Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Boynton.
Hi Nicole, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
From high school friends going through each other’s closets for outfits to wear to the next party to mom life friends going through their kids’ closets to keep their growing kids clothed. We’ve been friends through many ages and stages of life, navigating high school, college, married life and now motherhood.
We started blogging, podcasting and making planners as the duo Simply Whole Moms. We talked to a lot of mothers, and one thing we discovered is the power of moms to completely change the world. Somewhere along the journey, this idea hit us, and we knew we could make an impact.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth-ish? Smooth in the area of branding, photoshoots and logistics thus far….this -ish part comes from challenges we encountered as we attempted to launch several times. We had several setbacks including: summer home with our kids with no extra babysitting help :), a round of Covid for one of us and a trip to the hospital for a broken arm. Once we set the second launch date, we kept it firm no matter the circumstances. We originally had dreams of a launch party on launch day, but we decided to pivot and get the business up and running and threw the launch party later. It ended up working out very well!
As you know, we’re big fans of Hand Me Up. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We curate capsule clothes for kids. We work together to keep your kids’ closets full while reducing textile waste through upcycling, recycling, and community-charitable donations. Our goal is to be a place where moms can feel good about sending their kids’ hand-me-downs. Our promise is to treat each piece of clothing like it is our own. We also promise to use each item to the best of our ability. Clothes are either resold in our capsule bag, intentionally donated in our city, upcycled into new goods or sent off to a textile recycling facility.
We provide a curated, custom experience for moms through our style quiz. You can be a part of Hand Me Up without ever sending us clothes – we are not a trade or swap in system. We are proud of our commitment to slow textile waste and take care of the clothes we have.
We love to save moms time and money through our curated bags as well as offer unique gift options through our upcycled RePLAY line,
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Yes! This whole business was a pivot due to Covid. We were running a successful blog and podcast and throughout the challenges of the pandemic, decided to pivot to launching our own business. We learned about flexibility and creativity.
Pricing:
- $40 for a capsule bag
- $30 for a capsule bag if you send us your hand-me-downs
- $20-$35 RePLAY upcycled gifts
- Subscriptions available but not our only option
Contact Info:
- Email: handmeupinfo@gmail.com
- Website: www.handmeupshop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handmeup_shop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shophandmeup/
Image Credits
Maggie Kloss Photography
