The newest addition to Estevan’s downtown business community is looking to provide some much-needed services for families and children in the city.
Little Monkeys Treasure Box, located at 1213 Fourth Street, opened Tuesday morning. The business will buy and sell second hand children’s clothes, toys and accessories for those who are newborns to age five.
Owner Natascha Berndt noted she is the mother of a toddler named Hunter and it can be difficult for her to find clothes in Estevan.
There are some second-hand clothing stores, but they don’t specialize in children’s clothing.
“Because it’s specialized for kids, I will have a much bigger variety than the other stores in Estevan,” said Berndt. “They cover everything … used, and we do just kids.”
Living on a farm near Frobisher, Berndt and her husband are always in need of good clothing and clothes that can be used for outdoor activities.
“If the business does well, then we expand and we take in maternity clothes, but we have to see how it goes first,” she said.
It’s also a place where parents can find toys and accessories, such as high chairs, mattresses, nursing pillows and bedding.
Children can run around and play with the items in the store while their parents shop, and she encourages busy parents with young children to drop by and relax.
“I know how tough it was with Hunter,” she said. “In his age now, it’s way easier, but when he was smaller, I came into Estevan once a week to get my groceries, and with a baby, especially in the winter time, it’s tough. It takes me four or five hours to get everything once a week, and you have to feed them in between and you have to change diapers in between.”
So even if a parent doesn’t want to buy something, and wants to sit down and have a coffee and take a break, they can stop by because she knows how challenging it is.
Hunter loves coming to the business and playing with everything she has there.
“We have the deal that he puts everything away again, and he’s doing pretty good for 2 1/2 years,” said Berndt.
Berndt said she came up with the name because some people in Canada refer to their children as little monkeys, although it’s an expression that she has never heard before in her native Germany.
“I hope that it will be a treasure box in here for most of the people, that they find what they need and even more than that.”
People who talked to her prior to the opening told her they thought the business was a great idea. Some were already looking to sell her used items, while others wanted to buy something in advance, but Berndt had to tell them she doesn’t place reservations on items.
“They have to come here and buy it, because it wouldn’t be fair to other people,” she said.
Berndt had the idea to start her own business about 12 to 18 months ago, but didn’t follow through. She saw a different retail space available in Estevan, and the idea for Little Monkeys popped into her head again. The space didn’t work out for what she needed.
“I found this one, and it was just meant to be, that space. That’s what the owner said, too, it’s made for that.”
The location is ideal in downtown Estevan, as there are excellent neighbours and storage space for all that Little Monkeys has to offer.
The opening on Tuesday featured meat and cheese trays, cookies, coffee and water, as well as balloons for the kids.
While there was still work to be done before the opening, she was looking forward to it.
“Like everything, when you do something new, you always think you won’t make it, but in the end, you will make it anyways,” said Berndt.
The business will also have a donation bin for unsellable clothing. Donations will go the Estevan Humane Society or the Estevan Family Resource Centre.
