Artists' creations at Iqaluit's Christmas craft sale 'you just don't see anywhere else'
'If you're shopping for jewellery down south, you can't get the things that we make here'
In the workshop of Moe Lewis, there's the smell of burning bone as he saws and polishes handles for the ulus he's selling at this year's Christmas craft sale in Iqaluit.
He wears a pair of dark blue coveralls and a mask over his nose and mouth to protect himself from the dust.
Lewis says he can't guess how many ulus he's made over the years, but in his workshop on Thursday leading up to the craft sale this weekend, there were about 100 in various stages of readiness.
"That's been my hobby for several years — since I retired, my past time and good hobby," he said.
Lewis's variety of ulus includes small ones meant for sewing, as well as much larger ones that have caribou-antler handles, which match their caribou-antler stands.
"Most of them are working ulus," Lewis said.
"These are good for eating," he added, pointing to about 20 ulus ready to go in a blue Rubbermaid bin.
'We stick together'
Lewis says he likes Iqaluit's Christmas craft sale because he can sit and visit with other artists.
"We stick together — Matthew and Dan, we usually have a table right beside each other," he said.
Lewis is talking about jewelers Mathew Nuqingaq and Dan Wade, who were also getting ready Thursday afternoon for the weekend's sale.
Like Lewis, Wade says he started making his art after he saw other people's work and thought that he could do it too.
He says the craft sale is so popular because it's a place for people to get gifts they can't get anywhere else.
"If you're shopping for jewellery down south, you can't get the things that we make here," he said.
"There's a lot of ivory in our products, a lot of it is Northern-themed that you just don't see anywhere else."
It's hard to tell what the artists' most popular items will be, so Wade says they often display a variety of their art.
But people like the new creations, he said.
"I have some tattoo rings that I've recently made. A lot of people have been asking me about those."