Fort Providence (May 14/04) - Furs expertly knitted by four Fort Providence women caught the glare of runway spotlights in Germany, Montreal and Toronto over the past few weeks.

Fur garments like the ones shown here, produced by Dene Fur Clouds in Fort Providence, were modelled on runways in Germany, Montreal and Toronto recently. Nellie Norwegian, Nancy Bonnetrouge, Emily Squirrel and Bertha Minoza are the knitters who create the accessories. There are also numerous cutters and finishers who work at home. - photo courtesy of FurWorks Canada

Judy Magrum, general manager of Dene Fur Clouds, and Nellie Norwegian, who oversees product development, attended the Heringsdorf Goes Fashion show in Germany in mid-April.

"Because we know that our product has some appeal in the European market we wanted to make sure that we took advantage of it," Magrum said. "The Euro being what it is, of course the price of our product is also better in Europe."

Follow-up work

Although she described the trip as beneficial, Magrum said there is still follow-up work to be done on sales and distribution.

Norwegian added, "The gala show went really good. People say we have a lot of potential and our stuff is authentic. I told the ladies (her co-workers) we should be really proud because we pulled it off."

While in Germany, the Fort Providence duo was hosted by the Canadian Embassy. Norwegian said Heringsdorf appeared to be among the richest areas of Germany as it had boardwalks and posh hotels along the beach. She also saw a kaiser's house, but had little time for sightseeing otherwise, she noted.

Then last week Norwegian and Magrum travelled to Montreal for the annual NAFFEM show. The company's ek'o fashion line of sheared Mackenzie Valley fox and sheared beaver fur was also exhibited during Toronto Fashion Week. Garments they produce include hats, scarves, sweaters, vests, mittens and legwarmers.

Dene Fur Clouds is a member of FurWorks, the promotional body of the Canadian Fur Council.

The NWT Development Corporation provides funding to Dene Fur Clouds, but the company ran into a cash crunch in March when it had to lay off most of its staff.

Things are looking more promising for the current fiscal year, according to Magrum. Two new knitters have been hired for training, she noted.

"So far we're still able to handle production," Magrum said. "It's a matter, of course, of getting enough sales to supplement these subsidies that we get."