Yellowknife has shops for pet food and pet toys, but three women are bringing something new and special for Northern dogs.

On May 28, Alison Buckland, Jessie Bowser and Olivia Laureijs will begin selling their own handmade pet accessories under their Northern Specials brand.

SA国际影视传媒淭he name is a bit of a play on words with the phrase SA国际影视传媒楴orthern specials,SA国际影视传媒橲A国际影视传媒� said Buckland. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 often used to describe Northern dog breeds that are mixed with huskies or shepherds. Our products are custom, handmade and unique to the North and unique to the people who order them as well.SA国际影视传媒�

Their first line of items will be dog and cat tags and key chains, as well as bandanas and scrunchies.

SA国际影视传媒淭he metal tags are etch-able. We etch them when we get the order and put what people want on them,SA国际影视传媒� said Buckland. SA国际影视传媒淎nd we have resin key chains where people can customize things in the tag and add the pet name.SA国际影视传媒�

The cotton for the scrunchies and bandanas is sourced from the Quilted Raven. Buckland selects fabric with Northern designs like aurora or raven wings and sews it together on a sewing machine.

SA国际影视传媒淚 buy it in sheets and cut out a pattern or design, sew it together and iron it. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e trying our best to source our materials locally,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Bowser, who crafts the key chains and tags, buys the resin mix locally and pours it into molds in the shape of tags. She also puts small dried flowers into the mold to add design.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen the foliage in Yellowknife starts blooming, we can pick our own flowers and dry them ourselves (for the resin tags),SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Northern Specials is as much of a business venture for the trio as it is part of their larger goal of improving animal welfare in the NWT.

The women have long been active as volunteers with animal welfare initiatives through the NWT SPCA and have worked in rescue missions and with rehabilitating feral dogs. They each own Northern rescue dogs, too.

They were recently approved to lead a long-term animal care committee at the SPCA.

The idea for Northern Specials came up about six months ago and they recently set aside the time to begin making products, Bowser said.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur mission is to provide stylish handmade accessories for pets and their owners and in doing so our goal is to improve the quality of life of domesticated animals in the NWT by donating five per cent of our proceeds to various Northern organizations that provide veterinary services and animal welfare services and shelters in the NWT.SA国际影视传媒�

The women have also partnered with HALU CreationsSA国际影视传媒� owner Michelle Tremblay, who will donate 10 per cent of sales of her custom colouring books to NWT animal welfare projects.

People can send a donation to Tremblay, along with a photo of their pet, and she will draw the pets into the colouring books sheSA国际影视传媒檚 making.

Although no pre-orders have been forwarded to them yet, interest is growing fast. Their northern.specials Instagram page gained more than 200 followers in about one week.

After Northern SpecialsSA国际影视传媒� website goes live at 11 a.m. on May 28, customers can order their purchases, wait for them to be custom-made and then meet up with the owners to receive them. Items can also be delivered.

For now, theySA国际影视传媒檙e working out of their homes. If the business goes well, they might consider opening a separate space.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 exciting for us to get this going,SA国际影视传媒� said Laureijs. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 nice that we can make products that I would want for my own dogs that I canSA国际影视传媒檛 find anywhere else in town. Owning our own business will allow us to help improve animal welfare in the North in a bigger way.SA国际影视传媒�