From St. Louis to New Orleans, then back to St. Louis: meet entrepreneur and artist Ken ‘Ras Tree’ Beauchum, who has been creating and producing art for over two decades.
Working as a reggae performer in New Orleans, he made additional money selling assorted wholesale items at his shows. Not feeling connected to what he was selling, he decided to go a different route.
He traveled back home to St. Louis and met up with his mentor since the early 90’s, Baba Ken Amen. He worked under him, learning about the art of wrapping rings, bracelets and earrings with stones and wire. After two weeks, he headed back to New Orleans with his new mindset and tools.
In his first pop-up event after he returned, he made $300 in two hours.
“That was very encouraging, to say the least, and totally thrilling,” Ras Tree said. “The energy that the metals and the stones brought –– people were buzzing like a beehive around my table.”
Along with setting up shop at his reggae shows and other conventions in New Orleans, he also started to travel, going to festivals and pop-ups in New York, Atlanta, Denver and Los Angeles.
Though family was a big pull back to St. Louis, he also aspired to be one of the artists helping to build up the city.
“At that time [in New Orleans], I was a grassroots type of person. I’m an entrepreneur, so I had to be out there with my feet to the streets,” Ras Tree said. “If I was going to help build an area up, I wanted to help build up where I’m from, and that’s Missouri. I always wanted to return to the city I was born in and put roots into, and it just all worked out so I can be here in St. Louis.”
Ras Tree refers to himself as a “wrapper” –– he twists, wraps, and bends metal around stones to form jewelry. He utilizes the traditional wrapping style typically seen in this field, but with his own flare.
“Historically, you see more wire with smaller stones, but my emphasis was a little bit different than that –– my style is more stone and less wire. I want to give the stones a chance to shine through the work,” said Ras Tree.
He takes what he calls a “freestyling” approach to his work, where he lets the pieces dictate what they will be. As for the designs as a whole, Ras Tree has certain archetypes in his mind that come out in the finished pieces. An example of this can be seen in his Goddess Gear collection.
“I take an archetype and picture what it would look like with my style of jewelry, using ancient symbols and indigenous types of totems,” Ras Tree said. “I think about how the piece would look on a goddess archetype in an ancient time and put that energy into the waves and flow of the jewelry –– the shapes, the metals and the colors.”
Ras Tree’s jewelry business is called Aboriginal Bling Blam. The name comes in part from his mentor Baba Ken Amen’s old store called Aboriginals, where he originally learned this practice.
“He named his business Aboriginals to be respectful to all the nations and all the people who’ve been here before, and he wanted to work with that lore,” Ras Tree said. “The first piece of jewelry I made was a bracelet, and when I put it on and went outside, I said, ‘What –– aboriginal bling blam!’ It just came out of me, because that is what it felt like –– this dynamite piece of energy on my arm. It has been called that ever since.”
In his time in the industry, Ras Tree has worn many hats. From DJing and performing to jewelry creation for Aboriginal Bling Blam and event planning, it is safe to say he stays busy.
Along with his artistic endeavors, Ras Tree is also a passionate and outspoken advocate for sustainable practices in business for small artists. After years in the industry, he has ample notes highlighting best practices for artists selling their work.
He is working on a book called “Unsung Sponsors,” which will highlight the present-day landscape for artists wanting to sell their work, especially at festivals and pop-up events.
“I have seen tons of young artists come out with beautiful art, ready to tackle the world and to do what I have done –– to sustain their art practice through the years,” said Ras Tree. “But the marketplace can be crowded, and a lot of the time they are paying their booth fees and just giving out business cards, not making anything in return.”
Though the book is still in progress, Ras Tree mentions one huge takeaway, which he refers to as the 80/10 rule.
“The 80/10 rule gives both the organizers and vendors a chance to measure post-show numbers. The rule is that 80% of vendors should do 10 times the vending fee,” Ras Tree said. “It gives the artists who are doing this full-time a chance to hit the numbers they need.”
You can support Ras Tree by checking out and purchasing some of his jewelry from Aboriginal Bling Blam (this article is perfectly time for holiday gifts, you’re welcome)!
Though his festival tour is coming to an end, you can join him for one of his DJing sets and keep a look out for his book release on Instagram and Facebook.
