Beansprouts

A regular on multiple Vancouver best-of-the-city lists, Beansprouts on Main Street combines a curated collection of kids’ consignment clothing and shoes with and a thoughtful selection of new earth-friendly and local products, including clothes, books, toys and gear.

Owner Angie Heintz opened Beansprouts in 2003 after the birth of her son. “One night near the end of my maternity leave I was up nursing my son and I had the idea to open a children’s boutique. I thought I was either brilliant or delirious as there weren't any kids’ stores in the neighbourhood," Angie explains. "I’d always shopped at Front & Company and admired how they did consignment and I figured why not take that model and turn it into a baby store? So the next morning I scribbled my business plan on a piece of paper.”

When she first opened Beansprouts, the shop only carried consignment but Angie found the landscape very different from today. “When I first opened people were afraid to buy consignment. Now people will request consignment for baby showers and gift registries,” she says.