FAQs
How do I use my Nuna Heat hand warmers?
Nuna Heat can be tucked into your mitts, gloves, socks, boots, or pockets--and only need to be washed very rarely. Check out our quick how-to videos here!
How long will my knitwear take to produce?
Bespoke knitwear items currently take several weeks to produce: our small team is working hard to comb and prepare your qiviut fibre before running it through our mill machines, dyeing it to your preferred shade (if requested), and knitting it by machine with great care. Thank you for your patience as we craft heirloom items of the finest quality--using some of the world's most precious fibres!
Do you outsource any part of your qiviut milling process?
We are proud to mill our own fibre and to produce our own yarn and knitwear, right here in Alberta. Beginning with muskoxen hides sustainably sourced from Inuit hunters in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, we comb, wash, card, draft, spin, and dye our qiviut fibre ourselves. You can learn more about our milling process here. Because we currently lack a fibre separating machine, we are beginning to collaborate with another mill on this crucial step--which will hugely speed up our process!
Can I order knitwear made to my specifications?
Yes! We offer three different yarn blends and can dye them in a variety of colours. Our vintage knitting machines are also able to produce a range of patterns. Please contact us to discuss your order!
How do you source your qiviut fibre?
We purchase muskoxen hides from Inuit hunters, who harvest muskoxen sustainably for food near the communities of Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok, NWT. The harvesting of muskoxen is a traditional and important part of the local food system, and income earned from hide sales allow hunters to continue passing along these skills. Hides are dried and then shipped south to our Nisku, Alberta mill, where we comb qiviut from them by hand, using forks.
Can you collect qiviut fibre from live muskoxen?
Muskoxen shed their qiviut in the spring, and small quantities can sometimes be found on the tundra, though it blows great distances in the treeless Arctic landscape. To gather large quantities of naturally shed qiviut would require enormous amounts of travel, fuel, and some risk; qiviut fibre found in the wild can also be made brittle by exposure to UV light. Instead, we partner with Indigenous hunters to use fibre from sustainably hunted muskoxen.
Can you raise muskoxen on farms?
Not in Canada. There are some muskoxen herds in captivity in Alaska, where calves born on farms are weaned young from their mothers in order to acclimatize them to being handled by humans. Our qiviut comes from wild muskoxen living in their traditional environment.
Can I come visit the mill and see the process?
Yes! We offer mill tours and would be glad to host you.