About
Potter & Pehar was born from a love for simple design and natural fabrics. We aim to create functional, beautiful and natural baby products that feel good to use and that parents can feel good about using. We are passionate about developing eco-friendly collections with a social and environmental conscience. Our designs are minimalist and focus on a neutral color pallet resulting in versatile ring slings, baby blankets, crib sheets and sleep sacks that fit seamlessly into your life and home.
But who are we...
Potter & Pehar is owned and operated by two women Shelley (Potter) and Tina (Pehar). They met while working in environmental and social management in the mining industry. While meaningful and important work, they wanted to start something new, with a deeper connection to their business, products and community. Combining their love for textiles and entrepreneurship,and seeing a gap in the market for linen products made in Canada, they launched Potter & Pehar in 2017.
Shelley
Tina
Born and raised in Canada, Tina has always had a love of textiles and apparel. Tina has over a decade of community engagement and ethical sourcing experience as a social impact specialist. Having worked on numerous major development projects around the world, Tina has developed a passion for community-based manufacturing and it's far reaching benefits across sectors. Tina lives with her family of four in Toronto where she single-handedly keeps the coffee scene afloat through her exclusive diet of the good stuff.
What we're about...
Working locally |
Simply put, working locally is good for the community. It benefits local economies and the people that live there. Each Potter & Pehar ring sling, sleep sack, and baby bedding item is a local labor of love. Each product involves the efforts of over half-a-dozen Canadian businesses including: seamstresses, ring distributors, photographers, packagers and printers. |
Source Responsibly |
Not just a buzz word. “Responsible sourcing and manufacturing” is at the core of what we’re about. Potter & Pehar brings over a decade of responsible sourcing experience to our personal brand. We source the best linen and bamboo fabrics from suppliers around the world. Each supplier must pass a social impact audit. Audits are conducted with evaluating factors that include: reasonable work hours, fair wages, and minimum age requirements for employees. We are continually working to improve our sourcing practices and develop strong, transparent relationships with the businesses we work with. |
Elevating Eco-Friendly |
Linen is made from fibers of the flax plant (‘Linum usitatissimum’). You may know of flax by its other name, ‘lineseed’. It is a resilient plant and requires a lot less water than other textile producing plants, such as cotton, to cultivate. We’re not just using a sustainable resource for our natural baby products, we’re ensuring that each facet of our business is grounded in reducing our environmental impact. We have eliminated plastic packaging - all of our online orders are shipped in 100% compostable mailers! Our paper-based materials are made from 100% recycled paper and are meant to be recycled or re-used. We eliminate fabric waste by re-purposing our off-cuts into unique products and partnering with local artisans and small shops to collaborate on product development for their own brands. |
Empowering Female Entrepreneurs |
Since starting Potter & Pehar, we have been blown away by the love and support from fellow women-owned businesses. Women supporting women creates unmatchable strength and can provide countless opportunities for enterprising women everywhere. We believe in lifting up and encouraging women of the world. To this end, our seamstress is an entrepreneur in her own right. So are our photographers. So is our ring distributor and web designer among others. We have big plans to support even more enterprising women as we work towards creating a fully socially responsible brand. We can’t wait to show you what’s in store as we grow and cultivate our future projects. |