Portside Parent Spotlight: Rebecca Brett of Minnow Lane

If you live in Fishtown and have a child (or have shopped for one!), chances are you’ve frequented “Minnow Lane,” the charming and distinctive children’s boutique on Frankford Avenue. The retail store specializing in eco-friendly, all natural products including toys, clothing, and skincare is co-owned by Portside’s very own After School Arts Program parent Rebecca Brett!
 
Rebecca, who has been living in Philly for 20 years, has a background in the arts and non profit arts administration (no wonder she loves Portside!) and didn’t have any long term plans to begin on a path to running her own child-focused business. The idea for the shop came to her in 2013 when she was 

expecting her first child. She began researching baby products that held up to the same ethical and sustainable standards as the products she would buy for herself, only to discover that those products were considerably hard to come by. Most of her findings were online with not many physical stores close by. She thought about how nice it would be to see everything in person and be able to touch and hold them. At the time, there was one such store on the other side of the city, so it was then that her idea for opening a hyper local neighborhood shop started to brew.
 
In early 2015, when her daughter was about 18 months old, Rebecca found herself talking to her good friend Rita (whose daughter is about the same age as Rebecca’s daughter) about her idea for the need for a local retail shop specializing in eco-friendly baby and parenting products. They immediately realized that they both shared similar ideas. Now that there was someone to bounce ideas off of, things began to look promising for the idea to become a reality. Rebecca also spoke about opening up this type of shop with her new parent friends in the neighborhood, all who were incredibly supportive of the idea and encouraged her to follow through. Rebecca and Rita decided to officially team up and become business partners. The shop opened 6 months later.
 
Since opening, the shop has grown significantly over the last five years…much like the neighborhood! Rebecca has gotten to know so many new families and has even established strong friendships with many of them. In addition to being able to promote her mission for more sustainable, earth friendly  products, her favorite part of the business is the relationships she has with her customers and the community. 

Not only does Minnow Lane carry a wide range of products for pregnancy to newborn through to age six - they also hold a number of reoccurring classes and workshops for new and expecting parents. Classes include infant/child CPR training, Breastfeeding 101, Childbirth Preparation, Infant Care, Child Nutrition Classes and much more! Rebecca also keeps the back area (outfitted with sofas and a kitchen) open to the community for weekly local parent meet-ups or for a place to just relax when passing through.

We love that Rebecca and her family have become an addition to the Portside family, and find her story to be an inspiration! To learn more about Minnow Lane and to browse products and classes online, click the link below.

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