A friend recently asked me how my "you're a good mom" mission with Hemmed In started. I had to think back to this time last year, when I was redesigning our Canopies with all new fabric, packaging and finishing touches:
I knew I wanted something special on the canopy just for the woman using it. Something small, quiet, something you had to kind of search for. Not obvious or in your face. Like a secret message just between us; from me to her. Around that time, I was noticing a continual conversation happening online between women: bloggers, business owners, SAHM's, each one a Mother, each one voicing a similar cry for affirmation. It went something like this: "I didn't get the laundry done. I ignored my kid while I worked today. I got frustrated with the baby who kept me up all night. I fed by child cereal for dinner.......BUT; I love him more than life itself...She's my world and I want her to always know that....I'm doing the best I can. I hope that's enough...."
Sound familiar??
I kept reading posts like those, from the busiest, most successful "working moms" of one, to the homeschooling moms of a small tribe.
It was like every woman was aching to know that she wasn't messing everything up.
Pouring out Mom guilt and then self-soothing it with a thin layer of self-acceptance.
I thought to myself; if all these women are feeling this way, having to convince themselves they're an 'ok' Mom, that must mean that they're not hearing that from anyone else. Our needs have a way of making themselves heard, even unbeknownst to ourselves, and I was beginning to think that our community of Moms are being starved of that life-giving affirmation and encouragement.
I knew I wanted something special on the canopy just for the woman using it. Something small, quiet, something you had to kind of search for. Not obvious or in your face. Like a secret message just between us; from me to her. Around that time, I was noticing a continual conversation happening online between women: bloggers, business owners, SAHM's, each one a Mother, each one voicing a similar cry for affirmation. It went something like this: "I didn't get the laundry done. I ignored my kid while I worked today. I got frustrated with the baby who kept me up all night. I fed by child cereal for dinner.......BUT; I love him more than life itself...She's my world and I want her to always know that....I'm doing the best I can. I hope that's enough...."
Sound familiar??
I kept reading posts like those, from the busiest, most successful "working moms" of one, to the homeschooling moms of a small tribe.
It was like every woman was aching to know that she wasn't messing everything up.
Pouring out Mom guilt and then self-soothing it with a thin layer of self-acceptance.
I thought to myself; if all these women are feeling this way, having to convince themselves they're an 'ok' Mom, that must mean that they're not hearing that from anyone else. Our needs have a way of making themselves heard, even unbeknownst to ourselves, and I was beginning to think that our community of Moms are being starved of that life-giving affirmation and encouragement.
I wanted to change that, one Mom at a time. I started telling more moms in my world that they're a great mom, and why; friends or strangers alike. Just think for a moment; how often do our woman-to-woman conversations hover around the goings-ons of our children, and yet, how often do we affirm the very Mom we're talking to?!
I have a touch point with a lot of Moms every month; through social media, product shows, and canopies being shipped out to customers. I wanted to let each woman know that she's doing a good job. So my tiny secret message was designed, made into woven tags, and has gone on every single canopy since.
The outcome of it I didn't expect: it's become a way for women to encourage one another, that message is no longer just from me to you! So many of Hemmed In's customers are giving our Canopies to friends, and that little tag on the inside is now a message between them. It's one thing for a stranger to tell you "You're a good Mom," but quite another for a woman in your everyday life to affirm you in that personal way.
I have a touch point with a lot of Moms every month; through social media, product shows, and canopies being shipped out to customers. I wanted to let each woman know that she's doing a good job. So my tiny secret message was designed, made into woven tags, and has gone on every single canopy since.
The outcome of it I didn't expect: it's become a way for women to encourage one another, that message is no longer just from me to you! So many of Hemmed In's customers are giving our Canopies to friends, and that little tag on the inside is now a message between them. It's one thing for a stranger to tell you "You're a good Mom," but quite another for a woman in your everyday life to affirm you in that personal way.
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Now she can see that message everyday on her carseat canopy, and know it came from a friend who believes in her. I LOVE THAT!!
The hashtag #YoureAGoodMom on Instagram has become a way for women to tag a friend that comes to mind, reminding her that she's great at being Mom. But the online world moves at lightening pace. A quick shout-out, an 'atta-girl shot of encouragement only lasts so long in the heart of a weary woman.
I do believe that coming soon, there's going to be a push-back from all of our online-only relating. I know for certain that relationships cannot thrive through text messages, tags or shout-outs in a busy, crowded place like social media. It's the face-to-face moments or handwritten words that will knit hearts together. So I'm taking the conversation offline, and encouraging you to do so with me. I've got a really exciting new product release coming next week that's been months in the making. I so hope it will be a tool for us all to help developing stronger, deeper relationships with each other through the selfless, easy act of saying to another woman "You're a good Mom." Stay tuned, friends! 2017 is going to be life-changing :)
I do believe that coming soon, there's going to be a push-back from all of our online-only relating. I know for certain that relationships cannot thrive through text messages, tags or shout-outs in a busy, crowded place like social media. It's the face-to-face moments or handwritten words that will knit hearts together. So I'm taking the conversation offline, and encouraging you to do so with me. I've got a really exciting new product release coming next week that's been months in the making. I so hope it will be a tool for us all to help developing stronger, deeper relationships with each other through the selfless, easy act of saying to another woman "You're a good Mom." Stay tuned, friends! 2017 is going to be life-changing :)
XO, Wendy
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