Making qamutiqs for profit
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Mar 12/01) - On a cold Sunday morning, in a heated shed just off the shores of Frobisher Bay, a father and son are hard at work.
Jimmy Noble Jr. and Jimmy Noble Sr. build qamutiqs -- sleds pulled behind snowmobiles or dog-teams. They pair started their own business last December, which they called Sijjamiut.
The name of the Iqaluit-based business refers to the people who live at the shore's edge where the ice is rough and broken from the ocean tides.
"We just started by fixing qamutiqs and we were building our own," said Noble Jr., a wildlife officer by day.
The pair have already been commissioned to build four qamutiqs in the last two months, and are getting more and more requests.
In fact, Noble Sr., an employee at the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, said their primary concern was to keep business coming in at a steady pace. Open from 7-9 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 1-6 p.m. on Saturdays, most of their free time is already spent building qamutiqs.
"It's an interesting hobby, as long as it doesn't get too busy," said Noble Sr. "People hear about it by word of mouth or we drag a new one out into the yard and people see it and say can we get one," he said.
"If it gets too busy, we'd just have to cut down on the orders," he said.
And, even if the pair finds themselves up to their eyeballs in qamutiqs, the orders will surely slow down as the weather warms up.
Noble Sr. says their busiest time is winter when potential customers are less likely to build their own.
"The best time is when it's too cold to work outside," said Noble Sr., standing in what has to be one of the best equipped hobby shops in the territory.
And their works speaks for itself: their qamutiqs truly are sleds of beauty and endurance. Featuring B.C. fir runners, topped by varnished oak cross pieces, it's easy to see why business is good. Running between $500 to $1,000 per qamutiq, Noble Sr. said the price increases when the customer chooses more expensive wood.
"That's including everything, all the materials, the wood, the rope, the hitch," said Noble Jr.
