Sault-born sisters Meg and Kathleen launch northern Ontario-themed online clothing company

Though employed in professional careers in southern Ontario, their love for their hometown of Sault Ste. Marie and the beauty of its surrounding cottage country is firmly entrenched within the hearts of sisters Meg and Kathleen Cameron McQueen.

“We have roots in southern Ontario now, but you definitely don’t get the same rich exposure to the outdoors and the slower pace of life that you get when you’re up north,” said Meg, who added she has actually enjoyed the heavy winter weather we’ve been experiencing while on her latest trip home.

“There is quietness, peace and tranquillity. We like being out at camp, on the beach, on the lake in the summer, I think that’s what we all crave. There’s nothing like it,” Meg said, speaking to SooToday.

“Up north it’s that authentic experience. It’s not superficial, it’s not about what you’re driving or what you’re wearing.”

Meg and Kathleen have applied that authenticity to Campton Clothing, their own online clothing company which they launched in 2016, named after Campton, New Hampshire, a naturally beautiful place they enjoyed visiting.

Meg, 33, is an assistant professor serving as an occupational therapist attached to the Department of Psychiatry at Queen’s University in Kingston, while Kathleen, 35, is employed as a rehabilitation therapy facility manager in London (brother Mitchell, 28, is a Toronto paramedic).

“Kathleen and I were both on maternity leave and so even though we lived four hours away from each other we were now at home with these two kids and I had this inspiration one night, thinking we have a year off, and maybe we can do something special.”

“We went on a camping trip, and it was difficult because we found we just didn’t have enough comfortable clothing. We had too much stuff that was trendy and we just really wanted some basic T-shirts, hoodies and pants, things you could wear in the woods and get dirty with and still look semi-stylish,” Meg said.

“So, we started a small company with really cool traditional looks with black and white graphics (with logos portraying, for example, the Great Lakes, and slogans such as ‘Just Hike and be Happy,’ and ‘Keep it Wild’). You’ve got to keep it simple.”

Meg said she and Kathleen had “a beautiful rhythm, building and learning,” developing their business and website as they went along, often over the phone and getting very driven.

Meg said she has the logical mind, having developed the Campton Clothing website herself and managing the business end, while Kathleen’s strengths lie in art and design.

“We got off maternity leave and kept at it…it’s definitely a job on top of our regular jobs, but we’re both committed. We’re in it for the long haul and it seems like our customers are really happy about it.”

Meg said the two sisters are “cautiously optimistic” they can turn Campton into their new full-time careers.

“Both of our husbands have been really great, picking up the slack  when we need ‘Campton time.’ I do business after the kids have gone to bed, sometimes very early in the morning dealing with customers. We’re finding the time,” Meg said, while still emphasizing family comes first. 

Meg, a mother of two, and Kathleen, a mother of three, are married to men who have an appreciation for the north.

“I think the great thing about our guys is that when we met them they had a lot of outdoor experience. My husband spent a lot of time canoeing in Pancake Bay…they know the northern region quite well. We met very like-minded people, which is nice to incorporate into Campton.”

“We’ve always been down to earth women. We love Canada’s patios, beaches and being outdoors, having a beer by the campfire, that’s who we are, sitting on the dock with others and our dogs.”

“I think our customers are people who want to have that, and be that,” Meg said, adding Campton’s customers extend from the west coast to Quebec to Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

“Even if they’re in Toronto, living and working and going to school there, they still want to have clothing that makes them feel like they’re ‘at home.’ It’s resonating with our customers, whether they’re 19 or 34, or 64,” Meg said.

“Sales have been good, very good. The learning curve has been big, but heading into 2018, we’ve definitely got the momentum. The last six months have proven to be really special.”

Meg said Campton has received big orders from a Saskatchewan outfitter looking for comfortable wear to put under hunter and angler’s camouflage clothing, as well as a Toronto firm looking to buy comfortable wear with an outdoor feel.

“The range of who is interested has been big. The orders come from everywhere.”

“Something that has really catapulted us has been our partnership with Crisp Media out of Vancouver. It’s an award-winning, woman-based company. All the people who work there are women and they have a very huge ‘Mommy blog’ audience. It’s really nice to work with other females (though Campton also offers men’s, children’s and baby clothing).”

Campton’s gear can be checked out online at the company's website, on Facebook and Instagram, portraying models wearing Campton clothing in the middle of the road (literally) or atop dizzying mountain heights.

Meg, Kathleen and brother Mitchell make the effort to see each other and travel back home to the Sault whenever possible.

“We ended up putting roots down in each of those areas (Kingston, London and Toronto) but are constantly coming back to the Sault in summer and winter to get our fill.”

“We’ve always had a really close connection to the Sault and we had a camp on Sunnyside Beach Road my sister, brother and myself owned, and we’re hoping to build on the property and trying to maintain the Sault roots for our kids.”

The old family cottage was built and passed down from Meg’s grandparents, “but this year was the last year we were there.”

“It got too small and too old for us to keep going to, so we tore it down this year, and our plan is for all three of us to build a new, bigger cottage there so all of us can keep coming back every summer and winter,” Meg said.

“We want our kids to have the same northern Ontario experience we had growing up.”

Meg said eventually “we would really love to see a site in Sault Ste. Marie that manufactures and develops our clothing and creates jobs,” adding it is their ultimate goal to relocate themselves and their families back to the Sault one day.