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Walking on clouds

Dene Fur Clouds makes a splash on runway in France

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Feb 28/03) - Nellie Norwegian was overcome by emotion as she watched Dene Fur Clouds' knitted furs being paraded down the runway in Paris.

NNSL Photo

This model exhibits products from Dene Fur Clouds' ek'o line of fur accessories. In Slavey, ek'o means "Watch out!" - photo courtesy of Paul TooGood


"It made me cry. I was so overwhelmed," she said of the pride and joy she felt while attending the Pret a Porter fashion show in late January.

"To be aboriginal and see your product on the runway, it was quite something."

Norwegian, who oversees product development for Dene Fur Clouds, was one of the original employees when the company got off the ground several years ago.

"It was creme-de-la-creme ... it was totally awesome," she said of her experience in Paris.

The past few months have been hectic but highly advantageous for Dene Fur Clouds, a Fort Providence-based business that designs and produces fur accessories. In November, the company was accepted as a member of Furworks Canada, which promotes the furs of its 11 member businesses. Consequently, Dene Fur Clouds was invited to participate in the Pret a Porter show, a prestigious international venue. Yet there was only five weeks to prepare five new outfits.

Judy Magrum, Dene Fur Clouds' general manager, said everyone worked day and night to meet the goal. It paid off, too -- buyers from Japan, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Germany expressed interest in the product.

"Seeing our knitted fur in the trade show made me realize that we have a wonderful product, worthy of the international market and equally as innovative as any of our competition," Magrum stated.

She said the company, which is a subsidiary of the Northwest Territories Development Corporation, is planning to expand its line beyond fur accessories. It also needs to find a more efficient means of manufacturing so its prices can be competitive, she noted.

"We're going to continue to do work here (in Fort Providence) but we're going to have to look at some alternate production elsewhere," Magrum said. "We can perhaps do a boutique line that somebody else will be producing for us."

Dene Fur Clouds employs several people full-time and others part-time at home, preparing and cutting the furs. The employees are now working on product for a Montreal fashion show in May.