Store offers furs to the next level
Yellowknife's hub for warm Northern creations still going after 12 years
Walter Strong
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 3, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Operating out of an adorable Old Town location, Kristine Bourque's Just Furs has been a hub of fine fur products for more than 12 years.
Kristine Bourque and Just Furs have been one of Yellowknife’s main sources for Northern fur hats, mitts, blankets, scarves and other select Northern creations for more than 12 years. - Walter Strong/NNSL photo |
"Before that I was a manufacturer and supplier of furs," Bourque said.
Bourque herself is a trained fur clothing designer and tailor who worked in the industry for approximately 15 years before striking out with her own Just Furs label.
She got her start in Inuvik at the former Inuvik Sewing Centre. In the early 1980s, Bourque attended George Brown College in Toronto to learn to work with a "fur machine," a specialized sewing machine for working with skins.
"In 1987, I went on my own," said Bourque. "I had a small shop on Range Street for a while, but I had a young family and it was just too much at the time so I sewed from home and supplied stores with my product."
Bourque doesn't have a lot of time to make her own fur products these days, although in her experienced hands, she can craft an elegant moosehide and fox fur hat in three hours.
"I can't look after the shop and sew at the same time, although I had some very popular products."
Just Furs is now one of the principal retailers of Fort Providence-based Dene Fur Clouds product, including hats, mitts, scarves, headbands, blankets, sweater-jackets, and smaller decorative fur items like fur buttons.
"I really love their product," Bourque said. "It's very warm and all of their product is hand washable."
Just Furs goes through a lot of Dene Fur Clouds product, putting in bi-weekly orders to stay well-stocked.
You'd be hard-pressed to think of a Northern fur that Bourque doesn't stock. Sealskin, fox, rabbit, beaver, bobcat, coyote, otter, mink, and even black bear fur snowmobile mitts are all on hand.
Many fur fashions are timeless classics, but Bourque said there are still developments within fur fashion.
As an example, she points to the relatively new convertible hooded scarf, which changes from a fur hat to a thick folded scarf with a simple twist and flick. The scarf is really something you have to see for yourself to appreciate.
Bourque said even though the winter season is her busiest time of the year, the summer brings in tourists looking for fur, especially smaller items like hats, mitts and scarves.
Just Furs also has a selection of caribou antler jewelry, decorated with semi-precious stones and pearls, as well as a selection of local leather goods.
Besides what you might expect to find in a fur store - hats, ear-muffs, mitts and scarves - Bourque also stocks fur items you might not think of right off the bat. The black bear snowmobile mitts were already mentioned, but she has a line of removable fleece-lined beaver, coyote and seal skin skidoo mitts as well.
"Water resistance is natural to the skins, especially seal," Bourque said.
Just Furs is Bourque and two employees, one full-time, the other part-time.
