Andrea Flowers

Andrea Flowers (1934-2019, Hopedale) was an accomplished craftsperson who enjoyed sewing, knitting, and crocheting, though she is best known as a seamstress of kamek (sealskin boots). Her particular expertise was in creating the labour-intensive and meticulously stitched traditional waterproof “black-bottom” sealskin boots, with skins that she cleaned and prepared herself from seals caught by her sons. She produced custom kamek using the same skills and knowledge that Inuit in Nunatsiavut have been passing on for centuries to create warm, waterproof boots that can weather the harsh Labrador climate. Flowers, fondly known as “Aunt Joy” throughout Nunatsiavut, preferred the skins of seals caught in the spring, because their hide is softer and easier to work with at that time of year. In the last years of her life, she expanded her sewing practice to include work with commercially tanned sealskin.