It’s mid-September but you wouldn’t know it out in Aylmer, QC this morning as the sun beats down on MINI TIPI’s warehouse. While the heat outside is unseasonal, the warmth inside is undeniable. Today, we get to peek behind the curtain (or blanket) of an incredible women-owned, Indigenous and definitely not mini company.
Meeting MINI TIPI
While we’re personally very familiar with MINI TIPI, we suspect some of you may be meeting them for the first time. We’ll do the introductions. Trisha Pitura, a member of Nipissing First Nation, and Melanie Bernard, from Quebec City of settler descent cofounded MINI TIPI in 2016. The lifestyle brand celebrates Indigenous arts and cultures with products that are designed, cut and sewn in Canada. When we put Trisha on the spot and ask her to define the company in one sentence, she says: “MINI TIPI is where traditional Indigenous art forms meet beautiful, modern, authentic and sustainable textiles.”
The Grand Tour
The Village Blanket
Melanie and Trisha are our guides today as we’ll follow the warehouse journey of the Village blanket. Trisha designed this blanket, “a big part of the inspiration was the emotion; how people feel when they’re at the spa. It’s all about the experience. I pulled a lot of earth tones to represent the environment that surrounds the spa and the browns and grays bring it all together, for connection and community.”
The partnership between the spas and MINI TIPI is really about supporting local and building a community, or a village. Trisha continues: “It’s really about who you involve, support and raise in your community.” Melanie adds “When Groupe Nordik reached out to us, we were really looking at the new Spa Village in Whitby, so we ran with the village concept. We love to see something small that grew here become something bigger, it’s inspiring.”
On a Roll
We enter a room filled with rolls and rolls of recycled textile with colourful motifs. There’s enough in here to drape entire rooms in cozy fabrics and create the perfect cocoon of our dreams. This is where the warehouse journey of the Village blanket begins. A giant roll of the gold, gray and brown fabric is speared on top of a grand wood table ready to be cut to size. The blankets we’re cutting today are destined for Thermëa in Winnipeg where they’ll find a home in the massage and treatment rooms—some will also head to the boutique and may find their home, well, in your homes. “We launched the Village blanket in winter and we’re so excited for people to be able to enjoy them in fall for the first time.” By a fire, with red, yellow and orange leaves all around, wrapped up in the MINI TIPI blanket, it’s a picture-perfect tableau.
“This is kind of what a daily day looks like at MINI TIPI” explains Trisha over the whirling sound of the cutters, “Our blankets are one of our products with the least steps” adds Melanie. Of course, tote bags, mittens and hoodies all require more steps than the blankets. Nevertheless, everything is done methodically as Mia cuts blanket after blanket.
Tag, You’re It
Next come the tags. Everyone goes through a futuristic-looking machine to be etched with MINI TIPI’s logo and the artists’ signature—or in our case, the spa’s logo.
Did you know...?
Have you ever noticed the arrows in MINI TIPI’s logo? Well, they’re not just arrows, they actually represent the v-formations of Canadian geese in flight! Represented in a painting in their office, the geese are part of their team culture. The birds fly in formation to be stronger, and leaders know when to step back and let others shine. And now you know!
Attaching the tag to the blanket is quick, blink and you’ll miss it. And just like that, we’re already off to the next station, and the Village blanket is one step closer to being done.
In a Stitch
After chatting for quite a while over by the laser machine, we head to the sewing room to meet MINI TIPI’s team of seamstresses and singular tailor. The whirling of sewing machines drones on as we follow the Village blanket on the next step of her journey.
First, the black fringe, then the sides. It’s nearly done, almost ready to be sent to its final destination.
A bin full of village blankets is in the middle of the room, as tempting as it is to lay in it, we just watch and chat as each blanket gets its finishing touches, framing the art just like you’d do for a canvas.
A Cut Above
In an adjacent room, we come upon a great stack of Village blankets. They were most likely ordered in preparation for the holidays to help people take the spa home, to keep or to give.
While the quality of each product is assessed at every step, now is when they’re really put to the test. Every inch of fabric, every stitch, from the fringe to the tag, is meticulously inspected.
And if they don’t pass the checks? Don’t worry, nothing here ever goes to waste. The imperfects will make their way to much anticipated sales. Every June, Trisha and Melanie host a sale here at the warehouse. If you’re thinking of coming, come early, as lines make it well into the street. “It’s a great opportunity to see the community in person,” explains Melanie.
Even the offcuts are reused and recycled. They are sent to schools and Indigenous organization. Their community is part of everything they do, and this is just one more example of going above and beyond.
And now, after making its way through the warehouse, the Village blanket is gently tucked away into a box, ready to be shipped to Winnipeg.
By Design
Having left the Village blanket and warehouse behind, we go upstairs. Here, there are meetings and paperwork, but there’s also a design room. All the motifs are featured here, a little like a library.
On one side of the room, a clothing rack filled with “in-development” products. We’ve been sworn to secrecy, but keeping an eye on their socials and website might be a good idea.
On the other side of the room, there are still some secrets, but those, we’ll share with you. Melanie shows us a new motif that will soon be announced. While we’ll keep some mystery, here’s what we can share: “the new design is called We Are All One. We launched a design contest last year in all Indigenous primary and high schools in Canada. An 11-year-old girl’s drawing won and together with Trisha, they digitized her drawing and made it into a fabric. It will be out in November and the second edition of the competition will come soon after.”
Like every artist who works with MINI TIPI, the prodigy will get royalties on her design. “It’s a great way to show the youths their potential,” explains Trisha, while Melanie shows off the blanket: “I love how the blanket’s design has some childlike qualities. We’re so excited to share this design with our community.”
A Love Story
Like many of us who grew up in the Outaouais region, Melanie and Trisha knew of Nordik Spa-Nature long before the start of their collaboration. “Through time, we watched Nordik become something great. By bringing concepts from around the world, like the Aufguss ritual, it really cemented itself as an institution. It’s incredible that it brings inspiration from so many places but is still so embedded in its own community,” explains Melanie.
MINI TIPI is now part of the fabric of Nordik. Recently, during an Aufguss competition at the spa, two rituals artisans, Megan and Sandrine, brought the story of the Thunderbird to the sauna and MINI TIPI was gracious enough to lend their fabrics to help the Rituals Artisans make their skirts and tell their tale. Trisha adds: “Getting to showcase authentic Indigenous designs in the spa space was an incredible opportunity. This partnership helps us create a bridge and bring our culture and art to new people who might become a bit curious and ask the right questions, it’s just a great and beautiful teaching moment.”
And although you might think that the spa’s community and that of MINI TIPI are different, they might be more similar than you think. “So many Indigenous people feel represented and seen when they see our designs out in urban places. It wasn’t so long ago that saying you were Indigenous out loud wasn’t accepted. We never know what representation can mean to someone, especially in a place like Winnipeg, which has the largest concentration of Indigenous people in Canada. For Indigenous people to see Indigenous art made by Indigenous artists is so validating.”
Although we could stay the entire day and chat about so many things, our morning tour has come to an end. Trisha and Melanie walk us to the door and with promises of future get-togethers, we leave MINI TIPI’s world and reenter a decidedly less-cozy outside world.
