Savvy Shopping, Arctic Style

Muskox wool is Earth’s warmest fibre, so insulating that when scientists once tried to count muskoxen using heat-seeking cameras, the animals didn’t show up. In Greenland, you’ll find an array of garments woven from the stuff, ranging from soft-as-cashmere scarves to delicate wrist-warmers. As befits such finery, prices aren’t cheap. But whether brightly dyed or au naturel, qiviut products are like a fluffy hug, keeping you cozy in blizzard-conditions—and helping you stand out from the herd.

For eons, Inuit transformed stone into amulets, masks, tools, and cookware. Then, in the 1940s, James Houston (father of Adventure Canada expedition team member John Houston) learned of and helped Inuit monetize these talents, resulting in today’s world-famous Inuit sculpture industry. In nearly every community we visit, you’ll find carvers bringing stone to life, crafting Arctic animals, shamanic scenes, and images of Inuit life. Small carvings make for amazing-yet-affordable souvenirs; larger, more complex pieces are priceless heirlooms.

Known as “women’s knives,” these popular choppers feature a half-moon-shaped blade affixed to a handle of caribou antler, muskox horn, walrus ivory, or wood. Each region then adds its own specific design flourishes. Used in a rocking motion, an ulu is ideal for flensing narwhals—or for slicing pizza. As we can attest, repeat Arctic travellers often end up with quite a collection. Start your own today!

Whether you’re strolling Toronto’s Bloor Street or summiting Auyuittuq National Park's Qairsualuk (Mt. Thor), these crocheted wool caps are the warmest way to keep your head about you. With bright, zigzag patterns, a nearly windproof weave, and a jaunty, bouncing bobble, they’re famously associated with the community of Pangnirtung on Baffin Island, but are now available in an array of Nunavut towns.

Sealskin is the blue denim of the Arctic—the most stylish, popular, and sensible polar fabric. In nearly every community that Adventure Canada visits, you’ll be able to peruse masterfully crafted seal products. Sealskin mitts, often trimmed with rabbit fur, are dazzling yet instantly practical, keeping you snug on the Zodiac ride back to the ship. Sealskin slippers, too, are warm and sleek. And, if you live in a place where seal would leave you sweltering, opt for a sealskin broach, hair clip, or bowtie.

Many Arctic travellers know of the late printmaker Kenojuak Ashevak, whose masterpieces are emblazoned on coins, stamps, and the Canadian imagination. But Ashevak was hardly alone. Her hometown, Kinngait (Cape Dorset), has the highest concentration of artists in Canada, many working out of, and selling to, the legendary Kinngait Studio. A highlight of our Heart of the Arctic expedition, in Kinngait, the epicenter of Inuit art, you’ll meet renowned printmakers in action and have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase their prints at the source.

Greenlanders are famous for their bold national dress, which for women includes immaculate white kamik boots, a vivid anorak, and a brilliant, multicoloured shawl of ornately interlaced beads. Inspired by these shawls, delicate beadwork collar necklaces, as well as beaded earrings and ornaments, are all the rage in the Arctic. You’ll find them for sale in most Greenlandic ports and in some Nunavut communities—as well as bedazzling the necks of fellow Adventure Canada guests and staff.