Nunavut fashion designer opens shop in downtown Iqaluit

Designer Rannva Simonsen has been drawing artistic inspiration from a variety of different sources for nearly 20 years.

Rannva Simonsen insider her new shop in downtown Iqaluit.

The little purple house near Iqaluit’s four corners is now a storefront for Rannva Design. (PHOTOS BY THOMAS ROHNER)

A quirky house, a quirky personality: a perfect match.

Nunavut fashion designer Rannva Simonsen has opened a new store in Iqaluit in a hard-to-miss little purple house located a stone’s throw from the four corners.

“The purple isn’t hippie-dippy like in the 70s, but it’s got spirit,” the longtime Iqaluit seamstress said July 7 from her new shop.

“It means creativity, peace on earth, collaboration… oh, so maybe it is a bit hippie-dippy,” Simonsen trailed off.

Either way, the new shop comes as a bit of a surprise to Simonsen, who has run her business out of an Apex studio since 2000.

“It’s a dream come true for me, so it’s a bit scary. Part of me never thought it’d happen.”

Simonsen said she has had her eye on the small house since 1997.

And when the house went up for sale in 2007, Simonsen said she won a bidding war to scoop it up.

Since then, it’s been a lot of hard work and planning to get the shop open.

“It’s taken a lot of perseverance, stubbornness and maybe I’m a little bit crazy,” Simonsen laughed.

The small single-room shop is brightly lit with rows of long windows on two walls.

But it doesn’t feel small: Simonsen said she worked hard to expose the rafters of the house to reveal an airy cathedral ceiling.

And the floors, the original boards lacquered, reflect the ample daylight streaming through the many windows.

The new shop couldn’t be in a better location, Simonsen said.

“Why would I want to have a shop here?”

The store is within walking distance to hotels, Simonsen said, is situated between the Anglican and Catholic churches, and — best of all — isn’t in Apex.

“There’s many reasons for visitors to go out to Apex, but many never do. I know people who’ve lived in Iqaluit for a long time — a long, long time — and never make it out there.”

Simonsen said she’ll still spend most of her time “out there,” in Apex, working in her studio on new designs.

While her new Iqaluit shop marks a new chapter, Simonsen said she would continue to draw on many of the same inspirations that have sustained her nearly 20-year career.

“I draw on things like fairy tales, traditional clothing, ugly clothes, cultures like punk rock, also from nature, animated movies and sci-fi movies,” Simonsen said.

“Really, it’s the small things that make the difference. Both with my garments and with this new shop.”