THERE IS A NOTE on their Facebook page stating that Baby Bumps Maternity Apparel provides “stylish, comfortable and affordable maternity clothing”.
For the principals of the company, they would not have it any other way as they remember how difficult it was to find stylish and comfortable clothing three years ago when Ronda Graham’s daughter Shenika Hinds was pregnant.
The idea for the apparel company was born after a frustrating trip to The City yielded nothing that the expectant mother would wear. What Graham did was take her knowledge and skills in needlework and use them to outfit her daughter.
She told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY that before starting Baby Bumps she only made clothing for herself and her family but several customers came after seeing what her daughter wore.
“People, when they see something nice, they want to know who would have done it and the business grew from there,” Graham said.
Today she can proudly state that she has outfitted many a mum to be in dresses, casual and work pants, and casual tops and, yes, the pants made to accommodate the growing bump.
“The clothes are fashionable. You have to move with the times. When you’re pregnant you still want to feel nice about yourself and look lovely. I don’t tailor make the clothes but we have enough to cover everybody.
“Deliveries used to be done on weekends, the clothes would be on our Facebook page, you placed your order and we delivered but within the last three weeks we decided to operate from home in St Lucy.
“This way, when someone wants something during the week they can come to me here and I would attend to them,” Graham said.
She said the clothes are trendy and are made using cotton or linen fabric to keep the women cool. She is ever mindful of fashion conscious women and while she believes that women should not look dowdy, but glowing, she says the clothing must be comfortable.
The seamstress also noted that while individual items can be ordered depending on what they are, this is not often done.
“I know what is meant to be pregnant and to be in comfortable clothes because I’ve been there. I was there back in the days when maternity clothes were high on the list, back in the ’80s.
“I would like to see the business grow that we can continue to provide a service for people out there who are like Shenika. I want to see it grow and grow and satisfy Barbados because there’s a lack of proper maternity wear. When you go into Town, you get a headache.
“I would like to reach the point in the future where we can provide everything pertaining to pregnancy, panties, bras and the nighties. As with everything else, it takes time and when you’re working out of pocket, you know how that goes. That is the vision for Baby Bumps Maternity Apparel. Also at this point in time, it is only me making the clothes – we don’t have anyone else,” Graham said.
As she continues to sew, she said while they do get referrals from word of mouth, a lot of their customers have come via Facebook.
Appointments are made after the initial contact and the customers choose what they want. (Green Bananas Media.)
