeseen events forced these incu
bator businesses to merge under a single management. While she
didn't mind taking over during the difficulties, her heart was in
her beading.
"My beadwork is my art, my art is my life," she says.
VanPelt started beading when she was a little girl. While she ,
admits she was too much of a tomboy to sit still for all those ;
hours, she developed her love of beadwork. And she had plenty
of inspiration.
"I saw my aunt make outfits and that was always my dream,"
she says, "to get as good as her."
Beadwork can be a difficult craft to learn. While some people
are naturals, others work hard to master this art. But Wanda ;
wanted this discipline. It became her passion.
"If you really, really want something, you're going to work
hard at it," she admits, "I wanted this."
And beadwork has stood by her even in the tough times:
Wanda found out about the difficult times when her son died
last September. Grief can be an overwhelming emotion. Differ
ent people deal with it in different ways. Wanda beads.
"When I really get down in the dumps, " she says, "I sit and
beadwork and it's a healing thing for me to do my art."
These days Wanda is concentrating on the business end of
beading. She's teaching Tammy Tewee the fine art of the fin
ished product. And she's turning the Dollars and Cents Thrift
store over to her associate Rena Suppah-Gomez.
She is busily stocking the store with summer wear and setting
up clothing exchange programs in Bend, Redmond, Prineville
and Madras. This will provide a constant supply of new clothing
in the store.
But losing the management of the thrift store is a welcome
change for Wanda Suppah VanPelt. That just means she has more
time to concentrate on what she docs best, her art - beading.
01 1M
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3
AND
OTHER TIMES
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1
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i
Tammy Tewee (upper
left) and Wanda
Suppah VanPelt (left)
work on beaded gift
items.
The photo at bottom
left shows the four
employees at the gift
and thrift shops:
Delilah Heath, Wanda,
Tammy and Rena
Suppah-Gomez
(clockwise from left).
And in the photo at far
left, Rena works at the
thrift store.
Story and
photos by
D. "Bing"
Bingham
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More than just
a good place to shop
The Traditional Treasures Indian Market and the Dollars and Sense
Thrift Shop are more than just places to shop.
They arc also places where people learn important job skills.
Traditional Treasures opened in October of 2000. The shop is an
incubator, or start-up business of the Warm Springs Work Force Devel
opment Department.
At first the shop was located at the Warm Springs Plaza. Traditional
Treasures moved to its current location, 2710 Wasco Street, near the
Work 1-brcc Development office, in the summer of last year.
During its initial couple of years, the gift shop was managed separately
from the Dollars and Sense Thrift Store. Now the gift shop and the
thrift store are managed by Wanda VanPelt.
Tradiuonal Treasures and Dollars and Sense serve the community in
two different ways.
Most obviously, the shop and thrift store offer good quality items for
sale: the gift shop has outstanding Indian beadwork items on sale for
reasonable prices; while Dollars and Sense offers clothing, household
appliances and other items, also at very reasonable prices.
These businesses provide another service to the community, in that
they arc places where people can gain valuable work experience.
"Tribal members who go through this program hold temporary, part
time jobs," said Wanda Suppah VanPelt. "We're training people to go out
and get a permanent job."
Some workforce fundamentals arc emphasized: show up at work on
time, be there every day, work well and get along with other people.
There are about 10 different employment-related areas of focus, said
VanPelt.
You can reach the gift shop by calling 553-2288. The number at the
thrift store is 553-2287.