Bringing together parents, caregivers and babies to learn and share knowledge about babywearing.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The Amautik and Hip Bundles

Today Jen Gordon of Hip Bundles (www.hipbundles.com) came to the meeting to present the amautik as well as various carriers she carries with her online business, Hip Bundles.

The amautik is the mother’s parka that is worn by women in the Nunavut region of Canada. This beautiful parka is deeply rooted in Inuit tradition and culture and is an everyday item of use for women in the north. Through design, colours and use, the Amautik identifies a woman’s maturity, her geographical place of home and the season.

Although not traditional, a man can wear them too!

We as a group, had opportunity to hear the stories of the amautik, its place within northern Canadian history, and the efforts to protect the amuatik as intellectual property of the Inuit. We also had opportunity to try out both the summer and winter amautiks.

After Jen’s formal presentation and demonstration, we dug into her grand display of carriers ranging from Kozy mei tais, BabyHawk mei tais, Maya Wrap ring slings, EllaRoo wraps, MamaPonchos, Nori jackets, and on and on!

We also made time to work with individual members and help them troubleshoot their carriers that they brought along.

I felt like a kid in a candy store and managed to snag some great deals for the library on a Suses KinderPoncho and a Maya Pouch. As well, a member donated a couple of copies of the babywearing edition of Mothering magazine.

And, as a note:
Jen is a rockin’ person. She’s totally in the know when it comes to carriers, safety and assessing the needs of her customer. I really get the impression that she has facilitated many long-term babywearing relationships between caregiver and child.

I would definitely work with her again and sincerely hope she comes back and visits again!

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