Cathleen Booth is the daughter of Hopi in Arizona and Santa Ana in New Mexico Nations. She is a veteran and an Indigenous activist turned entrepreneur. Cathy’s journey started with family. Her mother passed down her sewing knowledge and skills, and then Cathy continued with her daughters, making them traditional wear clothing for their pueblos ceremonies. Then, eight years ago, Cathy had a request from a family member to make them a dress for the ceremony. After the spread of the designer’s talents and quality creations, she launched her own business, FoxFire Designs, which was growing with international requests from Indigenous populations from Canada and Mexico, along with her growing popularity in the United States.
FoxFire Designs was built from a demand for quality traditional wear to fit any size. Since its conception, it has become a one-of-a-kind production of designs built to empower and represent the Native American/Indigenous culture and people. The designs are individually planned for each customer to include cultural traditions, historical themes, and self-expression through tribal and National connections. FoxFire Designs has incorporated modern themes into various collections to support the representation of modern-day Indigenous life and presence.
Cathleen stays true to her origin story with her family, including those in the business. Cathy’s youngest daughter is the face of FoxFire Designs and media management. Her upcoming
collection is inspired by the Arizona/New Mexico desert, where Cathy was raised and where she raised her family in Hopi and Santa Ana Pueblo. Desert Bloom is designed to emphasize nature in the desert, with colors representative of sand, plants, and sky. Here’s what Cathleen has to say about her new collection: Desert Bloom.
“Desert Bloom is an homage to the Southwest desert of Arizona and New Mexico. Where My people of the Nations Hopi and Santa Ana Pueblo reside. The richer colors reflect the night skies to the red clay of the earth. While the pastels mirror the pinks, blues, oranges, and purple hues of the sunrises dancing on the horizon. As well as the delicate pops of color offered by the blooms from wild desert florals. While the sunset is honored by the vibrant golds painting the palette of my designs.” – Cathleen Booth
Here are some of our favorite pieces from the new collection.
You can see more from Cathleen Booth and FoxFire Designs on her Instagram and Facebook.
