Bridge the Bump Now Open for Business!

The official launch of Bridge the Bump was over the Labour Day long weekend and it has already generated a lot of buzz!

Ever since my own pregnancy I've realized how limited the options are for maternity wear.  Unless of course you're prepared to spend a fortune for a cute empire-waist top that will probably be too big for you after pregnancy.

And winter can be hard for pregnancy - heavy sweaters, fitting swollen feet into winter boots, walking around with your warm coat half unzipped and exposing your protruding belly.  I made it through my own winter by accessorizing :)

Since then I've always thought that maternity inserts should be everywhere in stores.  What a great idea - transforming your existing coat into a maternity coat! Then after pregnancy just unzip the insert and go back to wearing your coat as before.  Or better yet - flip the insert upside down and cover your child while wearing him/her in a baby carrier!  I modified my original design to do just that, making the insert something you can wear not just during pregnancy but beyond.

Surprisingly maternity inserts aren't all that common.  I'm joining only a handful of start-ups who sell this type of product (also started by entrepreneurial moms!) and the whole market is very new.  But I'd love to see more mainstream baby or maternity stores carrying the products and I'm going to strive to see that happen :)

You might ask, what about my wool capes? Well that idea is going strong too.  In fact, I've been working on the website on the side (while filling orders for Bridge the Bump) but I'm just not quite there yet.  I need to focus on getting Bridge the Bump off to a good start first.  But be patient...I'll get there :)

Photo Shoot on the East Side

I've neglected this blog for far too long now.  It's time to play catch-up!  

August was a tremendously busy month as I pushed to finish prototypes for a photo shoot that was scheduled in the second week of the month.  I booked a few hours at Working Proof Studios on the corner of Dundas & Carlaw.  It was smack in the middle of a Tuesday and I was grateful for how many of my family and friends were able to help out.  It was a great studio space complete with a make-up counter, a full modern kitchen, lovely seating area, and tall grand windows to light up the room.  After a bit of time tinkering with the lights and equipment we were well on our way.

When I originally made the booking it seemed like 3 hours of studio time for a couple of capes and a handful of maternity inserts would be much more than I'd need.  Turns out that we managed to fill the entire time, all the while working at a brisk pace.  Poor Mike didn't even get out of his photographer's chair for a sip of water or bite to eat!

So you all must be wondering what this second set of photos is all about.  I mean, I've written several posts about my wool capes and shared plans on starting a business but I don't think I've mentioned before a new product line of maternity inserts I've been working on.  The first time they came up was during my own pregnancy when I needed a way to keep my growing belly warm as my clothes seemed to be shrinking away.

You might remember my post here from two years ago or the addition I made here for my winter coat.  The idea is adding an extension panel or "insert" to a jacket or coat which allows you to continue wearing it throughout pregnancy.  The extension panel can then be unzipped after pregnancy (and some recovery time!) and you can go on wearing your coat as before.  Anyway I'll dedicate my next post to talking more about these extension panels so let's get back to the month of August.

So yes, after the photo shoot came several days of photo editing, then trials of different website builders such as Shopify, Volusion, and finally Wix.  I found the user interface and degree of customization with Wix to be far better than the other two options despite it being not as popular as the other two e-commerce solutions.  Wix also doesn't require a specific trial period and allows you to design and save as many sites as you want so I could mock up several website versions for my cape business or maternity insert business.  I'm sure over time I will be come more intimately familiar with all the pros and cons of Wix but for now I'm quite satisfied.

Then what else?  Figuring out site content (featured products, FAQs, etc) and shop policies (shipping rates, taxes, etc).  It meant spending most of the last four weeks glued to my computer rather than my Singer but it was actually a fun switch.  I mean, I did start getting some eye strain and neck pain from poor posture at my laptop but designing my websites were pretty awesome. No, definitely awesome.  And besides, it's not like hunching over my sewing machine is all that different ;)

So yes, it has been an exciting few weeks and I'm thrilled to have officially launched Bridge the Bump last weekend to sell maternity inserts online.  And don't be surprised if you see them popping up in some Toronto baby boutiques over the next few months :)

I leave you with a few more awesome shots we took at Working Proof.

Thanks Vicky, Heather, Charlotte, Meghan, Kelly, Anisha, Freda, Eric (behind the scenes), and Mike (behind the camera!)