What a difference ten years makes.
The store was cold, unwelcoming, and rather mass produced. For something that stated they sold indigenous art I was perplexed to see the same bracelets, scarves, and hats I had seen in Anchorage's tourist shops four weeks earlier. Most of the items were familiar because they were from the northwest. I questioned why there were not more pieces from the northeast.
Many of the pieces, including the dancing bear, were also the same we had seen the first time. It created skepticism that hadn't existed before.
The staff were not great. Two employees in the front by the registers chatted amongst themselves not engaging anyone. When they separated the one who remained behind continued to say nothing and just stared. No greeting, no goodbye, just standing there.
The lady in the back was better, but became overtly concerned when my mother touched a tag that had information on the little sculpture. A little too fast, a little too anxious she told us not to touch anything. The signs referenced not touching the sculptures themselves. I didn't understand why have a tag with information on it, appearing to be more than the price, attached to the statue if they were so fragile. She explained they had issue in the past but the approach was very off-putting.
The experience was unpleasant so we ended up leaving with relative speed. read more