the story behind our little store

Little Village Store is nestled in the heart of the historic village of Cumberland on Vancouver Island. Founded by Ellian and her then four year old daughter, Lyla, together they created this magical little store offering gifts, books and wonder for wee folk.  Ellian and Lyla have now welcomed a new addition to their family, and are retiring from running the store. As the store was in the process of closing, Vanessa, a recent arrival in Cumberland, came by to purchase some books and was saddened by the loss of this wonderful, child focussed space. With a little leap of faith, some last minute decision making and a whole lot of learning, Vanessa and Ellian decided to keep the Little Village store running with Vanessa as the new owner.

Vanessa is a mom to two wonderful kiddos, Ella-Grey and Escher, and partner to Jev.  She is a teacher and has worked in the non-profit sector in East Vancouver for 15 years. Vanessa has a passion for community building, inclusive education, social justice and culturally responsive and reflective curriculum. Getting kids excited about learning and engaged in the world around them is always at the forefront of what we do. As a parent, teacher and eager member of the community in Cumberland, Vanessa looks forward to continuing to bring in great books, gifts and locally made items for babies, children and teens. We are committed to bringing in sustainably sourced and ethically made items wherever possible and will continually examine how we do things to lessen our impact on the environment. In the store you can expect to find a great selection of books for all ages, toys and DIY kits, art supplies and locally made, wearable items for children. As we get settled, we plan to expand and offer weekly drop in art sessions, group buys for discounted rain gear, arts and STEM workshops for children, special orders for educators and we will  provide rentals of interactive kits for families to explore and learn.  We aim to be a welcoming space for all folks, a place where caregivers can connect and where children can be inspired, play and create.

We are honoured to be living on the traditional, unceded territories of the K'omoks First Nation including the Pentlatch, Ieeksan (eye-ick-sun), Sasitla (sa-seet-la), Xa’xe (ha-hey) and Sathloot (sath-loot) peoples.