Happy Hump Day! Wednesday is for the working moms, and I've heard so many times from readers that they feel under represented in the toddler world. So many things are on weekdays, we don't get to participate, and it can sometimes suck. So, here is a new feature about local working mamas in Tidewater. My hope is to bring awareness to some locally owned mom businesses and learn how we all balance being a mama and working. Thanks Caytee for being my first feature!
I started my Etsy shop, Caytee Rose Designs in 2014, after the birth of my 4th child. Since I knew she would be my last child, I wanted a way where I could remember my last pregnancy. I searched Pinterest and of course, saw many beautiful hand-drawn pregnancy chalkboards. I knew my talents were more in graphic design then handwriting so I decided to create digital pregnancy chalkboards in Photoshop for myself, each week of my pregnancy. I shared them on my Facebook and all my friends and family loved them and suggested that I should try to sell them.
Once my daughter was born I decided to put my 15+ years knowledge of photoshop and graphic design to use and open an Etsy shop to help other moms remember their pregnancy, the way I had. I wanted to make it simple for the excepting mother. So, I created my service of digital chalkboards, where all the mother-to-be has to do is pose in front of any frame in her home for a picture, she then sends the picture to my Etsy shop and within 48 hours I photoshop a custom pregnancy board into her frame and send the picture back to her. Cutting out the hassle of printing and fitting it into a frame, we do all the work. I was so pleasantly surprised to find out this service was indeed in high demand and have worked with over 100 expecting mothers.
In 4 years, Caytee Rose Designs has grown into much more than pregnancy chalkboards, I also provide Child Birthday Boards, Adult Birthday Boards (perfect for those dirty thirty photoshoots), Pregnancy Announcement boards, Back to School Boards and Photo Editing.
While my shop is certainly a blessing, I am sure every mom can relate to finding the time. Running an Etsy shop takes work, you always have to have new material and I promise every single client 48 hour turn around, no matter what is that you purchased. There are many nights where after running my 3 boys to 3 different baseball games and making sure my little girl got to her dance class, making sure all 4 are fed, bathed in bed, that I would stay up way past my bedtime and make sure every message was responded to, every client was happy and every listing looked perfect. But, for me, its worth every minute of it. Getting to work with a mother-to-be so closely for 9 months, on something as personal as a pregnancy is really an amazing thing. I have met some amazing, strong, beautiful women since I started my business. I love that my work can make a birthday party more beautiful, a photo shoot more fabulous, the first day of school more adorable and a pregnancy unforgettable.
Thanks Caytee! If you or someone you know is interested in participating in this series, contact me!
