Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 18/02) - The Yellowknife economy is in boom mode -- people have room in their budgets for the finer things in life.

But in the fine-art sales business, the customer profile has changed.

In years past, European visitors were the big-spenders at Yellowknife's Nor-Art International Gallery. That changed this year.

"They have been replaced by more Canadian and American travellers," said Nor-Art president Ken Huss.

He saw an increase in American tourists this summer, a change that coincided with record sales.

The business started with an Internet gallery in 1996 but moved to its Centre Square Mall location in 1998.

Nor-Art's customer base is split between tourists and Northerners, but they all have one thing in common. They are mostly people who can get to Yellowknife without flying.

Nor-Art specializes in fine art from the Northwest Territories. That includes pieces made by Inuvialuit, Dene and resident non-aboriginal artists. Although the store sells some small items, works are generally at the higher end of the pricing scale, some worth thousands of dollars.

The fine art purchasing trend is a result of Yellowknife's booming economy -- it means people have more disposable income. Most of the city's retailers are noticing the same thing.

But it wasn't always like that. Nor-Art, like most businesses involved in tourism, was hit hard by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

"Sales disappeared to almost nothing and that lasted for a period of about four to five weeks," said Huss. After that, business returned with force.

Huss points to the separation of the two territories as one reason for growing sales.

"There has been more of a focus now on our side of the fence," said Huss.

He also attributes some success to the gallery's Web site at www.nor-art.com.

Huss and partner Paul Davie didn't change much about their advertising and sales styles after Sept. 11 except for one thing. "We've learned to keep a small rainy-day fund. We had to dip into savings."

The resource sector is also responsible for Nor-Art's climbing sales. Higher gold prices, new diamond mines and a future Mackenzie Valley pipeline are driving economic growth.

"I can't see the economy going bad," said Huss.