Ts’u Ghāy Sewing Studio

Ts’u Ghāy Sewing Studio

This is a youth-led initiative to build a studio for an existing collective of CAFN citizens, where they will create, market, and sell local clothing and teach their skills to other community members. Sha Shäw is providing the land, building, and business development support to get this initiative off the ground.

Project progress overview

The project is on-track for a grand opening late in 2025.

Earlier in 2025 Sha Shäw purchased land on the Alaska Highway off Jacquot Street (lots 199 and 201) and secured project funding. After developing architectural renderings and building design with the collective members, we ordered a modular building from Millenium Homes out of Kelowna. That building arrived September 8.

We will spend the fall adding an exterior façade to give the building the look of a traditional structure, and a deck. We hope to complete that work this year, but depending on the weather may need to wait until spring to complete everything. In the meantime the collective is starting to move in, ordering the shelving and equipment they’ll need to complete their new manufacturing space.

What will the studio do?

At 1,782 square feet the building has plenty of space for the collective’s vision – a space where they will make high-quality local clothing on industrial sewing machines.

Now that they are in the space the collective members are starting to make decisions about the specific products they’ll make, at least initially – considering parkas, wool and waxed canvas jackets, mittens, drum bags, tote bags, hats, or other products.

The studio will also serve as a classroom where other community members can learn the craft. There may also be a tourism element, with visitors invited to come by and experience local creation.