Last year, a groundbreaking (and long overdue) pop-up launched at the Eaton Centre: Canada’s first ever 100 per cent Indigenous-owned department store. Founded by Toronto’s own Chelsee-Marie Pettit, aaniin featured over 40 Indigenous brands from across the country — and now, the pop-up is making a return to the city’s largest mall, just in time for the holiday season.
The historic department store will be opening its doors at the Eaton Centre on Nov. 1, where shoppers can browse more than 6,000 square feet of Indigenous-owned brands. Featured vendors include Sephora favourite, Cheekbone Beauty, Toronto designer Lesley Hampton, gorgeous accessories brand Assinewe Jewelry and plenty of stocking stuffer ideas, like pieces by Kokum Scrunchies. The pop-up will run through January 2026.
New this year is the Bimaaadiziwin Marketplace: an online marketplace with its own dedicated section at the store, allowing Indigenous entrepreneurs to scale their business digitally and reach customers beyond the Eaton Centre. The marketplace was developed through aaniin’s Business Growth Cohort, an initiative by Pettit to help other Indigenous entrepreneurs launch their own businesses.
Pettit (who was named one of Streets of Toronto’s most inspiring women of 2024) is from Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario, and she began aaniin (which means “hello” in Ojibwe) in 2021 as a streetwear brand featuring T-shirts, athleisure and accessories adorned with Anishnaabemowin phrases. Each design featured a QR code with a translation so that customers, whether familiar or unfamiliar with the Ojibwe language, could understand and share what they’re wearing.
Aaniin has since expanded into an online department store featuring countless Indigenous owned clothing, makeup and accessory brands, and Pettit previously ran a few pop-ups at places like the Stackt Market. Her focus, though, was to expand nationwide — and she’s achieved just that with her Eaton Centre pop-up.
“It became clear to me at a young age that the strongest and most direct path to reconciliation is reclamation, and this starts and ends with the Indigenous economy,” she said in a statement.
Last year’s historic debut resulted in the brand exceeding its one-month sales goal in just 10 days, so it’s no surprise the pop-up is expanding from its one-month stint in 2024 to two months this year.
You can visit the shop when it opens on Nov. 1 on the second floor of the Eaton Centre. The grand opening celebration will feature giveaways, festive drinks and snacks, traditional dancing, interactive activities, photo booths and the chance to meet brand founders in person.
