BUSINESS: Neechie Gear Now Available in Regina at Tatanka Boutique

Regina, SK – It has taken a while for the popular clothing company, Neechie Gear to make its way down south, but thanks to a new partnership it is now available at Tatanka Boutique (2156 Albert St) making the store the only place to pick up Neechie Gear in the city.

Tatanka Boutique, known for its authentic Indigenous artwork and other popular items, held a press conference on Thursday (07/31/14) announcing the launch. Owner, Joely BigEagle-Kequahtooway and Neechie Gear CEO, Kendal Netmaker celebrated with a cake cutting ceremony and talked about what this new partnership is all about.

“It’s just like any brand, like Nike selling into a different store, like SportChek…it’s the same kind of partnership that we’re trying to work out here, ” explained Netmaker.

Currently, Neechie Gear  has two stores; one in Saskatoon and one in Prince Albert but never has had a presence in Regina until now.

With the new partnership, Tatanka Boutique will now feature displays of the popular clothing brand with items like hoodies and t-shirts for sale. For Netmaker, partnering up with Tatanka was a “no-brainer.”

“It’s getting to a point where people are demanding it now, people are coming from Regina to Saskatoon asking where to buy gifts, but from somewhere closer. I’ve known Joely for a long time, so I think it’s a no brainer to support a First Nations person first and then go from there”.

Tatanka Boutique recently celebrated its first year of business and has so far seen great success. With the addition of Neechie Gear, BigEagle-Kequahtooway says it is all about expanding and amalgamating cultures.

“Right away two things came to mind, north meeting south and its Cree meeting Sioux, its kind of an amalgamation of those two cultures, and also focusing on our First Nations customers and bringing in Neechie Gear as a First Nations owned business supports First Nations business as a whole and the economy,” said BigEagle-Kequahtooway.

“Kendal works with artists to do the designs for his t-shirts, so it’s all about that amalgamation of artists and cultures and bringing it all together into the boutique.”

For those who have yet to visit the store, customers can take a virtual tour  here; http://goo.gl/tdxV15.

According to their website, “Tatanka Boutique showcases various First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists’ work and incorporates some of the same qualities found in art galleries where each art piece is identified by its designer. Joely BigEagle-Kequahtooway, is an artist, star-blanket, fashion and baby clothes designer and also sells her own creations at the boutique under her brand name Tatanka Designs”.

Check out pics of today’s Neechie Gear launch below.

– Reporting and Photos by Chris Tyrone Ross for RezX Magazine