Erin McPhee
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

TOUCH of Culture Legends' Pam Baker models one of her newly designed, special edition leather handbags that are just hitting the market.  

A North Shore aboriginal fashion designer is hoping to take her business to new heights just in time for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Pam Baker is the owner and founder of Touch of Culture Legends, a local fashion design company whose vision is to express First Nations heritage through the visual arts displayed on its designs.

One of Baker's focuses right now is the expansion of Touch of Culture's offerings, which currently include dressy and sportswear pieces, to include handbags and a soon-to-be-unveiled accessories line. Her intention is that these pieces will be picked up by visitors in the lead up to and during the 2010 Games.

Baker has designed two types of bags: for interested fashionistas, she has designed four high-end limited-edition black and red leather offerings; and for the more souvenir-minded wearers, she has designed an affordable line of faux leather wallets and circle bags.

"They reflect both my tribes," she says. For all of her pieces, Baker calls on her mother's (Kwakiutl) and her father's (Coast Salish) heritage as inspiration. Baker is currently working on the marketing of the bags and so far they've been picked up by BC Ferries and Park Royal Shopping Centre.
Baker has based this initiative on the experiences of other Aboriginal fashion designers at past Olympics whose pieces proved to be extremely popular. "My feeling is there has to be a company that has to be ready to sell like crazy and not run out," says Baker, referring to her goal for the 2010 Games. "The excitement is there, and I think the hunger, to travel here and get a piece of the art," she adds.

Funnily enough, fashion wasn't an initial interest for Baker while she was growing up. An avid athlete and a self-described "jock," physical education was her early dream job. What ultimately drew her to the industry was her sister, who started taking a fashion etiquette class at Blanche Macdonald. Baker thought that if she took the class it might tame some of her "tomboy" ways and signed up as well and the rest is history. "The next thing you know I'm involved in fashion merchandising," she says.

Baker moved to the United States for a stint and continued delving into various aspects of the fashion world, like co-ordinating fashion shows. When she came back to the Lower Mainland, she maintained her involvement with fashion. "It wasn't like 'OK, I'm going to be a designer.' It was more like 'I'm going to promote native design, native artists and native models to the world and educate what we're about," she says. "The next thing you know I'm designing."

Baker went to Capilano College and studied textiles arts as well as the esteemed Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Calif., where she received a degree in fashion design.

Now, Baker keeps busy with the day-to-day operations of Touch of Culture, which includes a production facility and a design studio. The company is undergoing some changes, however. For the last seven years, Touch of Culture has run an accredited design training institute, which Baker opened to give back to the community and share her knowledge. "I made a business decision to close it at the end of July, because I really need to concentrate on my own business and designing and marketing," said Baker.
Baker is extremely proud of the school's accomplishments. Since the school's opening, more than 60 aboriginal students from across Canada have gained training through her school, setting them on a variety of paths in the industry.

While she'll no longer run the school, Baker says she remains committed to educating and assisting newcomers to the industry in various ways and already has some new projects on the horizon, including a trip she'll chaperone to China in the fall. She'll introduce potential entrepreneurs and designers to the culture there, help them network and take them to a trade show, to potentially help them produce a product for the tourism industry when they come home.

Some of Baker's work will also be on display at the Ferry Building Gallery from March 27 to April 15 in an exhibition entitled Contemporary Treasures. The mixed-media exhibition of Squamish Nation art is part of the Squamish Nation Sculpture Symposium. The exhibition's opening reception is set for March 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. and an artists' talk is set for March 31 at 2 p.m. For more information on the symposium, visit www.wvculturalcapital.blogspot.com.

For more information on Touch of Culture Legends, Baker's clothing and accessories, or training opportunities, visit www.toclegends.com.

Published on 03/16/2007
North Shore News