
Last week we put the finishing touches on a client's girl friends getaway in Santa Fe this spring, and they'll be staying at the lovely Inn and Spa at Loretto. It's just one of the many Virtuoso hotel properties in town where I can secure additional amenities like complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, hotel credits, and more. I've stayed there myself and highly recommend their spa and restaurant. My clients will also be enjoying a private walking tour and a gourmet brunch of seasonal, locally sourced ingredients prepared for them by a celebrated chef.
No doubt my clients will be taking in lots of art too. Santa Fe is known for its connection to Georgia O'Keefe and is still a haven for artists. I hope you enjoy reading more about Santa Fe through the lens of Amy Denet Deal and check out her recommendations the next time you're in town.
Article below from 8/10/2023 by Lanee Lee can found here.
“I’ve never met so many badass Native people as I have in Santa Fe.”
Beneath the beamed ceiling inside 4Kinship’s Santa Fe atelier, a rack brims with Amy Denet Deal’s colorful, upcycled designs: cobalt-blue bubble skirts made from 1950s military parachutes, hand-dyed Victorian-era dresses, utilitarian jumpsuits, and vintage rodeo shirts retooled into flirty Bardot tops. The collection feels whimsical and dreamlike, but the ethos behind it is intentional: Denet Deal uses repurposed clothing and deadstock fabrics to create pieces inspired by her heritage.
After a global career in fashion with design roles at major brands such as Puma and Reebok, Denet Deal relocated from California to New Mexico to pursue art and reconnect to her roots – she’s a member of the Southwest’s Diné (Navajo) Tribe. She opened 4Kinship in Albuquerque in 2019 and moved the shop to Santa Fe last summer. While Santa Fe is a bastion of Native culture and art, Denet Deal’s boutique is one of just a few Indigenous-owned storefronts in the city, and the only Native-owned business on tony Canyon Road. The We Belong Here that’s painted on 4Kinship’s exterior makes a statement as bold as the clothing inside. “We do belong in Santa Fe, in permanent spaces,” she says.
Denet Deal is dedicated to helping foster and grow a new wave of creative Indigenous entrepreneurs in Santa Fe, whether it’s by making space in her own shop for emerging Native artists or pointing travelers to the Santa Fe spots where authentic Indigenous culture shines. Beyond exhibiting young designers’ work at 4Kinship, she’s also teaching them the business of direct-to-consumer e-commerce. At the shop, travelers find turquoise-and-silver jewelry from Kewa artist Thomas Coriz and Diné designer Jeff DeMent, Josh Tafoya’s modern textiles, eco-friendly soaps from Miranda Mullett’s Kiyani line, and ceramic bud vases by Suni Upshaw, who creates pieces that reflect her Diné and Japanese heritage.
“It’s my duty to offer this space to young Native creatives,” Denet Deal says. “I’m going to be a good auntie and then kick them out of the nest, literally, when they’re ready to fly.” They’re in fine company in Santa Fe, which Denet Deal calls a melting pot for Native talent: “I’ve never met so many badass Native people as I have in Santa Fe.”
One of those people is Stan Natchez, the proprietor of one of Santa Fe’s few Native-owned art galleries. His Warhol-esque paintings, featuring Native American life with a pop art twist, line the walls of his Stanley Natchez Gallery near Santa Fe’s historic plaza. A must-visit space on the plaza, according to Denet Deal, is FaraHNHeight Fine Art, a gallery that promotes young Indigenous artists, such as Nizhonniya Austin and George “Ofuskie” Alexander, who are pushing the boundaries of Native art with their contemporary paintings. Alexander, a member of the Muscogee Creek Tribe, keeps a studio around the corner from FaraHNHeight, where, by appointment, visitors can watch him work on one of his otherworldly, astronaut-meets-Native pieces. Another spot Denet Deal loves is the museum of Austin and Alexander’s alma mater: the Institute of American Indian Arts’ Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
Denet Deal’s Santa Fe recommendations extend beyond the arts. When she’s not creating her “artwear” (right now she’s prepping for 4Kinship’s first-ever fashion show, in August during the annual Santa Fe Indian Market – the world’s largest Native American art festival), she favors drinking oat milk lattes at Dolina Cafe & Bakery, searching for Western collectibles at Santa Fe Vintage, or watching the sunset with friends at the patio bar at Bishop’s Lodge resort, which overlooks the land of the Te Tsu Geh Oweenge Tribe (also known as the Pueblo of Tesuque). It’s these sacred Southwest surroundings that inspired Denet Deal to settle down here.
“There are just so many things happening in Santa Fe, and being so close to the Diné reservation, I feel like I’m in the heart of community,” she says. “It feels like my forever home.
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