Life & Relationships
Meet 3 Canadian Mother-Daughter Teams Who Built Their Dream Businesses Together
Life & Relationships
Meet 3 Canadian Mother-Daughter Teams Who Built Their Dream Businesses Together
Sometimes all you need is your mom to succeed.
These three mother-daughter teams share how their drive, creativity, and ultimately, love for each other, pushed them to create their dream brands.
Mimi Island Designs: Georgian Bay, Ont.
Photos courtesy of Mimi Island Designs
If you give Mimi Island a quick Google search, you’ll be hard-pressed to find it on a map. But the tiny Georgian Bay isle’s dreamy spirit is undoubtedly alive thanks to the mother-daughter duo behind the luxuriously minimalist loungewear brand it’s named after. “It’s always been the place where we feel the most relaxed,” says Jackie Muru, co-founder of Mimi Island Designs. “We wanted to create something that gives people that same calm and cool feeling Mimi Island gives us.”
Ultra-soft fabric in nature-evoking hues and sustainable production are the hallmarks of this brand which was originally floated as an off-the-cuff idea. While travelling in 2018, co-founder Anne complained to her daughter and friends about having a hard time finding simple, high-quality pajamas. On a whim, Jackie remarked that they could just make a collection themselves. “We just went for it,” says Anne. “I thought, ‘This is an opportunity to do something with my daughter, how cool is that?’” Though the pair had no experience in the fashion industry—Anne had recently retired from a career in marketing, and Jackie just graduated from business school—they had a strong network of women to encourage them and lead them in the right direction.
After a year of searching for a Toronto-based manufacturer, creating designs, and personally testing out all the breathable materials they could, Mimi Island launched with four mix-and-match pajama pieces. Developing a brand that was environmentally friendly and made in Canada was a must. “We decided that if we’re in the fashion industry, we’re going to do what’s right for Canada, for the environment, and for our community,” says Jackie.
Today, while Mimi Island’s product line has grown to include nightgowns and a robe, and Jackie has crossed the pond to London, the pair are still at the helm together. “It’s been just the two of us for all of it, and the bond has been very special compared to if we had done this alone,” says Jackie. “It’s nice to support each other in life and then also in business.”
When they get the opportunity to travel to craft shows and meet buyers in real life, they’ve discovered that this ethos has translated to their customers. “We have mothers reaching out saying, ‘I want to buy for my daughters,’ and daughters stopping by saying, ‘I have to get something for my mother,’” says Anne. “That’s how we started, so that’s been really fun to see.
Simhka Cosmetics: Montreal, Que.
Photos courtesy of Simkha Cosmetics
Growing up, homemade skincare was a staple in Muriel Koucoï’s home. From natural sunscreens to ultra-hydrating shea butter mixtures, four-ingredient recipes for balms and creams were passed down from mother to daughter. But it wasn’t until Muriel moved to Montreal and had a child of her own that she realized the value of these handmade products.
Nearly 20 years ago, her two-year-old son started experiencing allergic reactions to perfumes and itchy patches of eczema. Muriel tried cream after cream in an attempt to soothe Lorenzo’s itchy skin, from dermatologist prescriptions to products tailor-made for sensitive skin, to no avail. After venting to her mom about these challenges over the phone, her mom stopped her in her tracks. “She said, ‘why don’t you try to mix up what I used to make for you and your brothers?” says Muriel, a biochemist. “That was the first time I truly listened to my mom.”
Muriel pulled together her mom’s cure-all recipe—shea butter, coconut oil, and rosehip oil—and tested it out on herself and Lorenzo. Just a few months later, she noticed her son’s eczema was improving. “I realized that I had a treasure in my hands,” she says.
Today, Muriel’s family-inspired and science-backed skincare line, Simkha Cosmetics, includes moisturizers, body scrubs, face masks, and more. And despite her mom not being directly involved in the business, Muriel says that both her presence and that of other women in her family are ingrained in Simkha. “Each product has a story behind it, and half of them are related to my mother,” she says.
Muriel’s scientific background allows her to understand her products’ ingredients and how they interact with the skin in a deeper way, but she ultimately stuck to her family’s tried-and-true simplistic recipes. Every product has less than six ingredients and most have just four (as per her mother’s directive). “Why change something that already works?” says Muriel. That said, her mother has long-since switched from making her own skincare products to Muriel’s line. “She only uses Simkha now,” says Muriel. “Sometimes I think she forgets that she’s the one who gave me all that knowledge.”
Anzie Jewelery: Montreal, Que.
Photo courtesy of Anzie Jewelery
Colourful stones, whimsical designs, and on-the-spot welding are all hallmarks of Anzie Jewelry. Underneath the minimalist glamour of the Montreal-based brand, their pièce-de-résistance has remained the same for 26 years: the Lifsaver bracelet.
In 1999, founder Anzie Stein’s husband was diagnosed with colon cancer, sending the couple on a path to New York City for treatment. While in the city, they started sourcing out gemstones as a light-hearted distraction. “We brought them back to Montreal where all of my children started creating designs in the basement,” says Anzie, a former art teacher and artist. “It became so much fun that we started buying too many stones, and we ultimately had to start selling them.” The original bracelet—adorned with blue gems, the colour for colon cancer awareness—kickstarted a booming jewelry brand that not only expanded to shops across Canada but quickly evolved into a family affair.
After graduating from university, Anzie’s daughters Jacqueline and Joanna joined the team, bringing in new sales and design concepts. “Joanna and Jacqueline have their ideas from a fresh, young perspective, while mine is a little more mature,” says Anzie. “We learn from each other.” In true sisterly fashion, there have been disagreements—like learning to trust each other’s expertise—but the pair have grown to be equals at work.
When they’re not creating beautiful jewelry pieces, they spend quality time with the rest of their family and do their best not to talk shop. “Then when we’re at work, it’s fun in a different way,” says Joanna, who spearheads sales. “It makes us appreciate each other even more.”
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