Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Mar 11/02) - Monica Ell panted breathlessly into the telephone receiver. The loud din from her busy store could be heard behind her. She was having a clear-out sale. She didn't have time to talk.

"I'm just overwhelmed with all the support I'm getting from customers," said the owner of Iqaluit business Arctic Creations.

She sold to more customers in one day than she had ever sold to in a whole month.

The clear-out sale of the six-year-old business started last week.

"I didn't expect to have 165 customers yesterday."

After missed rent payments she and her landlord, the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, are trying to work out a solution. Arctic Creations specializes in fashionable seal skin clothing and accessories as well as custom sewing and repairs. The large shop is made up of a retail sales floor and a bright sewing room.

"I guess I just expanded too fast and we're scaling down," she said. "This gives me an opportunity to rethink what I really want to do with the business," Ell said, adding she will definitely keep the sewing centre operating.

Ell built her business on the magic made with needle and thread.

When she was 11 she received her first sewing machine from an aunt, and that's when she started at her craft.

The store started small and successfully in a different part of the city but a year ago she decided to make the jump to a bigger shop with bigger costs. But she couldn't keep up. She was too busy with a store full of customers to talk about what she is going to do next but her fans will probably be able to find her wearable art.

"Maybe a Web site might be the best answer on a smaller scale," she said. "I don't know. This isn't really a time to say exactly what I am going to be doing. We'll have to sit back after next week and maybe it's time for a short break."