Samantha Andreola shares the vision behind Shining Bear Designs

By John Wirth, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

​On May 2nd, a beautiful and warm sunny day in the neighborhood of Cloverdale in South Surrey, BC, Samantha Andreola participated as a keynote vendor and fashion show designer at the Cedar, Sage and Sweetgrass event, which took place at the municipal Museum of Surrey. Sitting down later for a follow-up interview in the quiet setting of her home studio in Mission, BC, the experienced Anishinaabe designer and owner behind Shining Bear Designs shared the deeper journey behind her brand.

She lovingly crafts upcycled garments and gives them individual personality, saving them from being abandoned and discarded. She illustrates that, “while some [pieces] are brand new, most of them are reclaimed, so they don’t arrive perfect. While I do have new pieces, I think it’s really important to slow down fast fashion, to recycle materials and make them into something different.”

​Samantha brings a professional background in graphic design and photojournalism to her work, a passion for visual media that she shared with her children as they grew. Her son is a painter whose art has been featured prominently in Science World Vancouver, and her daughter is an aspiring tattoo and digital artist.

​Notably, her daughter is achieving great things, currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology while preparing to graduate this August from the prestigious Blanche Macdonald Centre for hair design.

For Samantha, there is a beautiful full-circle significance to this milestone; the school’s founder, Blanche Brillon Macdonald, was herself a trailblazing Albertan Métis businesswoman, model, and fierce advocate for Indigenous rights.

Samantha smiles warmly when speaking about her children’s achievements and her family’s natural inclination toward the arts, noting, “My whole family is very artistic. The art does run in our veins!”

​The Inspiration and Legacy

​The inspiration behind her brand started with a creative leap. Samantha says that “when I first started my business, I didn’t even intend to do business. I did a bleached-out bear, just like that,” she says, pointing at the design displayed at the highest point of her stall. “It was on black, and it had the black speckles on it. I sat on that, probably for about six months.”

​The name of her business carries deep personal meaning. “Shining Bear Designs wasn’t just a name I plucked out,” she shares. “It’s actually after my brother, who passed away in 2008, and his native name was Shining Bear.”

​Wearable Teachings

​Samantha is dedicated to producing quality clothing with unique and meaningful Indigenous designs that literally embody what she describes as “wearable teachings.”

​“I remembered my auntie teaching me the seven sacred teachings, and that’s a platform of my business,” Samantha recalls. “The bear coincides with courage, and that was the first piece I ever did.”

​She notes that the journey has been about connection rather than commerce.

“I’ve been working on my business for about three and a half years now. I’m not in this to get rich. If I make some money and make a living with it, that’s amazing. But I just really love the fact that people like my art. It’s very humbling. I just decided to put it on clothes, wearable art, fashion statements. Each piece talks to people. When I make them, I make them with intention, because I know that there’s going to be somebody out there that this means a lot to.”

Recently, Samantha has been expanding into running workshops with local schools, sharing the meaning behind her designs with youth. She details how she is making the curriculum interactive and personal this year: “We introduce t-shirts that mean something to them. The kids will go through a whole lesson about the teachings, and then they’ll look at the teaching that they feel is best suited to them, or a teaching that they would like to work harder on.”

For Andreola, these garments carry messages that are deeply personal, addressing not just cultural legacy, but real-world survival. Pointing to a design featuring a striking silhouette and a subtle symbol, she explains the profound personal weight behind its creation:

​”This piece is called ‘Still Standing.’ It features a semicolon; I actually have it tattooed on my neck, which my daughter did. I don’t hide it anymore, but I used to struggle a lot with mental health, and so does my family. ‘Still Standing’ came from that. I was just walking down the road one day and thought, ‘I’m still here, and I’m still standing.’ And so are Indigenous people, after everything they’ve been through. So I drew a picture of the people standing there strong, with the semicolon right at the end of it.”

​Cedar, Sage and Sweetgrass Fashion Show

​The culmination of her hard work at the marketplace was seeing her art move from the clothing racks to the runway. Her creations were featured prominently during the event’s marketplace fashion show, a milestone that brought a mix of nerves and high energy.

​”Usually I take a long time to set up because I’m a social butterfly,” Samantha laughs. “But today I was quicker! I was focused because I have some pieces in the fashion show, so I’m quite excited about that.”

​Among her runway contributions was a beautiful bespoke, beaver-fur-trimmed set of overalls that stole the show. The crowd’s enthusiastic response underscored the appeal of her hands-on, deeply individualized approach to fashion; a stark contrast to the standard, cookie-cutter apparel found in commercial retail.

​The Creative Process

​When asked if there are any pieces that she was sad to see go, she admits that parting with her work is never easy. ”I’m actually always really sad that my one-of-a-kinds go. My other regular pieces; there’s a standard design, but they always come out very different because of the way I make them. I don’t mass-produce anything, so everything is locally sourced. And then I just design them myself in my home studio. So any of my upcycled pieces, I have to say, I put a lot of heart into. Some of them take me weeks, some of them take me months, because I don’t know how they’re going to end up.”

Rather than relying on rigid templates, her workflow remains deeply organic. “A lot of people sketch, but I just sit with the material for a bit and see what I want to do with it,” Samantha says. “People told me they like my upcycled pieces, so I just make those and listen to feedback. I do it full-time, so that’s all I do whenever inspiration strikes.”

Looking to the Horizon

Andreola has no plans to slow down her highly personal creative process. She is currently setting her sights on a major milestone, channeling her unique vision toward a broader audience. “I really want to apply for Fashion Week this year with my teachings, so I’m slowly working on pieces for that,” she reveals.

At the same time, her educational youth initiatives are slated to evolve into deeper, hands-on experiences. While students are choosing meaningful designs this term, she hopes to transition the program into immersive, collaborative school art sessions by next year.

By blending mentorship, personal heritage, and sustainable design, Andreola continues to ensure that the legacy of her art remains an active, community-wide conversation.

You can view Samantha’s regular line of custom apparel, discover one-of-a-kind upcycled creations, and explore the stories behind the garments by visiting the official storefront online at Shining Bear Designs (hosted locally via Shop First Nations). Follow her journey, catch her upcoming marketplace appearances, and view her latest collection updates on social media through [Instagram] and [Facebook].