ASSINIBOIA — Alyssa Harris is the proud owner of a new store in town, Little Sunshine Company Baby and Kids.
She opened her doors in the west wing of the upper floor at the Prince of Wales Cultural Centre March 22. Harris started her company in October of 2023 through online and pop-up markets. Originally, she wore a few brands of clothing she liked. When she and her husband started their family, she realized some of those brands carried a kids' line. Reaching out to those brands and finding others along the way, she started her clothing company at home.
As a Beatles fan, her favourite song is “Here Comes The Sun” and when her son came along, she has always referred to him as her little sunshine. The name “Little Sunshine Company Baby and Kids” was created from there. Opening day was a “good day” in Harris’s words with hours running from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a steady stream of customers. It was “more than we could have hoped for.”
Harris, with the maiden name of Harvey, stated she “Comes from a long line of entrepreneurs starting with my great-grandpa.”
Harris and her husband started looking for a space in January of 2025 when he encouraged her to take her company further. With her love of all things natural, she appreciated the amount of light that floods the whole store. Her husband built the tables, pegboard, ladder shelf and partition, adding hanger bars on the wall. Harris is using a counter from the building until he builds one. Most everything is either cotton, organic cotton or bamboo, and she is looking for items made from hemp. The majority of all items not in those materials are Oeko-Tex certified. High quality with the ability for items to be passed along to extend the life of the garment or object is an absolute must. To that end everything has been family tested.
“As parents, we handpicked everything and looked for things that were needed,” states Harris.
They are looking for things you can’t find here and have to go to the city to find. Growing up here, she knows there is nothing in this line available. Finding that some brands offered adult sizes, Harris stocks matching mom and child styles. She and her husband go together on the shopping strips to find things like silicone spoons, bibs and teething rings as well as GMO-free bubble bath and bath toys.
There is a good variety, including stuffed animals with books, body floaties and natural stick-on insect repellant tabs. With a turn around time of a week to 10 days for companies that allow small orders and a little longer for those that have minimum orders Harris will order in if someone wants something she doesn’t carry. With shipments arriving in May, June, July and August, along with the possibility of strollers and car seats and the probability of a change room, there is hope for a grand opening in fall.
