Artist sharing Indigenous culture around the world through fabric

A woman in Edmonton is interweaving her family’s century-old tradition with fabric, thanks to a partnership she never expected.

Carrie Okemaw, an artist living in Edmonton, carries on her family’s talent for floral designs. Okemaw says she was inspired by her auntie’s beading and her grandmother’s Mushkego floral designs. While she had admired their art since a child, Okemaw didn’t start designing florals until two years ago.

“I was on maternity leave and I was looking for ways to put food o the table,” Okemaw said. “I knew I always wanted to create floral designs and I wanted to put them on t-shirts.”

Wanting to print one of her designs on fabric, Okemaw reached out to Marshall’s Fabrics, where Manager Beth Syrnyk happened to be looking for an Indigenous designer in Winnipeg.

“There are not a lot of fabrics that have actually been designed by Indigenous artists and we thought it was about time,” Syrnyk said.

Syrnyk had been looking for almost three years for a designer before Okemaw, saying designers were hesitant to have their art used by someone else.

“I would say it was probably good timing,” Okemaw said. “I was just looking for some printed meters of my designs and she was looking to start her project."

The fabrics have attracted Indigenous sewers, including April Blackbird who came to the store to find fabric to make her first ribbon skirt.

"It’s amazing that we are finally getting our artists,” Blackbird said. “Their work is being recognized and I actually get to buy it."

Blackbird is seeing the younger generation pick up the sewing needle and reconnect with their cultures.

Now, Syrnyk says she will not have difficulty finding another artist after Okemaw’s designs have been displayed for six months.

“Since Carrie’s designs came out I have had a lot of emails and a lot of phone calls, and a lot of people who are interested in working with us to get their designs and artwork on fabric as well,” Syrnyk said.