Sask. fashion designer creates unique gift for Jason Momoa

Tournier’s friends Clint and Colleen with Jason Momoa wearing his beaded medallion. (Christine Tournier)

A St. Louis, Sask. fashion designer got a rare chance to gift her work to Hollywood star Jason Momoa.

Some friends of Christine Tournier responded to a casting call in Toronto for vision-impaired actors to appear in a TV series featuring Momoa.

“The [Canadian National Institute for the Blind] put out a tweet that the production Jason Momoa was in was shooting in Toronto,” said Tournier, who owns S.S. River Designs in St. Louis.

“They put out a call for Canadian actors that were blind or partially blind. My friend thought her husband would be perfect, so he auditioned and was selected.”

When they landed a role in the series, they asked Tournier to create a piece that they would give to Momoa during filming.

“They wanted to gift him with something that was meaningful and very special, so they asked me to do a beadwork piece,” she said.

“We worked together, they had some ideas of the imagery they wanted on the beadwork because it had meaning to them.”

Using design suggestions from her friends, Tournier incorporated an eagle, a feather, a teepee, a Hawaiian flower and a rainbow.

“Although you can’t see, underneath it’s on moose hide,” Tournier told CTV News.

“The main part of the medallion is a turtle, which of course is significant in Indigenous culture, and Hawaiian as well. So they all had significance to them and to Jason, and of course, based on the land. So much of our Indigenous teachings is all around the land.”

Tournier admits she was nervous about the project, as she’s a big Jason Momoa fan herself.

“I was really, really happy about it, but I was nervous about doing it because those elements I don’t typically bead,” she said. “So I was excited, but I wanted to do a really good job.”

After filming was finished, the actors had a chance to give the gift to Momoa, as well as the note from Tournier.

“They were able to go and met with him at his trailer, and it was gifted to him,” Tournier said.

“I had done a write-up about it because you go through the process and explain its construction. He opened it with them there, and he read the write-up out loud and offered to take some pictures. So from the sounds of it, he was really so gracious about it.”

Tournier says the extra attention resulting from the gift is gaining lots of exposure on her social media pages.

“It’s generating a lot of interest and so many positive comments and congratulations,” she said. “Now I can watch it and see my friends on the episodes. But it’s generated a lot of interest in my brand on social media, so I appreciate that for sure.”

While she’s still thrilled with the experience, Tournier says she’s already looking ahead to another big opportunity. She’s going to participate in an Indigenous Fashion event in France this spring.

Tournier says she’s just lucky to have been included in her friends’ amazing journey.