ABOUT

Double Dipped was born in summer of 2016. It began as a passion project that Elly, Double Dipped’s owner and designer, took on to fill long Yukon summer days. Elly arrived in the small village of Haines Junction, Yukon Territory for the first time that summer, not knowing a single soul or what activities the town had to offer. Elly’s day job at the local bakery kept her busy enough, but she sought a creative outlet to throw herself into. With the goal to reconnect with her love for sewing, Elly began by making her own custom hat by hand-sewing fabric onto the front of a trucker cap she found second-hand. The more compliments she received on the hat, the more she became inspired to sew fabric onto other things like t-shirts, sweatshirts and pants and dresses. Coincidentally, Haines Junction had many options to score free fabric and materials, such as  the local Free Store, the dump, and the church’s rummage sale. Elly would bike to and from these places almost every day, filling her largest hiking pack as full as possible with fabric. She experimented with colours, textures, and patterns to create a handful of hand-sewn items. Double Dipped became a way for Elly to merge her interest in sustaining the environment and upcycled fashion into one. The first batch of items were sold at local markets and to friends at Quest University Canada that following Fall. Eventually, Elly taught herself to use a sewing machine which helped to perfect designs and open possibilities to make more clothing.

Double Dipped has since grown into an Instagram shop and platform to connect to many communities through clothing. The business has moved from Yukon Territory, to Squamish (BC), Jasper (AB) Nelson (BC) and Guelph (ON) and Halifax (NS). In each of these places, new inspiration (and not to mention fabrics!) are found to make up each custom Double Dipped piece. Elly maintains a resourceful approach to her business, sourcing fabrics from local thrift stores and relying on in-kind donations from sewists and customers. She has focused on creating custom works and hopes to continue running the business into the future!