Tribute - Elfriede Holtkamp (1925 - 2022)

Elfriede Holtkamp, Founder of Ecole Holt Couture and professional Couturier in Calgary since 1954, emigrated from Europe and established her couture and tailoring atelier in Calgary with a population then of just 168,000. In a few short years she was creating professional working wardrobes for women entering the corporate world of a burgeoning oil and gas industry.

Along with evening gowns for annual galas, and outfits for annual Calgary Stampede Royalty from 1964 to 1973, she created outfits for invited dignitaries such as Patricia Edwina Victoria Mountbatten, Katharine-Duchess of Kent, and the wife of the Honorable Governor General of Canada Roland Michener.

Elfriede operated as an independent business owner, with a handful of long-time employees until 1973, when she continued to work solo. In 2007 She opened Ecole Holt Couture School of Sewing and Design, after 15 years in the development to pass on her vast experience and expertise to future generations of creative sewing artisans. She taught until 2017, when she handed over the torch on to her daughter Jutta, also professionally trained by Elfriede. Now in her 94th year, she remains a mentor at the school and elder of couture.

What is your definition of a Woman of Inspiration? Someone who perseveres in the face of and despite challenges that life throws at you. Doesn’t listen to ‘it cannot be done’ skeptics. Always look forward to learning from the past. Focuses on personal as well as professional progress, no matter how slow or convoluted, it’s the long game that counts. Respect the need for creative self-fulfillment, prioritizes family, values friendships, cultures a rich spiritual life, and gives back to the community.

What being recognized means to me? I am truly honoured to have been recognized for the Women of Inspiration™ Lifetime Achievement Award. These are the things, which in my mind have motivated me, fulfilled my spirit, and sustained financially for a lifetime. My faith has guided me through every day of my life and is my standard in hope. I’m grateful for what I’ve been given and love what I do, and it has been a very interesting career in which there is always something more to learn and apply to create something new.

I’m not sure that I fully understand the impact, if any, that my achievements have made, other than on myself even after 75 years of sewing and living 94 years.

I hope that through EHC school, I will have left a legacy, a body of knowledge and expertise, that will benefit others who want to know how to bring their own dreams into existence. So many of the methods and techniques required have almost been lost and are inaccessible to most of the younger generation of sewers and fashion designers today. So far, no computer has replaced the inspiration, mindfulness, handcrafted skills, and creative spirit of a human being.

What I do know, is that members of my family were taken care of financially with the aid of my business success during the early years in business and that I made a good life for myself. My clients were satisfied with my work, kept coming back, and some of them became good friends. My employees were happy, and I’m certain they could have earned a little more working elsewhere, but we were like family and when you treat people with kindness, compassion and respect, it is almost always returned.

I’ve had the privilege to compile all my knowledge and expertise, present it in a useful and relevant format, that instructs sewers and designers how to create using their own skillset, designs that they’ve created. The product of their imaginings which not only accurately represent their sketches and ideas, but made with appropriate high quality, long lasting, environmentally friendly, materials. Designs which are functional as well as beautiful, and that fit the wearer’s unique proportions. With workmanship that is presentable from inside as well as the outside and will last many years.

I hope that through EHC school, I will have left a legacy, a body of knowledge and expertise, that will benefit others who want to know how to bring their own dreams into existence. So many of the methods and techniques required have almost been lost and are inaccessible to most of the younger generation of sewers and fashion designers today. So far, no computer has replaced the inspiration, mindfulness, handcrafted skills, and creative spirit of a human being.

Who were your biggest SupportHER™s? My greatest supporters are my late husband and my daughter, Jutta who never complained during the times I had to work longer hours and who stepped in to help wherever they saw the need. My long-term clients who, became good friends, appreciated the effort and quality of my work, were very supportive and very willing to pay for my work. My students are the champions of my work and of the school, I love each one dearly and want to see each one succeed! My greatest reward has always been how positive and happy my clients were with their garments - that is what keeps you going, not the monetary reward. Yes, that is necessary, but not what keeps you going.

How do you pay it forward to inspire change?

My family and my business came first, but I’ve always tried to be inclusive and helpful in the best way I could and knew how. I created, or loaned, christening gowns, Confirmation gowns and Wedding gowns to those who simply couldn’t afford it. A beautiful gown for someone who desperately wanted to feel like a princess or to help with sewing projects that were daunting to fellow sewers seemed appreciated and welcomed.

In my church congregation, I sang in the choir for 60 years, and donated weekly flower arranging services for 40 years, using my own garden flowers during the summer months. We raised funds with craft sales, which I contributed sewn projects for, and sewed tablecloths and aprons for the church dining hall and servery. All things I love doing, but it also helped sustain our church community on a tight and sometimes nonexistent budget.

My family and my business came first, but I’ve always tried to be inclusive and helpful in the best way I could and knew how.

Kenneth Fung