Sproutz Kidz Inc

When Lani Atkinson and her friend Lana were working full-time and looking after their young kids, they both absolutely loved consignment shopping. But something wasn’t quite right with the whole consignment shopping experience. It was, as Lani puts it, frustrating. Rather than sit back and complain about the state of the consignment stores in Calgary, however, Lani and Lana decided to take action and open a store of their own. Within six months, Sproutz Kidz and U-Turn was opening its doors for business.

“We wanted to open a store that made consignment fun and enjoyable,” says Lani. “Calgary is an affluent city, so a lot of beautiful items were just getting thrown away or used as rags. We wanted to create a space where people could come and take advantage of reusing items instead of buying new products, and in the process reduce our carbon footprint.”