LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
What started out as slices of horn from an iconic Northern animal became pieces of creative and eye-catching jewelery over the course of two days in Fort Simpson.

Yellowknife jewelery designer Jamie Look, right, watches as Katherine Scott uses a micro-motor to drill a test hole into a piece muskox horn during a jewelery making workshop that Look held in Fort Simpson from March 1 to 2. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Yellowknife jewelery designer Jamie Look led participants in a workshop through the process of what she does when creating pieces for her line, Jamie Look Jewelery. Look, a third-generation Northerner, is well known for the shape and finishing of her muskox horn and sterling silver jewelery and for creating a new product from an NWT material.

"I just feel happy to share some of my skills with fellow Northerners," she said.

The workshop in Fort Simpson was the second in a series of five that the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is supporting to promote the development of new NWT-based products and businesses.

Between March 1 and 2, Look taught eight participants in the village the basics of carving and finishing muskox horn and jewelery assembly.

With the necessary raw materials and tools laid out in front of them, Look encouraged the participants to use their own creativity while providing support and advice when needed.

"I love it, I absolutely love it," said Marion Storm, who created a pair of earrings and a necklace.

Storm, who normally spends her weekends painting, said she took the workshop in order to try something different. Having created her pieces, Storm said she has a new appreciation for the time, work and craftsmanship Look puts into her jewelery.

Transforming a slice of horn into a piece of jewelery can require a belt sander, three different grades of files, a hand-held drill with different bits, three grades of sandpaper and a final

buffing. Storm said she was also amazed by the qualities of muskox horn.

"I cannot believe how tough it is," she said.

The workshops have been warmly received, said Look.

Look said she's been enjoying encouraging people to pursue artistic careers and sharing information about small business support and funding opportunities available from the territorial government.

The designer's own artistic career started early. Under the guidance of her mother – a seamstress – Look and a friend designed their own clothing line by the age of seven.

"I loved fashion," she said.

Look went on to study fashion design for a year in Montreal at LaSalle College and worked a year in the industry before deciding its speed and disposable nature wasn't for her. She returned to Yellowknife in 2003 to explore traditional fashion and Northern techniques.

She learned how to carve natural Northern materials, such as caribou antler, under the tutelage of Goota Ashoona and Koomuatuk Curley of Cape Dorset and Bob Kussy.

After her first six pieces sold in under a week at Yellowknife's Gallery of the Midnight Sun, Look was set on her path. She currently designs and creates jewelery full time.