The city’s one-stop shop for babies — Mini Mioche — has had great success at its Queen West location, and two years after opening there, the business has opened a new flagship store in the Distillery District.
“The Distillery area has so much character,” says owner Alyssa Kerbel. “We call this our flagship store because it has a lot more space to showcase more product. We have a lot of shoppers that are east-enders and were destination shoppers to our Queen Street store, so we decided to move a little bit closer east.”
Mini Mioche is known for offering baby clothing that is organic, eco-friendly and made in Canada. For those who may not know what, exactly, organic clothing is, Kerbel explains: “Organic clothing means we use cotton that is grown without using pesticides. Even when we use polyester, it’s recycled. We like to keep things local and very eco-friendly here.”
While the store’s environmental ethos is admirable, it’s the style of Mini Mioche’s clothing that grabs our eye. The inspirations for the line came from Kerbel’s own experience with children, and she designed the clothing with her right hand, Alex Goth.
Where cute and gimmicky may be the name of the game at other stores, Mini Mioche stocks must-have basics, including long-sleeved shirts, T-shirts and hooded sweaters. Of these basics, we love the organic cotton lush hoodie ($52), a piece that is available in two versions: French terry cloth for the spring, and organic fleece for the fall. The store’s clothing is organized according to the age that it’s appropriate for; this way parents will know how to size up as their baby grows.
Exclusive to the Distillery location is an adult line called em+west, named after Kerbel’s children (and also designed by Kerbel and Goth). Em+west offers adult-sized versions of those aforementioned basics, like hoodies ($108) and T-shirts ($45). Though Kerbel has plans to release a unisex collection, the line’s initial launch is only for womenswear.
Other than clothing, Mini Mioche’s 1,705-square-foot space also has an “eat, bathe, sleep and go” section, as well as toys, hats and a play corner to occupy your children while you’re perusing the goods. There is also a well-curated selection of footwear that features Toms, Adidas, Collegien, Vans and Puma, among other brands.
Mini Mioche, 6 Case Goods Lane in the Distillery District, 416-366-5858