“When I was little, my Dene mother told me to make a dress for my doll. She gave me scissors and some material and she just told me to do it, without instructions. Because I had to figure it out, that way of thinking has stuck with me ever since.”
– Cheryl Fennell
Cheryl Fennell is of Métis background and was born in Yellowknife. Cheryl has traveled all over the circumpolar world and has lived in Cambridge Bay, Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife, where she now resides.
When she creates, Fennell loves to integrate traditional designs with contemporary ideas in a unique way. She prefers to work with sealskin and incorporates it in most of her sewing projects, such as unique, one-of-a-kind dresses, purses, jewelry, clothing and even furniture.
Fennell just returned from SWAIA Native Fashion Week, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where her creation of a rabbit skin dress was a big hit.
Fennell traveled all over the Circumpolar World and got to know manyInuit people, “very well and we became like family,” she says.
“I love to honour the connections I’ve made by incorporating some of the things I’ve seen into my art. Being on the land with the Inuit people made me realize that fur is the warmest thing to wear, and it also happens to be versatile, beautiful, and unique. To witness that was a thing of beauty.”
Fennell was recently interviewed by CKLB’s Kathleen Dahl:
You can discover more about Fennel at NWT Arts.
