Andrea Flowers

Andrea Flowers was a seamstress and craftswoman from Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, NL. She was born and raised in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut, NL, and moved to Hopedale after getting married in 1952. As a child in Makkovik, she learned many basic sewing and knitting skills from her mother and her aunt Bertha. Once in Hopedale, she learned how to clean sealskin with the help of her mother-in-law. Flowers would use sealskins to make sealskin boots and mitts for her children. She also did a lot of sewing and knitting. After her children grew up, she started to make crafts to sell, which began to attract the attention of people from other communities. 

Throughout her life, Flowers continued to clean sealskins and make mitts, black-bottom sealskin boots, moosehide slippers with beadwork and silapâks (parkas). She was actively involved in her community craft group and often had the opportunity to teach others. In 2017 she helped her nephew sew his traditional sealskin kayak. Flowers was especially proud of her grandchildren who have taken an interest in Inuit craft, as she felt that it is important to teach the next generation these skills so they are not forgotten.

A pair of Flowers's kamiks (skin boots) were included in the landmark exhibition SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut (2016–2020). The travelling exhibition began at The Rooms in St. John's, NL, and toured across Canada.

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Accomplishments

November 12, 2010: Flowers represented the Nunatsiavut Government in hosting the 2010 Olympic torch as Elder Firekeeper in Hopedale.