Charmaine Spencer has always loved to share heartfelt gifts and to see the excitement, happiness and appreciation on the faces of her friends and family. Knowing what a special time pregnancy and new parenthood is, she started The Bump Box Co. to help others create the perfect gift for expectant parents and their new arrivals. They provide beautiful, unique and personal gifts for those expecting or celebrating a new arrival, with a range that includes personalised gifts for a soon-to-be mama for all stages of her pregnancy, a special something for dads-to-be, and gorgeous keepsake gift boxes for a new baby. They are the perfect way to say “Congratulations”, “I love you” or “Welcome to the World”.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I’ve always loved personalised gifting. As a kid, my name was not one you’d find often on bookmarks and mugs, so when I was gifted something personal, it was incredibly special! I created The Bump Box Co. from this love of gifting and treasuring personalised keepsakes. Welcoming a new little one into the world creates so many incredible memories for Mum, Dad and Bub and I wanted to help celebrate every milestone and cherish every memory.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
We are so fortunate to have started with our sister company The Bridal Box Co. which focuses on keepsake boxes for wedding celebrations. This meant we were lucky enough to have amazing local suppliers and support from the beginning. We launched just prior to COVID hitting and it has been a little tricky to get back up and dust ourselves off after the hurdles that were thrown in our way. But we knew that expecting families were feeling those isolating complications too and knew that it was more important than ever to celebrate and uplift mums- and dads-to-be!
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Our biggest breakthrough was when we were able to purchase our own laser engraver for the business. This meant we could create more amazing little keepsake products and also offer fast turnaround times for our customers. In a world of rescheduled celebrations and uncertainty, we found this really took the stress off our customers trying to buy personalised gifts for their loved ones. With the money we saved on travel, postage and outsourcing, we’ve been able to donate a little from each of our sales to WWF conservation projects in Australia, which has been very important to us too.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
If someone has a good answer to this, I would love to know! During our launch, I became pregnant with my first child and running a business during this journey was exhausting! My little one is 9 months old now and finding time for caring for a little one, caring for myself and running the business has been a challenge. Luckily, I have an amazingly supportive husband who helps with business and baby wherever he can (and brings me coffee for those long order-packing evenings!).
