If you were looking for maternity clothing, kids clothing or other related things before, there weren’t many options in Grand Forks.
Amber Kirk and Leanne Haslam opened Four Little Monkeys in December with the hopes to change that.
Kirk says the idea for a maternity store started when they both were raising kids.
“There was really nowhere to shop here for kids,” Kirk says. “So the idea started a long time ago but when we both just had one child each it was easy to go places to shop. But then we each had another one and it got really hard to go anywhere.”
After that she says that they both started to talk about the idea and things seemed to line up.
“We both had storage bins in our basements and in our garages,” Haslam says. “We just didn’t really want it to be really crammed in here, I’ve been in some consignment stores where you can’t even move.”
So the store is neatly laid out, with room for parents to bring strollers inside the store. They have a kid’s area, which can help let parents have a moment to look around.
“It’s nice for people to come in and be able to try stuff on,” Kirk says. “Because when you order your maternity stuff online, you can’t, you don’t know what you’re getting.”
They sell clothing from infants to ladies plus-size, including maternity. They also sell toys, crib sheets, cloth diapers, car seats and cribs.
“Pretty much everything you need for kids,” Kirk says. The store also has some locally-made teas and dresses for sale.
They keep a wish list as well, in case there is something a customer is looking for. “If we don’t have it, we try and find it. If we can’t find it right away we put your name on the list and check it daily.”
Kirk and Haslam each have two kids and they inspired the name of the store.
“We have four little monkeys,” Kirk says.
“We were trying to come up with a name and we wanted it to be kid friendly and monkeys are hugely recognizable and kids love them.”
Kirk is also a doula, a professional labour coach, so they offer doula services out of the store. She recently took the car seat safety educator course as well, so she knows all of the rules and regulations with the seats.
“So people can come in and get their car seats checked,” she says.