Bid below on our latest Nike Air Force 1 ’07s, hand-designed by Alaska Native artist Rico Worl!
Designed by Tlingit + Athabascan designer Rico Lanáat’ Worl, the shoes share the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight, a Tlingit tale of the trickster’s role in bringing light to the world.
When we reached out to Trickster Company, which he co-owns with the artist Crystal Worl, Rico responded; a basketball fan, he loved the idea, but acknowledged that he’d never created shoes before. We were hooked by his ideas and inspired by his thoughtful approach to the project, bringing his deep background as a jewelry artist to bear on this new canvas. Featuring his hand-crafted small, genuine silver cabochons to represent the stars, and larger silver and lapis pieces to bring Raven to life, the shoes evoke the magic of the night sky that embraces Raven in flight.
“I call it ‘Raven’s Escape,'” Rico told us when he and his wife (Brittany Gene, another talented artist and a life-long Phoenix Suns fan) met Jenny to deliver the shoes. “It’s part of the Box of Daylight story. During the story, Raven learns about the sun, moon, and the stars being held by this clan leader, and he wants to bring them and share them with the world. So the Raven at the heel is the moment where he’s looking upwards – there’s darkness in the back/at the start of the story – he’s interested in seeing, learning about these stars, and at the top of the shoe, this is the moment he’s diving in and going for the stars, to bring them into the universe.” (For more on Raven and the Box of Daylight, check out Crystal’s adaptation here).
We sent Rico two pairs of AF1s to experiment with; he brought one with him to this summer’s Sante Fe Indian Market in August where they sold to Seattle-based Native American and Filipino fashion designer Tierra Alysia, who wore them down the runway during Fashion Week – a pretty stellar debut. This pair is equally at home on runways or can be worn anywhere you’d like.
These Air Force 1 ’07s were generously donated by Nike (thanks, MB!) and created by Rico Worl in support of our work. For each of the Air Force 1 shoes, Rico painted the white leather, and hand-crafted and hand-sewed the small silver cabochons and large silver and lapis art covering the upper laces.
We’re proud to be part of Rico’s first foray into footwear, and his efforts to increase the visibility and resilience of Indigenous peoples through art “created to be accessible to non-Native or non-Tlingit people as well, so that everyone has any opportunity to celebrate the art, to appreciate the art, without appropriating the art.”
The winning bidder will receive this pair of Womens Air Force 1 ’07 in size 9 kicks to wear or display, along with some other fun tokens of our appreciation – bid high and bid often!
Auction closes Sunday, December 15th at 11:59pm Alaska Standard Time. Scroll down to bid.
HOW TO BID: Our automatic bidding system means you don’t have to keep coming back every time you’re outbid! When you place your bid, simply enter the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for the item (other bidders will not know your maximum bid). Bids will increase on your behalf using the automatic bid increment amount of $25, which is based on the current high bid, bidding only as much as necessary to make sure that you remain the high bidder (up to your maximum amount). If you are outbid, you should receive an automatic email notification; no technology is fool-proof, though, so we recommend checking in again before the auction ends! To keep it fair for everyone, no sniping is allowed – in the event of a bid that appears inconsistent with this policy, bidders will be notified and the auction extended for 10 minutes (one time only) to allow for fair play. Note: some bidders will see a “critical error” message after placing a bid – but things are fine! Please just refresh your screen, and you should see the “success” message appear, indicating a successful bid (we’ll get this figured out shortly!).
By bidding, you agree to make timely payment for the item should you be the winning bidder in our charitable auction. Please note that payment of the winning bid will process immediately upon auction close; your bid signifies your authorization for the Steve Nash Foundation to process the method of payment provided upon registration in the amount of your winning bid.
The Steve Nash Foundation is a 501(c)(3) operating foundation (EIN 31-1753206), and donations to the Foundation are tax deductible, less the value of any goods received – for the purposes of this auction, our good faith estimate of the fair market value of the shoes is $500 USD. The auction is open to residents of all countries whose currencies are accepted by Stripe, our payment processor. All transactions are conducted in U.S. dollars. By placing a bid, bidder acknowledges that these shoes have been painted on, and are listed on this site and in the Steve Nash Foundation and related social posts as in “new condition” meaning that they are unworn, but that they are not unaltered. Each pair of shoes will arrive in a box as supplied to the artist; the Foundation makes no warranty as to the condition of the box on arrival, as shipping damage may occur. “Raven’s Escape” designed and created in Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A. for SNF, where we’re grateful to live and work on Dena’ina lands.
