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A blanket can keep someone warm. It can also carry the story of a nation, preserve cultural knowledge and create economic opportunity. At MINI TIPI, those ideas are woven together (quite literally) into a business that is challenging how Indigenous design is represented and how Canadian small business success is defined.
Founded in 2016 by Trisha Pitura and Mélanie Bernard, MINI TIPI is a Gatineau, Quebec-based textile manufacturer creating blankets, accessories and home décor featuring authentic Indigenous designs. Over the past decade, the company has grown from an entrepreneurial venture into a purpose-driven Canadian brand connecting Indigenous artists with customers across the country and beyond.
That combination of commercial ambition and cultural responsibility has earned MINI TIPI the title of Small Business of the Year in the inaugural Canada Small Business 100 (CSB100), presented by Mastercard. Created by GLORY Media, the CSB100 celebrates the Canadian small businesses shaping their industries and communities through leadership, innovation, resilience and impact. MINI TIPI exemplifies the kind of entrepreneurship the platform was built to recognize: ambitious in its vision, deliberate in its decisions and committed to creating value beyond the transaction.
For Pitura and Bernard, the business began with an observation about what was missing from the marketplace. Textiles featuring Indigenous-inspired motifs were readily available, but too often the designs lacked meaningful cultural context or authentic Indigenous voices. There was an opportunity to do something different, creating products that were not only beautiful and functional, but also connected to the artists, communities and teachings behind them.
In 2019, the founders made a pivotal decision to reshape the company's approach. Rather than simply drawing inspiration from Indigenous culture, MINI TIPI began working directly with Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island, giving them a platform to share their stories and cultural knowledge through textile design. Through its artist collaborations, the company pays royalties for featured work, creating a business model in which cultural representation and economic opportunity move together.
“We really share art and culture through textile,” Pitura told GLORY Media's Lance Chung at a live Mission Critical recording during the Canada Small Business 100 celebration.
The distinction is fundamental to MINI TIPI's identity. Every design has a story, and every story creates an opportunity for connection. For Indigenous customers, the products can offer a meaningful point of reconnection. For non-Indigenous customers, they can open the door to learning, conversation and a deeper understanding of the cultures represented.
In a marketplace where authenticity is increasingly important, MINI TIPI has built its brand around the substance behind the story. Customers are not simply purchasing a blanket. They are engaging with the work of an artist whose identity, community and cultural knowledge deserve to be recognized.
For MINI TIPI, purpose is not separate from the business. It shapes how the business operates.
That philosophy extends to the company's manufacturing decisions. The brand has chosen to keep production in Canada, operating its own manufacturing facility in Gatineau and employing 20 people in the local community. In an industry where domestic production presents significant operational challenges, the founders have committed to maintaining greater control over quality while creating jobs close to home.
It is a more demanding path than simply sourcing finished products elsewhere. Local manufacturing requires investment, coordination and a willingness to navigate the complexities of bringing a product from concept to completion. Yet for Pitura and Bernard, the benefits extend beyond the finished goods. Their business supports local workers and their families while keeping more of the production process connected to the community in which the company was built.
“We chose the hard way, but we want the change,” Pitura said.
The decision reflects a broader commitment to building a Canadian business with a long-term view. MINI TIPI also considers the environmental consequences of its choices, using recycled fabrics woven in Italy and finding ways to repurpose or donate fabric offcuts. Its approach recognizes that responsible manufacturing involves a series of decisions, from material selection to production and the life of a product after it leaves the workshop.
Of course, a strong mission doesn’t eliminate the realities of running a small business. MINI TIPI has faced intellectual property infringement, a particularly sensitive challenge when the designs being copied carry cultural meaning and represent the work of Indigenous artists. Beyond the financial cost, unauthorized copying risks separating a design from the people and teachings that give it context. The experience has pushed the company to become more proactive about protecting its intellectual property and safeguarding the integrity of its work.
Meanwhile, growth has been built on fundamentals familiar to successful small business owners: product quality, customer relationships, repeat purchases and word of mouth. MINI TIPI's products are designed to be practical and durable, making them purchases customers return to and gifts they feel good about giving. Corporate gifting has created another opportunity to introduce the brand to new audiences, particularly those looking for products with a meaningful story and a clear sense of purpose.
It is a reminder that marketing does not always begin with a campaign. Sometimes it begins with a product that delivers on its promise and a customer who trusts the people behind it.
Yet perhaps the clearest measure of MINI TIPI's leadership is the way its founders define success. The company supports other Indigenous entrepreneurs through mentorship, community initiatives and opportunities to showcase their work. It understands that building a business can create a platform from which others can grow, too.
“We don't really measure impact by money,” Pitura said. “We really measure impact by purpose.”
For MINI TIPI, that means looking beyond its own milestones to consider the health of the community around it. Impact can take the form of employment, royalties, donated materials, shared knowledge or simply opening a door for another entrepreneur. It is a collective approach to success, one that recognizes the strength of a business community depends in part on whether its members have opportunities to advance together.
That perspective is especially relevant to the Canada Small Business 100. Canada's small businesses are more than individual enterprises; they are employers, cultural contributors, innovators and anchors of local communities. By recognizing leaders like Pitura and Bernard, CSB100 celebrates the people building businesses that help shape the country's future.
MINI TIPI's own ambitions extend well beyond its first decade. The co-founders have a dream of seeing the company's Indigenous designs represented at the Olympic Games, bringing Indigenous creativity and cultural representation to one of the world's most visible stages. It is an audacious vision, but one that follows the same principle that has guided the company from the beginning: make room for Indigenous stories to be seen, understood and valued.
Ten years into the journey, MINI TIPI has demonstrated that a small business can pursue growth while remaining accountable to its values, its artists and its community. Its recognition as the inaugural CSB100 Small Business of the Year celebrates what it has built so far, while pointing toward what Canadian entrepreneurship can become.
The ambition is not simply to make a successful product or build a recognizable brand. It is to create something that lasts, supports the people behind it and leaves the industry, and the community, better than it was found.