New stock in our shop

Our family business is Serenity Baby selling maternity and baby items online. We've gotten some lovely new stock in the past week which I'm excited to sell. We've got a purple version of our maternity and nursing vest and a grey 3/4 length sleeve top.

  

We also have these great 3 piece cot quilt sets which match other blankets and toys in our shop.

All available to buy at www.serenity-baby.co.uk

Emma-Jane Maternity & Nursing Bra

This is one of the top selling products for our maternity clothes business - Emma-Jane nursing bra style 361.

 It is popular because it is practical, comfy and affordable. Emma-Jane's website states: Our Next Generation seamfree bra is rapidly becoming THE must have maternity and nursing bra. Besides being super comfortable, it gives value three ways: low price, can be used as a maternity or nursing bra, and the cup size adjusts as you grow – no need for multiple size bras

We have now sold several thousand of these bras and have loads of excellent customer feedback. The bra is available in white, black and nude, and in UK sizes 32 to 38. 

I'd love to review this bra from personal use, but unfortunately I'm larger than that size range! So, I can tell you that the quality is excellent, other mums love this bra and often come back for more. It sells for £9.95 plus postage so it is a bargain.

You can buy it from our site here


The bra is made from 90% polyamide and 10% elastane. It fits all cup sizes from B through to F, so it is ideal for nursing as it accommodates your fluctuating size. It is soft with no underwire, and it has clips for nursing.

How we sell on ebay and amazon

Many friends have asked us about where our products come from, and how we go about selling on ebay and Amazon. I'll share a few of our tips below.

1) It starts with an order. We've spent time researching suppliers from companies manufacturing special products, to wholesalers who supply excess stock at discounted prices, to factories that will manufacture for us. For most wholesalers you need to show that you are a trade customer. For us this just meant providing some basic info about our business, which we had built up from gradual ebay trading.

2) Listing the stock. We recently got in 3 different styles of maternity jeans which were overstocks from a high street fashion store. We calculate how much it costs us to buy each pair, plus the listing and selling fees for ebay and Amazon, the postage costs etc and then set a price which gives us a small profit. We invested in digital scales and made ourselves a postage rate table in order to sell cheaply overseas. A significant number of our customers live in countries outside of the UK. At the moment we sell a lot across Europe and in Australia.

Ebay and Amazon have simple templates to help you get started with selling, and then they can introduce you to business packages. For example we have a 'shop' on ebay which allows us to display all of our items together and also to benefit from cheaper listing fees. We rarely deal in auctions and sell everything as 'buy it now' just like a normal website. Therefore we tend to have a set price and stick to it.

3) Posting the items. Each morning we print off the sales orders from all of the sites and then go and pick the stock. We have a barn in our back garden which is the official stock room. We've gradually added more and more shelving to make it easier and faster to collect the stock. We have plastic mailing bags of various sizes, plus all the stationary we need, eg return flyers and address labels. The packing is done on the kitchen table, and any of our children who are around love to sit and make pictures with the remains of our packaging. We have a daily collection service from Royal Mail, so we sort the parcels into which region of the world they are going to and prepare them for posting. We can now print our own stamps and pay online. Our postie comes at 12.30pm so we have a mad rush to get everything sent off in the morning. After that we have more time for customer questions, returned stock and ordering new stuff in.

So that's it in a nutshell! We gained 'top rated seller' status on ebay by always dealing with problems head on and by communicating clearly with our customers. We try to go out of our way to resolve any problems, and we offer an honest service. As parents ourselves we source and sell things which we would want to use ourselves.

Thanks for reading. Any questions?

Back to work... end of year accounts

Last month I wrote about the 10 reasons I love working from home . This month I've had no time for writing because I've been preparing our end of year accounts. I guess that is the down side to running your own business :-)

As our business (Serenity Baby selling maternity clothes and baby products) has evolved from a small side project into a full time gig for my husband and I, our method of working has evolved gradually, and accounting has been one of the last things to catch up. We've recently requested the services of a local accountant and she has really helped us see what we should be counting and why.

Over the past few weeks I've been grappling with the accounting programme Sage and finally feel that I've mastered the basics! I now know illuminating things such as: a) our business is profitable! b) nominal codes are a source of joy c) you need to add your stock value into your calculations (oops..) and d) what a journal is (OK I still dont know that, but now I can use one)

Write and let me know your self-employed year end traumas...



Nothing to do with accounting... just love the cute pic of my eldest and youngest!

What do you do with your kids whilst it's raining?

Here in Devon we're having loads of sunshine which is BRILLIANT for looking after the children! But... it's still England so there are rainy days and also showers. Today we've had warm sunshine and then downpours. We've been out in the garden doing some digging whenever we can. Our plan is to plant some vegetables to teach the children (and us!) about the patience it takes to grow things.

I can personally recommend Hippychick's waterproof suits for children. They come in sizes for ages 1 to 4 years. My eldest two each have one, so they didnt get their clothes covered in mud whilst digging today.

You can get Hippychick's latest packasuit from our website (www.serenity-baby.co.uk). Please share your ideas for rainy days or cute pics of your kids. Thanks for reading x

Our first photoshoot!

So dear readers Serenity Maternity has finally arrived! After producing 6 different products in our own 'Serenity Maternity' range, we have now had our first professional photoshoot. Check out the images below, and to buy please go to www.serenity-baby.co.uk

The high quality images were taken by the talented Sean Afnan Photography - check out http://afnanstudios.com/

Hipseat - carry babies & toddlers

Hi, today I'm showing the 'Hipseat' from Hippychick - a great producer of baby stuff based down here in the South West of England.

The hipseat is a useful invention for carrying your baby or toddler without getting too much backache or armache.

Here's a clip of me using it with Harrison at 4 months old (but VERY heavy!)

 

You can buy your hipseat in blue, red or purple from our shop for £34.99:
http://www.serenity-baby.co.uk/baby-carriers-49-c.asp

Some more info from the manufacturer:
Specifically designed to address one of the root causes of adult back pain, the seat provides a firm shelf for the child to sit on and supports their increasingly heavy weight from underneath. Instead of twisting the spine, the back stays straight and the child is tucked into the chest on whichever side is more comfortable for the wearer, providing comfort and security for both adult and child.

Special Features

• Endorsed and recommended by osteopaths, chiropractors, physiotherapists and health centres
• Fits all sizes (extension available for more comfortable figures)
• Fully tested by British Standards Institute
• Removable lightweight seat
• Simple, practical and easy to use
• Secure inner pockets
• Machine washable
• Suitable for children aged 6 months - 3 years

Why we created 'Serenity Maternity'

Hi, welcome and thanks for reading!

I just wanted to write a few words about why we created our own label of maternity clothing. I've now been through 3 pregnancies and so have gained some experience into what you need for pregnancy and what is comfy. We first started selling maternity clothes after our first baby was born, and we would buy stock from wholesalers to sell on.

We found that certain products were always in high demand - basic everyday items like t-shirts, vest tops and simple black trousers. The supply was quite difficult to find, so we decided to create our own products. We started a 'basics' range with a short sleeved black t-shirt and then some simple vest tops. Over the past few months we've added a lovely pyjama set with matching cardigan, a grey t-shirt with 'I love my bump' and we've updated our black and white nursing vest tops (see photos and links below).

My husband and I believe in selling products which are high quality but are great value for money. We know that pregnancy is an exciting time and you want to be able to wear some clothes which make you feel happy to show off your bump, but also that you dont want to spend too much when you need to be saving up to spend money on those all-important baby items.

In the coming year we hope to add some jeans and more tops to our range so keep checking back, and let us know what other maternity or baby clothes you would like to see.
Thanks, Helena x

www.serenity-baby.co.uk

Maternity top - I love my bump

So this week we launched the new t-shirt in our range of maternity clothing: Serenity Maternity. The t-shirt is grey and says 'I love my bump'. It is based on one of my favourite t-shirts which I wore during all 3 of my pregnancies. It is available to buy for £9.99 from our website www.serenity-baby.co.uk

Please let me know what you think of it, and share it with your friends! Thanks, Helena x