Tailor's colourful coats brighten Cambridge Bay
Handmade outerwear adorned with superheroes give seamstress a warm feeling
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Monday, November 21, 2016
IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
The parka scene in Cambridge Bay is getting vibrant - thanks to one new resident coat maker Rolanda Mautaritnaaq.
The budding seamstress moved to Cambridge Bay from Baker Lake last year, and quickly took to making parkas under the instruction of her aunt Ruby.
Mautaritnaaq's coats have been a hit with children in the community, and not just because they're warm. Her parkas have animated characters on them, like Superman, Spiderman and Hello Kitty. Disney's Frozen has also been very popular.
"I like to see people wearing what I made and knowing that they are warm," she said. "It's a good feeling. (They are) warm enough for the Arctic winter."
The characters are added as patches to the finished parkas, using cotton prints she purchased from fabric bolts down south.
"Just the prints are made of cotton. The lining and the inside and cover are something else," she said.
The price of her parkas depends on the material used and the size of the parka.
"If it were my material and if it were for a winter parka for a child, I'd probably sell it for $250."
The coats are made wind- and weather-resistant by using materials such as Thinsulate and ripstop fabric. Some coats have fur collars. She also makes women's coats in floral patterns.
Each coat takes about two days to complete.
One of her parkas was offered as a prize for a small Thanksgiving scavenger hunt she organized in the hamlet.
"I had people take selfies with items," she said. "I wanted to do something fun, something different. It was Thanksgiving, we need to be more thankful."
Mautaritnaaq said she picked up the new hobby to give herself something to do, and so that she wouldn't have to pay someone else to make hers. Despite this, the artist has yet to make a parka for herself, but that's because she has a deep purple parka made by her aunt, who is her coat-making coach.
Making the coats colourful is simply a style choice.
"It looks nicer," she said.
With around 10 new coats already sold, and many more being made to order, Mautaritnaaq's handmade parkas are sure to be brightening up Cambridge Bay this winter.
