'Dream come true' for First Nations artist as Winnipeg fabric store commissions Indigenous designs
CBC
Colourful fabric patterns that weave culture with creativity are hitting the shelves of a Winnipeg store.
Marshall Fabrics is commissioning Indigenous artists to create designs to be carried in its stores. A new pattern by a different artist will be released every six months in limited edition rollouts.
"It feels like a dream come true," said Manitoba-born artist Carrie Okemaw, the first artist to have her creation printed on the 500-metre-long bolts of cotton.
"I need to see it to believe it, 'cause I'm still in a state of shock," said the self-taught designer, who has ties to both Manto Sipi Cree Nation and the Ojibway community of Berens River First Nation in eastern Manitoba.
The Winnipeg-based fabric store rolled out the new line of material on Wednesday. The manager of its King Edward Street store, Beth Syrnyk, says she's already received orders from customers in B.C., Nova Scotia and the United States.
"Everybody really likes it. It's bright and it's colourful and it's happy, and it's got the strawberries on it, which is very important in the Indigenous culture," she said.
The shop had been looking for an Indigenous artist to team up with for years, said Syrnyk.
"We do sell a lot of Indigenous prints in our store, but a lot of the companies that are making Indigenous prints are not using Indigenous artists," she said.
"I thought it was important that they started having representation in the fabrics we are selling."
Meanwhile, Okemaw said she had been trying to find a company that could print her designs.
"We were kind of looking for each other at the same time," said Okemaw, who now lives in Edmonton.
The 39-year-old has been beading and sewing powwow regalia for over 20 years, but could never quite find what she was looking for in stores.
"I saw very few fabrics that were part of who I was," said Okemaw, who admits she's picky about the fabrics she chooses for her regalia.
"The colours, the shapes, even down to how big the flowers were — so one day I just thought about making my own fabric."
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