* Fourth in a series
According to Luke Swimmer’s mother, he became an artist at the age of two, when he first picked up pencils and began to draw.
“My whole family is artistic,” said Swimmer. “My grandma was known for her pottery and my other grandmother painted. All of my brothers, really our whole family is creative.”
A citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Swimmer is from Cherokee. He and his family currently live in Lawrence, Ks., where they run Buffalotown Clothing Company.
“Being an artist is a way of carrying on a legacy,” Swimmer said. “It’s a good way to express yourself and tell a little story about where you’re from.”
Swimmer – who holds an master’s in business administration – took a few semesters of graphic design classes here and there and “dabbled in art at the University of Kansas,” but he is mostly self-taught. He works in pencil and ink – including tattoo ink – but these days, most of his creativity focuses on graphic design.
In the summer of 2017, Swimmer and his wife Tabytha founded the “small, independent, alternative” clothing company featuring Swimmer’s original designs.
The company’s name pays homage to the old Cherokee township, the site of which now lies under Lake Santeetlah.
“We chose the name as a way to honor our Cherokee heritage and the community that we are a part of,” said Swimmer.
Buffalo Town eventually combined with Ottertown to form the Snowbird Community, where Tabytha grew up and where the family plans to return.
Like the company’s name, Buffalotown’s products reflect “a modernization of our culture and traditions.” The brand’s highly recognizable logo is Swimmer’s own version of Sequoyah, creator of the Cherokee syllabary. Some of the company’s popular designs include Rock Your Mocs and the Water Panther.
While running the business, Swimmer makes sure to “continue to learn. Art is not like riding a bike. You can lose it really easily.”
Swimmer’s work was recently featured at the Western Carolina University’s Native American Heritage Art Exhibit.
“You just have to pick up that pencil and draw,” Swimmer concluded.
For more information, visit thebuffalotown.com