by Nancy Gardiner
Northern News Services

NNSL (June 09/97) - A janitorial closet is not everyone's idea of a new business locale.

But Claire Kennedy had a vision. She launched her gift store in a seven-by-15-metre janitorial closet that she cleaned out and painted.

Kennedy didn't know where to find store furniture, so she opted for IKEA. "In case it didn't work out, we'd have some house furniture," she says.

The rent on commercial space in Iqaluit, which is limited, can be discouraging. "Rent is so high, you have to make use of every square inch you have."

Kennedy's store has grown, and moved down the hall to a roomier location, in Iqaluit's Astro Hill mall.

The mall is attached to several buildings including the Frobisher Inn ("the brown building") and movie theatre.

Because Kennedy's husband worked for the government and she was in staff housing, she couldn't advertise a business from her home.

"So I was fortunate to open in the mall."

And Kennedy had help from others in locating suppliers. "Al Woodhouse came to me and said, why don't you go to a gift show? I had very limited information when I started," Kennedy says.

Her mom, Yvonne, Poulin, who lives in Ottawa, assists with buying and flies up for relief work.

"Within three months of opening, we took over a second janitorial closet (where R & V Cleaning Supplies is now located)."

That closet was 30- metres long and seven wide.

"It worked. It was a conversation thing and people got a charge out of it," Kennedy laughs. "All my profits went back into the business."

Her new location, still in the mall, now occupies 56 square metres.

"We're already bursting at the seams," says Kennedy, who hopes to expand again, but remains cautious with the economic conditions as they are.

Kennedy experienced a slump when the post office moved out of the mall and client traffic dropped.

"With government cutbacks, there's been a 50 per cent drop in sales for the occupants," she says.

The number of people in the high rise dropped dramatically, too, says Kennedy.

Her store specializes in Inuit jewelry -- ivory, brass, caribou antler and ebony --colored baleen -- and there's a catalogue available. Candleware, giftware and pewter trinkets are also available, as are sealskin vests, mitts, slippers and hats.

Interim Nunavut Commissioner Jack Anawak has a new vest, she notes.

"Through Inuit jewelry, we're supporting artists who wouldn't have an outlet. A lot of other businesses prefer to sell soapstone carvings because there's more money at it," Kennedy says.

"Inuit jewelry is wearable art. And it's a chance to promote the North as a place to visit."