Snowfly

 

I have always loved fur and all natural fabrics. I grew up wearing fur in Yellowknife where I was born and in the Arctic where I lived. In fall 2025, I traveled to Greenland for a month and stayed with Greenlandic friends in Nuuk and Qaqortoq. They love Dene culture and arts and were intrigued to learn that Dene people love seal products. Their interest in my culture inspires me to create more Dene inspired fashion designs and art using all natural fabrics from our land. I have shown my fashion at 6 fashion shows over 4 years. I am currently designing a fashion line for winter 2026 which will evoke and honor the earth.

 

When I was little, my Dene mother told me to make a dress for my doll. She gave me scissors and fabric and she told me to do it. I had to figure it out by myself. That thinking and problem solving model is my pattern for designing, sewing and creating. I am not a trained seamstress. Now when I need to create an outfit, I have a  seamstress friend who advises me as needed after which I engage in constant learning as I create.

 

I began making jewelry like cuff bracelets and earrings, guitar straps, belts, purses, and small pieces of furniture using sealskin, fish leather, bison leather and all manner of fur. I gradually transitioned to create fashion wear and art inspired by our Indigenous relatives who used natural earth fabrics in their need to survive.

 

When I make something I want it to embody our evolving culture and let fashion and art using natural fabrics speak to the world about nature’s wear. I have created a stunning birch bark dress, a rabbit warren fur long dress, several sealskin outfits and more beautiful garments and art pieces. CBC and many other media have interviewed my and shared my work. My current goal is to showcase it myself – both fashion and art together – at places that allow people to reflect on the refuge that nature is for all.