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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Four buddies in Baltimore launched a new line of facial fashion accessories modelled after traditional Inuit snow goggles earlier this month.

Called Slanties, the fat wooden eyewear features thin slits to block out the sun's glare, much like traditional Inuit goggles carved from bone.

A model dons the Slanties, wooden eyewear based on traditional Inuit goggles. The designers have sold 70 pairs so far at US$40 each. - photo courtesy of Nancy Froehlich of graysignal.com

They were created by a team of artists who work day jobs as a book conservationist, a preschool teacher, a barrista and a cake decorator.

"We had the idea about two-and-a-half years ago and we rehashed it every three or four months as a joke," said co-designer Ben Turner, the cake decorator. "It was directly pulled from Inuit culture. One of us stumbled across (an image of Inuit snow goggles) online."

They searched for Inuit goggles on Google image search then created their own versions from mahogany, walnut, maple and padauk wood.

The goggles are finished with a layer of fibreglass on the back and enamel on the front. The wood is sanded to a rough finish to provide a natural-looking texture. They are held in place with an elastic strap.

Slanties are marketed as beachwear and club couture.

"They're also maybe a little more functional as a necklace or headband," Turner said. "We were mostly fascinated with the glasses as a piece of contemporary fashion. Something bold and confrontational."

Local graphic artist Jessica Patterson viewed the Slanties website for the first time this week.

"Hey those are cool," she said. "But the name is terrible."

Many visitors to the website have shared Patterson's reaction. Bloggers and a few print media journalists have questioned the appropriateness of the goggle's name, as well. The artists have posted some of these online debates and media articles on their website. The bloggers and journalists discuss the term "slanties" and its interpretation as a word that can be offensive to Inuit or Asian people.

A statement on the website reads in part: "To those of you who perceive Slanties as offensive to Asian and Inuit culture, we did not in any way intend to reference racial or cultural elements of Inuit or Asian population with the name of the product. Our sincerest apologies go out to those who feel offended by our zero periphery project."Patterson did not temper her criticism after reading the statement.

"They take a traditional Inuit concept and they modernize it, and I'm cool with that. They're white dudes. They're in the city. They don't have bones," Patterson said. "But, if you are going to be bold enough to have a name like 'Slanties' then that sentence should be on the front page of your website."

Slanties' designers plan to meet this week to discuss Patterson's concerns. It was the first time the designers received any feedback from an Inuk.

Upon hearing about Patterson's criticism, Turner said he and his designers are "definitely considering" putting the statement on the front page of their website. "That's a very good idea," he told Yellowknifer. The name of the goggles was not meant as a reference to people but to people's perception, he continued.

"It was born from the term of the slanted story, like the slanted news media," Turner explained. "When you wear the goggles you have a limited visual spectrum. What do we do now that the name has taken on its own understanding in the media, that being mostly just blogs? We decided to leave it and bring up the dialogue that surrounds it."

Despite Patterson's misgivings about the name of the goggles, she remains impressed by their design.

"I am going to purchase a pair because I think they're really cool," she said.

Patterson designs her own local art centred on Inuit culture. She plans to launch an online T-shirt company under the label Eskimofo.

"Eskimofo is a clash of two thoughts," she said. "There's people that are unaware that Inuit are called Inuit and are no longer called Eskimos, and there is a modern thought that understands what the term 'mofo' is. If you don't understand the statement then you probably never will. You'll either understand it and laugh or you'll misunderstand it and be offended."