Crafting

3Handcrafts

Our love of crafting grew out of our love for traditional winter camping. With an emphasis on simple, practical clothing made from natural materials, we have been able to make much of our winter clothing ourselves. From the teachings of our mentors and the wisdom that has been passed down through generations of First Nations people and our European ancestors, we’ve found a beautiful combination of function and beauty that we think works best. This includes cotton anoraks, wool capotes, buckskin moccasins and over-mittens, and wool toques, scarves and mittens. The skills developed making our clothing has caused our confidence and self-sufficiency on trip to soar. If we wear a hole through moccasins we’ve made ourselves, we can confidently apply an elegant patch that not just repairs the hole, but adds a touch of character at the same time. On the other hand, if the soles of store-bought boots we know nothing about start to delaminate; well, we have little recourse but to reach for the duct tape.

From the first pairs of winter moccasins we made, we were struck by the fact that we could actually produce items that were not only serviceable, but in fact far surpassed anything we had seen available on the mass-produced market. Never had we had truly warm footwear, until we had produced it ourselves. This continues with Kielyn’s forays into felting, early results suggest that we will soon have durable, felted wool mittens, socks and hats which are better than any we could buy in stores.

We like our products to be functional, but also aesthetically pleasing – an easy task when we start with inherently beautiful natural materials like birch bark or deerskin. From baskets to purses to tool sheaths, we are starting to surround ourselves with products from the forest and our own hands.

1Handcrafts

Check out our Calendar for a list of offerings or visit the “Workshops” page in our store to register for an upcoming workshops.