When my lifelong friend Helen Tindel has asked me to write a blog series about her company Pueblo Beach, I had to consider a while before I knew what to say. What exactly I could add to this brand? Helen has already created such an elegant and simple concept: Microfiber beach towels, printed with the ‘deep cut’ paintings by her great grandmother—renowned Santa Clara Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde.
Fair warning, reader: I’ve concluded I can’t add anything to this brand. These towels, in so many ways, speak for themselves. You should get them, but you don’t need me to tell you that.
My job here therefore is not to promote. Rather, I am here for appreciation. This is art, after all, not just product; thus, we are an audience, not just consumers. We have a responsibility to magnify this work, by sharing our stories.
Over the course of the next nine entries, I am going to share with you how these towels speak to me. I will not be the first to share perspectives about Pablita Velarde and her legacy, so I will be sure to incorporate those elder voices as I go along. And I hope you feel free to join the conversation also, through the comments below and direct contact with us!
By focusing this blog on a modest contribution to—we will find—a rather prodigious conversation, I may be sacrificing some level of ‘brand awareness’ in the strict sense of the word. I hope Helen is alright with that, in light of what I hope to accomplish in lieu of brand—that is, a culture.
Biography:
Devon Hoffman is a multimedia artist living in Velarde. His company, The Eyes of Time, creates art experiences to inspire community learning in the magic of New Mexico.