The Yellowknife Birth and Baby Expo, which organizers say is a first for the city, will take place at the multiplex’s DND gym from 9am till 5pm on Saturday, January 20.
The event is being organized by Boreal Kids Consignment, a Yellowknife-based children’s clothing company that has spent the past few years gradually expanding.
The expo will feature a variety of northern firms and service providers who aim to help babies, pregnant people and young families.
“We have people coming from fertility doulas and lactation consultants to baby-wearing experts,” said Amy Allan, who owns Boreal Kids Co with Lyric Sandhals. (Baby-wearing, she clarified for the uninitiated, is the art of deciding how best to carry a baby and ensure they’re kept warm and safe at the same time.)
Nutrition, education and public health will also be represented at the expo, Allan said, “so all sorts of things related to pregnancy, birth, babies and small children, all the way up to growing families.”
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Entry is by donation. There will be prizes on the day and activities for children like a bouncy castle and face painting. Allan expects some photographers in attendance to offer mini sessions for attendees.
“We didn’t want to call it a trade show. I was really a fan of the word expo. But if you’re looking to compare it to something, it’s a trade show focused on babies and families,” she said.
“We’re calling it the first ever because we have no knowledge of there being one before.”
While catering to growing kids, Boreal Kids Co has enjoyed growth of its own since being founded online in 2020.
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The company opened a Yellowknife store in 2022. It operates on a consignment model, taking in what Allan describes as “pre-loved” kids’ clothing and reselling it.
More recently, the company has begun stocking women’s clothing and maternity clothing, and now carries the likes of sleep sacks and other children’s items that can be hard to track down in the NWT.
“It was really nice because we organically grew. We knew the need existed and we started growing slowly, and got bigger and bigger as we saw that people really were looking for the products that we were bringing in,” said Allan.
Another recent idea is the rental of baby gear, so people coming to Yellowknife can hire a car seat or a playpen for a short period of time.
“We’re constantly trying to grow and stay with new trends, things that are happening in kids’ and baby clothing,” Allan said.
“We see the same people come in over and over again, learning about our company and how we choose to bring in products. We’ve grown a customer base and it’s really rewarding being able to help them, provide advice and bring in things people are looking for.”
