Hello and welcome to BTACC!

by Heidi Nagtegaal

Heidi is sitting at the kitchen table, wearing a By Tooth And Claw Clothing heavy flannel shirt. It is blue and red checkered, and has a silkscreened back patch of the Strength card seamed on to the back. Heidi is wearing a hand knit burgundy toque, mustard cotton pants and is smiling warmly at the camera. There is a epic mug of Machu Picchu that they are drinking Earl Grey Tea out of. They are in their kitchen, it is full of patterned things hanging on the walls behind them, the light is low, and it looks like an interesting, creative space to be in.

Hi everyone, this is Heidi speaking. I am the owner / founder / CEO of By Tooth And Claw Clothing and I am so glad you are here. It has been my absolute pleasure to make this project, and without you, it wouldn't be possible. 

BTACC has been around now for 2.5 years, and we are learning new things every day, releasing new products, working with artists, and vending with 16 different small businesses! Wow!

The original intention was simple: to honour the tarot designs. As a tarot reader, I know that the tarot designs are all very intentional, encoded with visual symbols that unlock the archetypes. I see the tarot as a visual description combining astrology, kabbalistic history, numberology, and occult histories, including mystery traditions. 

I believe in staying local, low waste, using local businesses to work with, doing as much work as I can myself, and working with others when it makes sense. When I work with others, I try to work with people who need the job, and we make contracts that honour our different needs. I am happy to say that a non profit organization that wants to expand capitalism past the raging garbage fire that is today is doing a case study on my business practices, and how it centres working with people with disabilities, or experience marginalization in some way. 

You can't tell from the picture, but there is a giant patch of the Strength card on the back of my flannel, and I draw from that symbol daily. Ruled by Leo, the Strength card is about facing your problems with grace and elegance. Compassionate and charismatic, Strength accepts the challenges head on, does not demonize them, and tames them. I aim to do this in my business. 

As a disabled person, I see a lot of people in my community struggle with finding work, or becoming self employed themselves (more flexibility), and the need to expand capitalism outside of the ablist norm that it carries currently. We don't work the same, we don't live the same, we don't have the same timelines, and yet we are a part of the business world. By our presence here, we expand capitalist norms and dissolve ableist attitudes by showing up and modelling how you can business can be done differently.

For example, every contract worker that I engage with has their access needs built into their contract. I have my access needs built into my contract. With the people and businesses I vend with, my access needs are built into our contracts. We communicate in ways that work for us, and as long as everyone feels respected, and we can get the work done in a way that works for us, we are good to go!

I love talking about this stuff as much as I like talking about tarot, and that is why I choose to be honest and open about these matters in my business. It is not recommended that I talk about this in my business - business coaches will always say that I should just focus on my merch! But I know that it is one of the reasons that you all come to shop here, and I want to honor that in my transparent business practices. 

I hope you all are having a lovely day. 

Lots of love,

Heidi

Back to News