About Us

How it all started... 

I was shopping at one of my favourite places in the world ‘Les Puces’ - Marché aux Puces de Paris - one of the oldest, continuously operating flea markets in the world. For us Canadians, think basically a museum, where a lot of the treasures of display are older than our country itself, and for SALE. It’s a treasure hunt for a history-loving thrifter like me, and a must-stop each time I visit Paris.

On my last visit I stumbled across a booth with treasures galore - jewelry, hats, vanity sets, and a small box filled with glass eyes. No, not decorative, real glass eyes. I was speaking to the shopkeeper who said they came from a closing sale at an oddity shop, and were all really used, in the late 1800s. They were beautiful, unique, and a bit out of my ‘glass eyes’ budget for the day. So I left it.

But there was one. It seemed to speak to me. It was almost the colour of my eyes. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not on the metro ride back to our rented loft, not that night over dinner, not lying in bed that night.

It was more than a glass eye. It was what it represented.

The reason I thrift, the reason I adore my days at ‘Les Puces’ is really my sense of needing to preserve. There used to exist expert makers, craftspeople, who carried their trade through generations, who mastered their craft - be it embroidery, or ironwork, or glass eyes. In the pre-industrial (and pre-fast fashion!) world when we took pride in what we made, and we made it with our hands. With purpose.

I could not stop thinking about the artist who made glass eyes. Perhaps someone who traveled through cities and towns, or had a specialty shop, and who changed lives through their art by giving someone their appearance back. Until a machine was created to use synthetic materials to create it faster and cheaper.

And I mourned for this lost art. And all lost art. And I had to have it. So I went back, made a deal and have held it close since.

It started with a glass eye. That eye (which I’m having made into a ring so it is with me always), caused a spark. I want to make new things from lost art. And KIMONOIR was born.

HOW WE SOURCE

We hand source, hand wash, hand cut and lovingly create all of our items from scratch. We scour thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales, and yes, my grandmother’s button collection to find our materials. Even our thread is thrifted. We buy the forgotten. We save from landfills. We give new life.

HOW WE CUSTOMIZE AND CREATE

We also work hard to customize our items as much as possible. Yes, we can incorporate the pocket from your late grandfather’s favourite shirt. One of our first projects was a hobo bag made from my late father’s favourite ties. Yes, we can match a colour story (Within reason - do you know how rare ORANGE quilts are??). Get in touch with us - attend one of our sustainable shopping soirees - and use our custom creator tool to find your own story through textile. Better yet, bring your own fabric - for inclusion, for inspiration. We’ll show you how to give it new life!

HOW IT FEELS

We also promise that we don’t create anything we would not wear ourselves. That means garments that FEEL GOOD. We choose soft, natural fabrics, ones that have been handmade, or at least have stood the test of time. Washable. Dryable. Wearable like a walking hug!

OUR PROMISE TO THE EARTH

We have made a pledge to support the UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

Specifically, we target Goal #12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. We source sustainably. Period. We buy used. Thrifting is our mantra. Some of our items come from thrift stores, flea markets (including ‘Les Puces’ in Paris!), yard sales, estate sales, and even our own family attics - in fact, nearly all of the buttons we use come from those collected over decades by my grandmother, an immigrant who worked as a seamstress when she arrived in Canada from a camp, after WWII. I just know she’d be proud to see them, generations later, given a second life!

We also strive to pay fair rates for any work we outsource, and give the work to women in need, immigrants and refugees. We also love to hear from other sustainable, women-owned businesses.