Entrepreneur:
Joanne Wright, Owner/Operator

Business:
Jet Baby
Cool clothes for half-pint hipsters
www.jetbaby.com

Jet Baby Has Landed....

Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of owning my own business.  I was convinced, at the age of seven, that one day I would own a candy store, or a toyshop, or maybe even a pony ranch!  Over the years my interests changed, of course, and although I didn’t know exactly what my business would be, I never let go of that dream.  I knew that one day I would be my own boss.

After university, I fell into the commercial photography business, producing photo shoots for various catalogue and advertising clients, shopping for wardrobe for shoots, and working on set to make sure the clothes looked great.  Although it was a fun job, it never really felt like “me” – I was still searching for that business idea.  I even quit my full-time job at the photo studio and went freelance, thinking that would satisfy the “be-my-own-boss” urge I was feeling.

It was six years ago, after I had my first son, that my interests changed from womens' clothing to childrens’ clothing.  I noticed how few choices there were for kids, and especially for boys.  There seemed to be two options – either the big box stores which were cheap but totally boring and predictable, or the high end boutiques which, to me, carried unrealistic clothes at unrealistic prices.  I was going down to Los Angeles quite regularly for location shoots and I was constantly amazed at the fantastic, affordable clothing available there for kids.  I would go nuts shopping for my two sons – the hippest little rock t-shirts, cool jackets and even the pyjamas were better than anything I had seen in Toronto.  I loved the anticipation I felt walking into those shops and the excitement I got from discovering all of these treasures.  The best part was the reaction I got from people at home when they saw all of these great little clothes on my boys – people would stop me on the street to ask where I had bought their clothes.  I thought, “Hmmmmm…I could be onto something here!”

My first business idea was to start a cool little t-shirt line, with retro, pop culture inspired graphics on them.  I had ideas for t-shirts coming out of my ears, and I thought I would eventually like to do a full clothing line for kids.  JetBaby was one of the first names I came up with and it is perfect – it evokes that kind of 50s/60s jet-set era that I love, but is contemporary and catchy too.  I plugged away slowly on my t-shirts and became absolutely obsessed with kids clothing.  I would spend hours on the internet, trying to find the coolest, independent clothing lines out there.  I started bookmarking sites – I have gathered hundreds over the past six years!  I remember joking to my sister, “I could open up the coolest clothing store with all of these great lines I know about!”

That was it.

That was my “lightbulb moment”.  That very second, I knew I had finally figured it out.  The rest of the puzzle pieces fit together easily after that.  I had always wanted to move back to Oakville after I had kids, so my husband and I sold our home in Toronto and I used part of the money to start JetBaby.  My sister told me about a vacant shop just three doors down from Petits et Jolis, her beautiful childrens’ furniture and accessory shop on Kerr Street – it seemed too good to be true!  I got the keys to the shop in May of 2006, but couldn’t start working on the renovations until July.  It was a real learning experience:  I’ve never done anything like this before, and I very often felt like I was fumbling my way through the dark.  It was really hard, from my kitchen table in Toronto, to guestimate how much inventory I would need for an empty store in Oakville.  I was so worried I wouldn’t have enough stock.  The store finally opened in September, and I was so pleased with how much I ordered – it ended up being the perfect amount to start with.

I want JetBaby to be different from the average childrens’ clothing shop, and it is:  there is nothing else out there like my shop, and many of the lines I carry aren't available anywhere else in Canada.  I want it to be cool and completely unique, to be trendy but affordable.  When people see something really hip and cool in a magazine, I want JetBaby to be the place where they think of to look for it.  Above all, I want JetBaby to be fun!  I set out to fill the shop with my favourite things:  from the antique toys lining the walls to the music that I play, to the really great clothes, toys and books for sale in the shop, everything has been hand-picked by me.  I intentionally didn’t go into any other independent childrens’ shops before I opened because I didn’t want to be influenced by anyone else’s vision.  The shop is a total representation of who I am.  In fact, many of the clothes in the shop are ones that I’ve bought for my own boys on those location shoots in L.A.  The response to the shop has been fantastic, and word seems to be spreading like wildfire!  I love all the positive feedback I’ve been getting, and nothing makes me happier than to hear people laughing when they pick up a tiny AC/DC onesie, or read the Slang Flashcards I have for sale at the front cash.   

My two boys think JetBaby is the coolest thing ever.  They are like my little focus group – I often ask them which products they like best when I’m placing orders.  My 6 year old has very definite opinions on clothes, and my 3 year old loves the toys, so it’s fun to see what appeals to them best, and it’s really helpful to share their opinions with my customers!  Juggling motherhood with the shop has had its share of tricky moments though.  It really hit home this past Christmas during the school holidays:  most people are able to take that time off work to be with their kids, but I had to be in the shop.  There have been two or three times I’ve had a customer walk in just when I am about to close the door for the day, but I have to run as soon as the store shuts or else I’ll be late picking up my boys from daycare.  I know in the long run, however, the store will allow me the flexibility and freedom I’ve been looking for.  I’ll be able to hire someone and spend much more quality time with my boys, to volunteer on school trips, to spend the summer holidays with them.  I’ve had little tastes of it already – I had someone cover for me one afternoon so I could see my son in his Christmas play at school.  Little things like that mean a lot to me.

I’ve just scratched the surface with JetBaby:  there is so much more I want to do, so many more products I want to carry in the shop.  It’s all trial and error – there are some lines I know I won’t be getting in again, and I have literally dozens of others waiting on my wish list.  I have been inundated with requests to carry larger sizes, so that’s something I’m going to work towards for back to school.  I’m still producing my own t-shirts, and I still have plans to do my own clothing line for boys.  I’m so excited about that!!  It’s the coolest idea, and the name is just fantastic, but I’ll have to keep that under wraps until I’m a little closer to making it happen.  Eventually, I would love to open shops across Canada.  In the meantime, I’m going to carry on searching out the hippest little clothes and accessories to carry at JetBaby.  

77 Lakeshore Road West (entrance on Kerr St) Oakville, Ontario
905 849 7575 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.jetbaby.com (online shopping coming - Spring 2007)