MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter Spring 2020

70 Sea to Sky people, she observes, know how to have a really good time, and follow their passions and do what they love. But they still often need the nudge of seeing someone else going big, to liberate their self-expression and release some of the stifled feelings that want out. In the ten years she spent coaching gymnastics at the Whistler and Pemberton clubs, Seija tried to impart this to her students, helping the girls use their bendy bodies and favourite music to give expression to something unique within. She hopes it stays with them, the ability to “trust themselves, and not worry about all the distractions and clutter and things that try and put you in a small box that doesn’t let you live to your full potential.” Just before she turned 33, Seija flew to Ottawa to support her father as he went through quadruple bypass heart surgery. The day before the surgery, he pushed her birthday gift toward her. Early—in case something happened. Choking up, she unwrapped a set of leather working tools. “After my dad’s surgery, my way of dealing with that scary experience was to pour all my energy into learning about the craft.” Freshly retired from coaching and already established as Aenahka Creations, a costumier and maker of headpieces, masks and wearable art, Seija doubled-down her focus on leather: masks, belts, knife sheaths, book covers, bracelets and cuffs. These days, it looks as if a leather bomb exploded in her house. She loves that leather is a provenance of rock stars, cowboys, Vikings, bikers—a trademark of people who want to express their un-tameability. “It tends to do what it wants, despite your efforts to control it. If you’re willing to work with what it’s trying to do, it always turns out better.” And while a large part of her creative output is practical, her passion is to craft pieces that take a creative journey with someone. “If a custom guitar strap, a rockin’ cuff or a mask gives you permission to be a bigger, more exaggerated version of yourself, mission accomplished. Sometimes you just need a ‘vessel’ of expression to let it out.” haloseija.wixsite.com/aenahka