About THE INDIGO TRIBE
Founded by: Beckee Wheelock
Founded in: 2015
In July of 2015, Indigo Tribe’s founder, Beckee Wheelock, moved from her hometown of Chicago into a studio loft in DTLA. She didn’t know a single person in LA, so she threw herself into making her loft feel like home. She started making all her own art and textiles for her place and ordered an indigo dye kit online to try and bring that California/beachy vibe to her cement-walled studio. She fell in complete love and found the process meditative and relaxing. After awhile, she ran out of things to dye for her own house, so one night, on a whim, she opened an Etsy store and gave it the name The Indigo Tribe. Indigo is the color of the 3rd Eye/Ajna Chakra, and she loved the double meaning of her shop. She figured she would sell a few things to friends and family and maybe recoup the money she was spending buying things to dye, and the brand has expanded ever since.
Everything Beckee makes is in some way an extension of who she is as a person. The products came about organically because she was making things for her own home. Astrologically, she is a Cancer Sun and Moon, and home and comfort are super important things to a Cancer. She is no exception. She loves cozy pillows, has a drawer full of her handmade meditation and sleep masks, and loves to curl up in a cozy blanket.
Fairly soon after she started The Indigo Tribe, Beckee started an Instagram dedicated to her new business, and some local LA-makers reached out to her to collaborate. That’s the amazing thing about LA to Beckee, there are so many creative people in one place that’s it makes it easy to immerse yourself in that world and be completely inspired. The atmosphere in LA is filled with people who are here pursuing their dreams and that willingness to take a risk made it easier for her to make the leap. Beckee loves the LA Original program because it gives a face and a voice to the artists that have made LA their home and choose to live and work in this amazing city. “There are so many moments of doubt that you have as an artist, so getting to have a light shine on you from a program like this makes it feel like anything is possible,” says Beckee.