Hello and welcome!
It has been a long road getting to Gossamer Gallery. In the process of redefining myself during the unstable past few years of covid, the steps along the path have been anything but a straight line. In the past I have always considered myself first a daughter of God (The all-powerful, Creator God of Heavens, the Earth, the Oceans, and all sentient life, in other words, the God of Israel, the God of the Bible), then an artist, and lastly a businesswoman. Sure, I am a wife, mother, and grandmother, but those are things I do in the presence of my husband, my son, or my grandsons. All the rest of the time when I am left to my own thoughts I am praying, designing, sewing, beading, and strategizing. My degree in Fashion Design was from the Clarissa School of Fashion Design which no longer exists. I apprenticed at some bridal shops and worked with local interior designers to earn a living doing upholstery and anything related to textiles. I also worked for an Architectural Firm in Pittsburgh, Fanning Howie Associates, until I founded my first company in 1999, CMBT Western Wear. Neither of which still exists.
When my family from Eastern Oklahoma found out I was designing wardrobes for Rodeo Queens, there was no end to the teasing. After all, I was an Indian working for cowboys. This also cannot be documented as my grandparents themselves walked the famed "trail of tears" and refused to document anything about themselves or their children. My Father never even had a birth certificate issued until he was 15 and wanted to join the Army. The government generated one using the record of his birth from our ancient family Bible that said simply "Council House Oklahoma December 3rd, 1930".
During a summer visit to Oklahoma where I stayed with my uncle and cousins, I learned brain-tanning, quillwork, beadwork, and leathercrafting. My company morphed into The Native Way. I am friends to this day with many of my clients around the world. I was quite successful, and busy until I had to move to Pennsylvania to take care of my Mother in 2004. TheNativeWay.net was dissolved at that point and I went to work in the promotional products industry as a cut & sew product designer.
For the past 5 years, I have been consulting entrepreneurs on how to best define their intended corporate structure, plan their policies, contracts, financial strategies, protect their intellectual property, and so on. My heart has never been in business development other than loving helping other people succeed and developing friendships along the way. My heart is in design, and I am honored to have the opportunity to bring what I have learned to Gossamer Gallery. Originally, I just wanted a simple online sales page, Shopify store, or Etsy site to sell what I am best at, creating ethnic and whimsical fashion, jewelry, and other accessory designs for discerning clients. My Father in heaven told me that was not good enough without also blessing those who purchase items from me. Well, as a half indigenous, half immigrant person myself, I am called to finally break down barriers clouding my relationship with the world around me. Being anything other than genuine can only cause damage to ourselves and the world around us. Life is about relationships, and how many of us even know what it is to be true to ourselves? This is exactly what I hope to do with Gossamer Gallery, Apex Momentum Business Development, and also my ministry, 3am-ministry.org.
If you would like help growing your own business, contact me by clicking my logo below...
If you would like to learn more about the ancient Holy Scriptures, and a bit more about what drives me to love to serve others, please click the image below...
Gossamer Designs are a way to express visually your inner self as part of your outward appearance. I create one new line of clothing and/or accessories 4 times a year. The materials I use for those designs vary by each customer. Each person has their own colors, textures, and forms that flatter their unique body, character, and life; therefore, each piece is custom designed for each of my customers.
Each piece is unique due to variations of the supply chain, batch dying of textiles and trims, and preferences by the customer.
Don’t worry, every past line is archived, and you can order from any line or piece within the line if it can still be found on gossamergallery.com. IF you are looking for a custom design, I am open to that but there are additional fees included in pieces that I do not have patterns already created for.
I chose the name, Gossamer, because like love, faith, and hope it can be hard to see, regardless of how beautiful or strong it is. However, if you have experienced any of them or all three, you know their beauty far surpasses anything opaque.
I give every piece I create to the God who empowered me to design, create, and market my pieces through prayer for the person that will take possession of it. I intentionally include a small “flaw” (spirit window) in each item I create to honor God in acknowledging that only He brings perfection to the material. I assure you it will not detract from the purpose, function, or beauty of the item. It may even be fun to see if you can find it. If so, please take a picture and share it with us in our forum so others can see what I mean when we talk about a “spirit window”. In Native American tradition, if you create something, part of you goes into the item. If the item is ever placed in the custody of an evil person or spirit, the part of you that went into the item can flee through that window breaking the link with the person who would be empowered to disrupt your peace (shalom).
Each and every person that contacts us or becomes a customer, affiliate, or supplier is prayed for, as every item that leaves my studio is also prayed over. I hope you find our site, and our products to be a blessing to you and those you purchase gifts for.
Have a blessed and miraculous day!
Tamara Ruckdeschel, Owner/Designer
Gossamer Gallery, LLC
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