NEST x YELLOW ROSE BY KENDRA SCOTT
Heritage Craft Prize
About the Prize
Launched in 2023, Nest’s Heritage Craft Prize is a unique award that recognizes time-honed craft skills and heritage techniques, and celebrates the value of creative expression. The Prize is distinct in its recognition of skill and technique, as well as the connection artists have to their process and craft. Intended to provide finalists with financial resources to advance their craft pursuits and/or craft-based business, the winner and finalists receive generous cash prizes.
Meet the 2025 Heritage Craft Prize Finalists
Take a moment to learn more about the wildly talented finalists that were celebrated during the 2025 Heritage Craft Prize Celebration in Austin, Texas on September 18, 2025.
2025 Winners
The 2025 Heritage Craft Prize celebrated artists and craftspeople who are blazing their own trail by reimagining heritage craft techniques through the use of innovative motifs and materials.
Makers, artists, and craftspeople based in Texas were encouraged to enter a submission that demonstrated their technical mastery, as well as a thoughtful connection to cultural tradition through a singular, one-of-a-kind handcrafted piece.
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Lakea Shepard is a textile and mixed-media sculptor from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Now residing in Houston, Texas, her work blends beading, millinery, and basketry—techniques rooted in her upbringing by a mechanic and textile worker. Represented by Kishka Gallery, her work is exhibited in galleries and museums nationwide.
On her craft, Lakea stated, “The majority of my sculptures are wearable on or around the head; therefore, I refer to them as ‘head sculptures’ or ‘wearable sculptures.’ I incorporate heavy usage of mixed media to carry my concepts, develop textures, and evoke senses. My work is comparable to ‘Where’s Waldo,’ because the longer you stare at my sculptures, the more you’ll discover. ‘Where fine art meets craft’ is my sole mission as an artist.”
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Thomas Gutierrez, known as STNLOW (pronounced sittin-low), is a cut paper artist based in Austin, Texas. His work blends the techniques and symbolism of traditional Mexican Papel Picado and Aztec paper cutting, known as amatl, with the bold, graphic style of modern stencil street art. Raised in multicultural Houston with family roots in South Texas and Mexico, his work is rooted in heritage, bridging traditional techniques with modern expression.
On his craft, Thomas said, “What started as a home for my original hand-cut paper art has grown into a space where urban street art, storytelling, and streetwear collide. I craft and sell one-of-a-kind paper pieces, limited drops of apparel, and gear that carry the spirit of lowrider culture, street hustle, and cultural pride.”
2024 Winners
The 2024 Heritage Craft Prize honored the creativity and traditions of Women of the West.
Women and non-binary makers, artists, and craftspeople from western American states were encouraged to enter a submission that demonstrated their technical mastery, as well as a thoughtful connection to their cultural tradition through a singular, one-of-a-kind handcrafted piece.
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Morgan Buckert builds custom cowboy boots with bespoke patterns, traditional construction techniques, and vintage machinery in Hailey, Idaho. She is the 7th generation of a Texan ranch family, and the influence of cowboy culture is evident in all her work. In her uniquely American craft, Morgan has studied with boot makers across the country to continue the tradition of her work, building boots representative of cowboys from the Coastal Bend of Texas to the mountain ranges of the American West. Built for discerning clients expecting fit, function, and artistic expression, Morgan Buckert Custom Boots provides a completely bespoke process that values tradition, knowledge, creativity, and community, ensuring the future of her craft thrives.
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Shauna is the founder and owner of White Bear Moccasins, which distinguishes itself as an Indigenous-owned company, with each pair meticulously hand-stitched by Indigenous college students representing various Montana tribes. The White Bear team comprises individual artists, with a commitment to passing down leatherworking skills to future generations and sourcing materials locally whenever feasible. Shauna's innovative artistic vision shines through in her use of diverse materials like wool, elk ivories, brass spots, seed beads, antler toggles, and animal pelts.
2023 Winner
In its inaugural year, the Heritage Craft Prize recognized excellence in craft among Texas-based artists, artisans, and makers. The award was thoughtfully designed to honor the rich tradition and cultural value of handcraft and the role it plays in telling our personal and communal stories.
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Guadalupe Hernandez is a Texas-based multidisciplinary artist who earned his MFA from Houston Baptist University in 2021. Hernandez was born in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, before relocating to Pleasanton, TX, a small city south of San Antonio, in 1998. Despite the move to the United States, Hernandez maintained a deep connection to his Mexican heritage and customs through time-honored familial traditions.
Hernandez’s practice examines themes of family, labor, and cultural practices through a series of paintings and works of cut paper inspired by Papel Picado.
Hernandez's works are in the permanent collections of the City of San Antonio Public Collection, San Antonio, TX; Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; and the Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ.
The 2025 Heritage Craft Prize is generously sponsored by
Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott is a heartfelt tribute to the beauty of Texas, drawing inspiration from the timeless elegance of golden roses. Born out of love for Kendra’s Texas family ranch and the connection, tranquility, and adventure it brings, the newest extension of the Kendra Scott brand effortlessly blends vintage-inspired jewelry and accessories. Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott is proud to invest in the next generation of creators and partner with Nest to empower the talented makers and artists of the American West.