Supplier Spotlight: Quirky QHouse Kids

RK: Please provide a brief bio on yourself and Qhouse Kids.

QH: Qhouse Kids was founded by Gaelle Everard, a Belgian, and soon to be young mother who recently moved to Canada with her Montreal born husband. They had met in Hong Kong and came back to settle in the west to raise their family.

 

 

RK: What inspired you to start distributing children’s products?  Aside from working with incredible retailers :- ), what inspires you to get out of bed every morning and do what you do?
QH: When we started 12 years ago, they were very few choices for young parents wanting the best for their baby. Department stores carried only mid tier brands and the Canadian specialty market was thin on selection. The US brands were dealing with Canada at arms length  which made is difficult to get product in the market at reasonable prices.

More than a decade later we are still excited to bring on new retailers and provide them with local service. At times its trying as people are hesitant (we wouldn’t be Canadian if we weren’t cautious), but its our job to ally their concerns and let them know we will support them and we are in it for the long haul.

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RK: Where does the name QHouse Kids originate?
QH: The “Q” in QHouse Kids stands for several things:

Quality – The core product attribute of everything we carry

Quebec – Where we are based

Quraeshi – Our family name

Q is an uncommon letter and we like that

 

RK: Describe your company’s culture.  Wild?  Wacky?  Details please.
QH: In a word ” Sarcastic”.

(RK note:  Oh really?  We hadn’t noticed : P)
We love what we do. The job has to be fun. Retail is a tough business, but the better stores have passion for what they do and working with them inspires us to be the best we can. Life is a gift and a life led with-out humour and joy is a wasted one.

RK: Which word(s) from our tagline best describes you?  Fresh? Healthy? or Fun?
QH: Probably not fresh as we just re-did our showroom, plus the McRib I just had for lunch rules out healthy, so I’d go with fun.

RK: Raspberry Kids currently carries OXO Tot, Topozoo, Skipper and P’kolino.  Which QHouse Kids line do you think we should consider and why?
QH: Stuf- very hip and design oriented

Happy Horse – Fresh well made plush for parents wanting something better.
Kaloo – Pop Collection- Fresh and the Baby Baby Gift on the market

RK: What is one things that most people don’t know about you?  Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone, other than our loyal blog readers!
QH: Gaelle is working towards her masters in Piano and I (Leif) have done over 500 skydives.

RK: Do you have a word of advice to parents out there?
QH: Buy right the first time. This doesn’t mean buying the most expensive item, but rather to pay for quality, as it will be the least expensive option over the long haul. Invest in something you use everyday (ie: strollers, high chairs, feeding gear). The most expensive items come from the dollar store.

RK: What is your favorite way to spend time with your little one(s)?
QH: Ridiculing their short comings.

(RK note: sarcasm illustration)

Traveling with them. Showing them the world while still remembering what its like to be young. Its a fine line between shielding them from harm and letting them meet life on their own terms.

RK: Just between you, us and the world wide web, can you tell us what exciting new products are in store in the near future at QHouse Kids?
QH:  We made a big splash this year and have added new colour variations and extensions across all our brands for this fall, and have also some new room concepts for early 2012.

RK: We know this may be a stretch for you to answer but what is your favorite thing about working with Raspberry Kids?  If you don’t have a favorite thing about working with us, please make something up!
QH: RK is passionate and knowledgeable which is a great combination. They are definitely opinionated, which we always prefer over the greyness of bland. With some clients you have to be careful as they may not “get” your humour, and you can’t always say what you feel at the time. In short, Raspberry Kids is a fun bunch, that are trying not just to sell, but educate their clientele to help their customers live better, by making informed choices when shopping for their children.