Michelle Mckim

I’ve spent 57 years flipping everything from beads to houses. If you ever need advice on beads, I’ve been told I’m a “know‑it‑all”… and honestly, they’re not wrong—LOL. But truly, if I share information with you, I won’t bid on the same item unless no one else is bidding. And even then, I’ll go up to a fair price. That’s just basic respect. My specialties include Venetian beads, Bohemian beads which became the Czech Republic and now Czechoslovakia, beads from India those of the African continent. Trade beads from crossroads across around the world—Silk Road, Palm Oil routes, the trails of Lewis and Clark. I have beads that are hand‑drilled antler and stone, buffalo horn and bone beads from the Mississippi River to exploration and trade around America. My collection still has things made by Native Americans whose trade networks stretch back over 40,000 years of life on this continent. One of my lifelong fascinations is understanding what beads were traded for. Some were exchanged for slaves, usually captured people from wars. Others for binding tribes together. Many beads were traded for food, spices, rare earth substances, oils, wine, silk and hides. Long before modern currency, beads were money—our first global language of value. I also collect trade goods made from scrap metal by Native Americans after waves of newcomers arrived from overseas. My favorite piece is a turkey leg bone whistle, a valuable communication device. The beat of drums were used worldwide for communication. The turkey whistle is just one other way to speak to others near enough to hear and send further with their own whistles, and drums. I’ve created replica pieces for museum displays for the Hudson and Allen Group, and those works are now in collections across the country. I’ve tanned hides, lived a hunter‑gatherer lifestyle in my younger years, and raised my daughter while traveling across America and Canada. Today, I still make things for a tiny booth in a tiny town full of non‑corporate shops. I support small business, American-made goods, and every “re-” you can think of: reuse, refuse, reimagine, rescue, recreate. The planet is struggling, and it’s on us to change how we live. If you want a glimpse of what Earth could look like in 100 years, look at the cradle of civilization. Mesopotamia—once lush and fertile—is now largely desert, valued mostly for oil. Humanity’s explosion in numbers demands a new way of living if we want the planet to survive. Speak up about the changes you’re making. Inspire others. That’s how movements start. I own a single strand of beads worth around $10,000. But, I had to sell most of my collection after a family tragedy, but that’s life—we rise above the fray. My journey started when I was twelve. I promised the Earth I would never litter and that I’d clean up after those who do. I chose to have only one child. After losing five babies, my daughter was born, and I passed everything I knew to her. It took her forty years to awaken from the grind of modern life, but she’s thriving now. She’s a flipper too—award‑winning, even—and she reuses every box and scrap of packing material she can. She contributes almost nothing to the landfill, and I couldn’t be prouder. I know I talk too much, but I hope we get the chance to meet, laugh, learn, and enjoy the hunt for treasures together. And fair warning: if the room is full of people I like, I make a lot of jokes.