Mitny Refillery opened its doors at the Old CPR Station on Manitoba Street on June 6 as Moose Jaw’s first store of its kind, providing a refillable alternative for products like laundry powder, shampoo, and toothpaste as a way to reduce waste and live more sustainably.
“I started just around the end of January, just this year. It’s been so fun and such a rewarding process,” said Laurie Hysuick. Hysuick is the sole proprietor of Mitny Refillery and describes herself as a ‘single mom and winging it.’
“I’ve actually had the store name ready to go for 18 years now, from my kids’ names, Mitchell and Nyomi. … I’ve always wanted my own store, and the refillery side of it actually came from heading out west and seeing the refilleries there, and seeing Regina and Swift Current’s [refilleries]. I love the idea of being able to just refill your containers and having less waste. And it’s all organic and natural goods, so it’s better for us and better for the environment.”
Hysuick said the response to opening her store has been immediate and gratifying. Before finding her own location, she operated for several months as a pop-up shop out of a corner of With Intent Bodypiercing on High Street — a trial run that proved the refillery concept could work.
“Jess and Gayle at With Intent let me set up there to see if Moose Jaw was ready for a store like this, and they were so supportive. Even on the days that I was in doubt, they were really good. I owe a lot to them,” Hysuick said.
She’s trying to pay it forward and contribute to the community of small business in the city by creating her own pop-up corner in her new store. The space isn’t quite ready, but once it is Hysuick hopes to feature other entrepreneurs just starting out and give them a boost — community spreading community, as she put it.
She has also brought numerous local artists into her store and given them featured space on her website. That includes Melanie McFarlane’s ‘Mel’s Pottery & Books,’ Bobbi Ingalls' ‘Knotty Bobbi Macrame,’ ‘The Turquoise Toolbox’ by Amanda Anderson, the arresting, innovative sketchwork and paintings of Jess Zoerb Art, and work by the various artisans at the Moose Jaw Pottery Club.
“I haven’t focused on women entrepreneurs, it just kind of worked out that way,” Hysuick laughed. “It’s pretty cool, like, my products are all made by women. We’ve dominated the market, from B.C. to Alberta, Quebec, the island. I’ve focused on Canadian companies, but the women part, it just turned out that’s who’s making these.
“The way the refillery works is you can either bring in your own bottles or containers, or you can purchase one of mine, then we weigh the container, fill it with whatever you want, weigh it again, and minus the weight of the container. So, you only pay for the amount of product you’re purchasing.”
Hysuick is still building her refillery selection, with plenty more product on the way. Nevertheless, she’s already built a customer base around staples like body wash, cleaning products, and pet shampoo. Laundry detergent is so popular she’s having trouble keeping enough in stock.
“It’s just been amazing, people have been amazing, and so much fun,” Hysuick added. “So many people have come in who are already using the idea [of a refillery] and are loving it. And I think my store will just always be evolving and changing. It’s open-ended for me, so I can’t wait to see what happens.”
Learn more about Mitny Refillery on their website at www.mitnyrefillery.ca, and search it out on social media to keep up with the happenings.
