INSIDE STORY
Bringing up
...east coast style
Nova Scotia parents opting for quality, locally-made products
BY HEATHER LAURA CLARKE
W
hen Emma Enman’s daughter, Charlotte, was learning to crawl, she had bruised, carpet-burned knees and was wearing holes in her pants. Enman decided to sew kneepads into a few pairs of her tiny leggings to provide her daughter with a little comfort. Since she didn’t have a sewing background (just a quick lesson from her grandmother) Enman was surprised when other parents began raving over the padding leggings. “People kept asking where I got them and then if I could make a pair for their baby, too,” says Enman. “I knew it was a good idea and I wanted to share it with other parents.” She started researching the children’s clothing market and learned there wasn’t anything similar available. There was also a lack of comfy, Canadian-made baby and toddler clothing, so Enman took her sketches to WearWell Garments in Stellarton. The manufacturer had never tackled a children’s line but was happy to partner with Enman on the prototype knee-pad pants: the aptly-named Neezies. She put her background in communications and PR to good use, and began working full-time out of her New Glasgow home. Enman launched Neezies’ online shop in the spring of 2015 and the clothing is also carried in shops across the province, like
Moments Boutique (Truro), Biggs & Little (IWK Health Centre in Halifax), The Outdoors Store (Baddeck), Fox Harb’r Resort (Wallace) the WearWell Garments Company Store (Stellarton), and 10 Lawtons locations. Today, Neezies is shipping across Canada and sells three different styles of knee-padded pants (classics, lounge pants, and diva leggings) as well as a variety of tops and hoodies. Everything is made of super-soft cotton blends so little ones have comfortable play clothes that are made to last. The young mum of two says her customers consistently tell her they’d rather spend a little more on quality, locally-made clothing than keep re-buying three-for-$10 pairs of baby pants from a big-box store. She’s in the process of expanding Neezies to include larger sizes (like 3T, 4T and 5T) since so many of her loyal customers are outgrowing their current pieces. “People love the products but they also like the story behind them,” says Enman. “They know that buying local means supporting local jobs here in Pictou County.” Andrea Munroe runs Enchanted Forest in downtown Truro, and she’s noticed a critical shift in what parents are buying for their babies and toddlers.
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The North Shore
ah! Spring 2017 - 18
