Sandra Dulcie Rideout (nee Best) is a 57-year-old Inuk woman born and raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador to Robert and Vera Best.

Sandra is married and has 3 daughters, 1 step daughter, 2 grandsons and 3 granddaughters.

Upon completing a two-year Secretarial Science Program at CONA in 1991 she gained employment with the Department of National Defence and is now retired after 30 years of service.

Sandra is a true believer in her culture and exercises her traditional way of life by fishing, hunting and most notably, her love for the art of sewing.

Sandra has been sewing for years. Her mom, Vera Best and grandmother Dulcie Montague and Aunt Jane Gear were her biggest influences to the sewing world, along with her life time friend Doris Patey.  Sandra grew up seeing her mother and grandmother constantly making duffle coats, moosehide and duffle slippers, mukluks and moosehide mitts, canvass coats and knitting a wide variety of items.

Sandra started sewing at about the age of 10; she started off hand sewing little things like throw pillows with people’s names on them.

When her own children were small, she started knitting and crocheting then as her children grew so did Sandra’s interest in the traditional crafts.  She got interested in slipper making and from there, traditional native mukluks, gauntlets, cuffs and leather/fur hats.  Sandra has developed and uses her own pattern when making her mukluks and leather hats, plus her own designs of coats/parkas.

Sandra was chosen to attend the Northern Lights 2012,2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2023 Business and Cultural Showcase in Ottawa, to show her crafts to more than 3000 people. In 2013, she was selected to attend the Northern Exposure in St. John’s, NL. She was also selected to teach a workshop in Cambridge Bay, NU for the Northern Passage cruise ship visit. In 2022, Sandra also attended the workshop/teach in Whitehorse at the Adaka Cultural Festival. Finally, she was invited to a week-long trip to the Torngats National Park to teach guests and employees about traditional craft products.

Though Sandra leads a very busy home life, she still finds the time to do the sewing she loves and carry on the tradition taught to her by her mother and grandmother.