YYC Feature: MY PETITE BOX
Mathilde Denier surprises subscribers with beautiful, locally made items in her monthly gift boxes!
Receive surprise mail and discover Calgary makers every month? Yes please! Mathilde Denier is passionate about helping local businesses showcase their unique products! When she moved to Calgary from France in 2014, she met a woman named Marianne who was wearing the same scarf as her. The pair realized they were both receiving the same local subscription box in France, and wanted to bring this awesome idea to Canada! They started My Petite Box in 2016 as a monthly subscription box for those who love supporting YYC makers. Each month, Mathilde work’s closely with one maker from Calgary to curate a unique gift box, delivered to your door! The boxes feature items ranging from cosmetics, food, jewellery, or other cool lifestyle items— and who doesn’t love getting fun mail?!
Mathilde is a self-described ‘challenge-addict’, who loves problem solving and launching new projects— her bold approach to life is contagious to say the least! (Did we mention she runs triathlons?!). Mathilde also works with local photographer Damien who helps bring the artistic vision to life (you can see his work at http://corollerphotography.com/). We’re excited to keep an eye on what’s in store for Mathilde’s future boxes—it’s wonderful to watch someone add so much joy to the community, one box at a time!
Find them at: https://www.mypetitebox.ca/
Each month, you work with one Calgary maker to put together a surprise box for your subscribers—I imagine there’s a lot involved with making this happen (networking with artisans, selecting products, marketing your offering, etc.) What is your favourite part of the process?
We love the entire process but the best part is to network with the artisans and get to know our local community of entrepreneurs! It is amazing to meet people running local businesses! Since 2017, we have created 36 different boxes with the same amount of talented people! It is so cool to be part of this growing community and to collaborate with such different people!
Recently you’ve started ‘Calgary in a Box’ (a box which contains 6 products from 6 amazing Calgary makers)—what inspired this idea/ decision to provide a new offering?
This idea emerged at the end of 2018 when we worked with Tourism Calgary to create a box for them. They wanted to promote Calgary featuring a selection of local products in a gift box for their guests. It was a fantastic experience and we decided to offer a similar box to our customers as well.
“It is really important for My Petite Box to help our local community”
My Petite Box has supported some charities by donating giving boxes/gift plans to help them raise money! What’s one charity that you’ve donated to, and why were you passionate to give back to that particular cause?
We have supported few local community associations based in Calgary giving them boxes or gift plans to help them to raise money during silent auctions. It is really important for My Petite Box to help our local community.
Mathilde you describe yourself as a ‘challenge addict’—curious to hear if you have a favourite challenge (or ‘favourite failure’) that you have overcome in your entrepreneurial journey with ‘My Petitite Box’
The favourite challenge I had to overcome in my entrepreneurial journey was being a real expert to organize my days and weeks. I am working full time and I am managing My Petite Box by myself for a few months now. It requires a ton of organization and efficiency :)
Are there any particular qualities/ factors, besides being local, that you consider when deciding what artisans to partner with?
The number one criteria is the location and then comes the size of the products. The My Petite Box size is impacting our choice because the products have to fit into a box measuring 20cm x 15.5 cm x 9cm. Then the next quality is to be unisex or for female because our subscribers/giftees are females.
It is different for Calgary in a Box because we offer 2 versions of the box (for men and women).
What’s your hope for ‘My Petite Box’ over the next 5 years? In what ways do you see your business improving?
Continue to grow the number of subscribers across Canada to promote the fantastic businesses we have in Calgary! And develop Calgary in a Box proposing new versions of the boxes on a regular basis.
What’s is a valuable piece of wisdom that has helped get you where you are today?
We build a business based on positive values sharing the light with all the makers we are featuring to help them grow and we are super proud to be