So, we know the Earth is round. As that Earth turns, sunlight and shadow create Night and Day, and your place on this planet affects their length. Where more normal daylight hours run from 9 to 15 hours in places further from the poles; equatorial locations - like at Quito, Ecuador, can see a difference of only two minutes. And what happens in Alaska?

Come Summer, the Earth's celestial rotation tilts us towards the Arktos constellation, placing our high 60˚ northern latitude of Alaska squarely under the Sun. Near the Arctic Circle, the summer Sun appears circumpolar, appearing to stay at the horizon and shining over 20 hours a day, Alaska's famed Midnight Sun. That tilt is critical, our place in this world is unique, and conditions are vital in creating our dynamic micronutrient rich flora.  For the Yup’ik / Cup’ik Eskimo, a people that are Upterrlainarluta (Always Getting Ready,) this is a very busy time to prepare for the next long winter.

Here, Sun worship works both ways, and our Midnight Sun has found favored grounds to shine upon - Nunataat, our term for "Of The Land," our ancient tundra carved out by glaciers. Lavishing the Alaska wilderness with extraordinary solar energy, it activates intense super-hearty greening and strengthening of plantlife. It's a phenomenon called Northern Vigor - where like with our people, the Arctic demands strength for survival in the vibrant materials ArXotica sources for its cosmetics and skin care products.

Who We Are

A Bath & Beauty company based in Western Alaska, ArXotica is owned and operated by Alaska Native women. Triplet sisters—Michelle, Amy and Cika Sparck, are proud members of  the Quissunamiut Tribe. Challenged by the Alaska Federation of Natives Alaska Marketplace™, a contest that awards sustainable and culturally responsible business for challenged, "off-the-grid" communities in Alaska, ArXotica’s not only designed an impressive range of luxury products from the tundra up, it is mindful of honoring the region, resources and people that inspires it. The sisters aim to grow a Subsistence-compatible industry to help change the face of Western Alaska economy; and allow us to act as agents of change to improve the quality of life and opportunities for our people, where they no longer have to leave their homeland to work.

Sourcing our own botanical materials was quite possibly the hardest way for our company to start out, but we wanted signature ingredients that would stand out and deliver a high quality product without compromising the integrity of our isolated culture and our remote resource-rich lands. In an extremely challenging and mostly undeveloped commercial supply chain, our wild harvested and hand-gathered herb, berry and flower blossoms are handled throughout a road-less terrain the size of Ohio.

“Hope in a Bottle” Has a Whole New Meaning
Changing the Face of an Economy by Shopping for a Better World

As one of the most highly culturally intact Indigenous groups in the United States, the Yup’ik / Cup’ik Eskimo weathers the turbulence of Westernization by keeping our language, Subsistence living, skills, spirituality and artistry intact. Unfortunately, the economy has not matched the pace of modern living. Japanese fishing industrialists working in our communities in the 1970’s dubbed our region The Fourth World, connoting inexplicable Third World living conditions within a First World Nation; a rich oil producing State in the most powerful country in the world, at that.

The sheer amount of geographic barriers, low population and cost constraints still prevent the state from investing in infrastructure necessary to facilitate conventional commerce. We mean to finally bring enlightenment, investments, and change to the existing conditions; by revealing the wonders, and incredible value, of a great resource - our Arctic botanicals.

ArXotica began just barely ahead of the curve. The mainstream press started covering the hottest new trend in the naturals skin-care market; Time Magazine called arctic berries “The miracle medicine du jour in the fast-paced world of skin care.” What’s more, ArXotica’s commitment to offering superstatus products means you don’t have to worry about compromising quality and efficacy standards inorder to support a socially responsible and conservation minded minority business.