Cynthia Gutierrez-Krapp

Cynthia Gutierrez-Krapp is of Navajo/Diné, Mescalero Apache, and Yaqui descent from the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. She studied fiber arts and fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and studied traditional beading at the American Indian Community House under Lakowi Ne Oakes in NYC. She returned home to El Paso, TX, in 2018 and began the fiber arts project called Pins & Needles where she teaches bead weaving, weaving, embroidery, and knitting. As an Indigenous textile artist, Cynthia creates beaded and textile artwork as a way of expressing generational trauma and reconnecting to her indigenous roots. She began Aghaa Hat Co in 2019 and currently makes and sells her hats at her studio/shop. Here, Cynthia is able to combine her talents for beading, textile arts, embroidery, and hat making.