Carmen Miller Designs

Alberta based artisan, Carmen Miller, has been practicing different art mediums for most of her life. She was born in Edmonton, grew up in a military family and moved from coast to coast in Canada. Upon her father’s retirement from the army, the family settled in Hinton. Carmen taught herself how to make simple beaded items at the age of eight and has been beading ever since. She has had some wonderful friends and teachers that have shared their knowledge of tanning hides, making birch bark baskets, tufting, and quillwork.

She learned the art of moose hair and caribou hair tufting 28 years ago and she loves it! Her tuftings are usually on wearable items such as moccasins, mittens, and jewelry and are combined with beadwork. Carmen is also widely known for her mini tufted jewelry. Carmen didn’t grow up surrounded by her Metis roots and culture but it has become an important part of her adult life. Practicing and teaching her ancestor’s art forms is very gratifying. The Metis people have a unique culture and are known as ‘the flower beadwork people’, and Carmen strives to carry on that part of her heritage, using flower designs, and natural materials such as home tanned moose and deer hides, porcupine quills, and birch bark.