It was motherhood that caused Marie-Renée Grondin to make a 180-degree turn, prompting her to leave the Prime Minister’s Office to start her own Merino wool baby clothing company.
The 33-year-old young entrepreneur, former journalist, presenter and recently political attaché and head of digital communications for Prime Minister François Legault, looks back on her first year in business and has no regrets.
A first candle
His young company Timininous, which celebrated its first candle on September 24th, has the wind in its sails.
The goal she set at the end of her first twelve months, namely to achieve sales of $100,000, was exceeded last month, she says proudly.
And that’s not counting her appearance on the show Dans l’oeil du Dragon last May or her RBC Entrepreneur of Tomorrow award.
To Europe
The evolving thermal clothing for children and, more recently, the collection for adults have been very successful for us and are specifically designed for outdoor sports. They are made in Quebec and Donnacona and even find buyers in British Columbia and Europe.
These new markets will be part of her goals next year, she assures.
Made in Quebec
Marie-Renée has a passion for fashion, travel and nature and designs her clothing line herself. Designers and pattern makers also help her put her ideas on paper, she assures.
René Baillargeon / QMI Agency
While most adult suits, sets and, more recently, sweaters are made from 100% Merino wool from Australia or South America, Marie-Renée is proud to confirm that all of her products are designed in Quebec.
She is even proud that she managed to have a fabric knitted entirely in Quebec for her new “Ruby” collection.
Ecological Footprint
Concerned about the environment, especially when thinking about the future of her little Jules, the mother attaches great importance to her ecological footprint within her company.
She claims that she hasn’t thrown away any scraps of fabric since she started. “It’s one of the most environmentally damaging things in the fashion industry. [Les retailles], I still have them all. I will do [des] Projects with possibly,” she assures.
The Portuguese “click”
After a difficult pregnancy, a baby and several questions about her career as a political attaché, Marie-Renée realized that she could no longer continue on the same path.
“I knew very well that the hours I had in government would no longer work [avec ma vie de famille]. My priority at that time was Mr. Legault. But with my baby, Mr. Legault could no longer be my priority,” she said.
After a trip to Portugal in October 2021, everything came to a head.
While hiking with her lover and her barely four-month-old baby, she worries about her baby’s well-being due to the significant temperature fluctuations.
Timininous founder Marie-Renée Grondin was inspired by her little Jules when creating her thermal clothing. René Baillargeon / QMI Agency
“I thought he would have looked so good in a merino wool suit. When I got back I went looking for some because I wanted to go cross country skiing with my baby. It was nowhere to be found. And then I said to myself: I have to do this!” she exclaims.
It was like “enlightenment from God”! she says laughing.
“It combined everything I wanted: flexibility in schedule and a creative element. I like to touch everything, I’m self-taught,” she continues.
The clothing for young and now grown-up adventurers is available on the website Timininous.com.
MUCH
- Entrepreneurship is…? Create your own job that aligns with your values and motivations. It’s also a stimulating and challenging adventure!
- Who inspires you? Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. He always did everything differently in business! He’s a real bum who has always put environmental protection at the heart of his priorities. He inspires me and I dream of meeting him one day!
- You become a politician, what do you change first? I would like to introduce a traceability system for all consumer goods so that we can better assess the environmental footprint of what we buy based on the manufacturing process and materials used, but also the origin of what we buy. We consume. This would be accompanied by a guarantee obligation from manufacturers to combat planned obsolescence. This would allow us to make more informed decisions.
To find out more about Timininous, click Here.