Clifton Life April 2011

12 years old today

March 22nd 2000 is the day we opened the doors of our Bristol store.  Like so many things you start you're never sure where you are going to end up.  We did think we'd have more shops by now but with the advent of internet shopping, technically,  we can reach more people online than through a shop. We will have more shops in the future, because what we can't do online is have those conversations that you can only have face to face. I've had so many chats about ante-natal classes, birth, sleep, teething, breastfeeding, nappies, slings, most of which aren't related to products but just because I'm a mum, have 'been there and done that'.  I like to think that we don't 'preach' a right way to do things, but just by sharing our experiences give people an insight into a way of doing things that may be slightly different to the 'norm' whatever that is! Because to me (and the other 3 key people in Born) homebirth, long term breastfeeding, baby carrying, bedsharing, holistic healthcare and informed choice is our normal.

To celebrate our birthday come in and see us and tell us you've read this blog and you can have 15% off your purchase on the 22nd of March 2012, or if you can't come in use the code 'birthday12' for 12% off online purchases placed until the end of the day.

Love Eva

 

Sue Learner Independent Midwife Bristol

Sue Learner has been a midwife for 25 years and is one of 2 Independent midwives in Bristol. As well as offering midwifery services where couples can employ her to take care of all their ante-natal checks and be at the birth, Sue also offers a consultancy service where you can have an hour of her time to talk through any issue you have with your current or past pregnancy or birth experiences.

In this interview Sue explains how these sessions can empower you to have the birth experience you want or get over a birth that did not go as planned.

Sue can be contacted on 0117 927 6131

Sue Learner Talks to Eva about her new midwifery consultancy

The importance of sustainability

I thought I'd share a thought on sustainability, but not about the fab products we offer but the sustainability of Born.  Believe it or not 'being there' for new parents, to offer help and advice (as well as products) has always been at the heart of Born.  In the early days we even talked of making the shops charitable so we could spend more time on building support networks and promoting natural parenting  - profit was a means to stay around rather than the main goal.

So with the high street in a bit of a state and one of Bristol's independent baby shops Dinky Inc closing down we thought we'd just highlight the importance of supporting local independently run businesses.

It would probably be easier (and cheaper!) for us to be an online only store, rates and rents would be considerably lower as would staffing, however in doing that we would loose the main reason why we started the business, which was to bring to the high street and to everyday mothers the kinds of products that you just cannot find on the high street.

My biggest rant with our suppliers is when they allow internet only stores to sell their products and incredibly low prices (and sometimes even at a loss) which was what happened in the case of Dinky Inc. This is not sustainable business practice, and if we did that we wouldn't be here now.

We are all to aware that customers come into our stores, have demonstrations and then go online to buy exactly the same thing but cheaper. Most people would do that, however we are always happy to price match (where it means we aren't loosing money) so please ask us, especially if you want us to be around a little longer.

Eva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top tips for cutting the costs of raising a new baby

How aware are you of the costs of bringing up your baby or toddler?  Are you like me and simply don’t think about it, or are you one of those parents who are very aware of the costs from birth right through to your little ones leaving home?

Expert Evening Born Bristol

To book a space on this event please click here

Bizarre Daily Telegraph breastfeeding rant!

I've a question - is it only English journalists who use any news opportunity to bring up and discuss their own views and experiences on breastfeeding?