Calivika Shareholder Highlight: ArXotica
Q&A with Michelle Macuar Sparck of ArXotica
Storyknife, March/April 2024 edition
Calista Shareholders Michelle, Amy and Cika Sparck created their skincare business ArXotica in 2006 and they’ve been creating and selling high-quality products made with Alaska tundra botanicals ever since then.

Michelle, Cika and Amy Sparck of ArXotica
The Sparck sisters listed ArXotica in our Calivika Shareholder Directory in 2022. You can also find ArXotica on their Square site, on Instagram at https://instagram.com/arxotica and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ArXotica.
Following is a Q&A with Michelle about ArXotica, part of our continuing series of articles highlighting Shareholder-owned businesses.
Tell us about yourself and the inspiration behind why you started ArXotica.
I’m Michelle Sparck, I go by Shelly, or Shell, and my Cup’ik name is Macuar. My triplet sisters and partners Amy and Cika and I are members of our mom’s Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak. We’d been picking plants and berries since we were set on the tundra, and when the Alaska Federation of Natives created a start-up funding contest called The Alaska Marketplace, we decided a skincare company was worth developing. We won almost six figures in three contests, and we put it into research and development to support our traditional knowledge. Tundra botanicals are Midnight Sun powered superfoods, chock full of anti-aging properties, and we reveal the power of Arctic botanicals and minerals all the time. The name ArXotica is a merging of the words Arctic and Exotic, and we’ve been around since 2006. In 2013, we were selected as the Calista Business of the Year.
Where can our readers purchase your products/services?
The girls and I now have day jobs, so we’ve had to limit our online store hours and pop-up events. We once won a competitive spot for a kiosk at the Anchorage Airport years ago, but it was challenged and we lost out on this opportunity for a brick and mortar location. So, we remain an online store through the Square shopping platform. We do take orders over email or other social media messaging, so don’t let a temporary closure notification on our online shop keep you from getting your TLC needs met (Tundra Loving Care!) arxotica-inc.square.site.
Can you tell us about the most rewarding experience you’ve had with Arxotica?
When we’ve had middle aged and Elder Native men make sure to find our pop-up booths to purchase our soaps, body balms, and other products that help tackle their skin, toughened by subsistence activities. It is the biggest validation and compliment to our tundra-powered products!
What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
It isn’t easy to run a business and be responsible for everything involved with owning one. You have to file paperwork with the State of Alaska, you have to renew your business license, and depending on your products or services, you may need liability insurance. We’ve had insurance coverage for years, and it’s expensive.
Do your homework on what it means to open a business. If you have a talent, it is exciting to think of building a business around your brand. Do you have family support? Do you have community support? Do you have a business plan? And if you take that step, research the private, Tribal, and government programs that support small and minority-owned businesses. Some can help you lease office or manufacturing space, upgrade your equipment, pay for translations and printing, and so on. Oftentimes, you’ll have to put in as many hours into your own business that a regular full-time job would require.
How do you incorporate elements of your cultural heritage into your products or services?
Quyung-lii in Cup’ik means The Potent One. We wanted a name to represent the powerful ingredients we bottled for your skin, using a cold process to extract the oleoresin of our wild harvested crowberry, Arctic sage (stinkweed) and fireweed. We chose these plentiful resources full of vitamins and minerals to be our signature ingredients so we wouldn’t compete with desirable subsistence foods like salmonberries. We give thanks to Cillam Cua, the Creator, for the bounty when we harvest. A little goes a long way—we don’t have to pick a lot to make our products. Yup’ik/Cup’ik names and images play into our products, and we integrate cultural and traditional knowledge into our labeling and social media posts.
Visit our Calivika Shareholder Directory, where you can view business listings or create your own listing.