Indigenous-owned business settles in

Garden City

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This article was published 10/05/2023 (1050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ironstar Co. has found a home and steady business in Garden City Shopping Centre, with the help of a wide range of Indigenous products from across the country.

Owner Amy Der-Ironstar, 27, set up shop last December, and has since received an overwhelmingly positive response to the small business.

The store holds a large variety of different items, all created by Indigenous-owned companies and artists. Put on display or settled upon the rows of shelves are toys, books, jewelry, sweetgrass, clothing, blankets and more. Furthermore, there’s handmade, original art and other crafts from Canadian artists.

The purpose of the store is to display First Nations arts and crafts, Der-Ironstar said, from beyond just Manitoba.

“You’ll see pieces of work that are done through the West Coast all the way to the East Coast,” she said.

“There is a little bit of difference there in terms of tribes, because we do want to really have more diversity within the store.”

Der-Ironstar said that, up until now, she’s managed Ironstar Co. on her own. Despite the store being the first Indigenous-owned business in the mall’s long history, she said that it’s been hard to receive extra funding from the government.

“I definitely have some barriers being a young person, but also a female and then to make it worse, a minority,” she said.

“So with those key things, (it’s very hard) to get a loan or a grant. So far I’ve done everything on my own.”

Der-Ironstar said she’s been getting enough traffic to support the business right now. Since the location first opened, she has also received a great deal of publicity and press, highlighting the crafts and art, especially.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Der-Ironstar said. “I really didn’t expect so much feedback. It’s great for the business, our store… people are getting interested in the products and even suggesting new products. Overall it’s been very positive.”

There has also been collaboration with other organizations. Recently, Der-Ironstar was commissioned to create a red dress for MMIWG2S+ National Awareness Day on May 5.

“A company called from Calgary, they’re an engineering firm and they had asked me to make a red dress for them in honour of the missing and murdered Indigenous women,” she said.

“They’re making awareness of such an important issue that we are facing and to be part of that… it just means everything.”

The personally hand-stitched dress was displayed at the front of the store alongside additional information for visitors.

Der-Ironstar says that the store will be launching its first star blankets in the next few months, which she is very excited about.