Pimpernel & Plum - Ottawa baby + family resource

I am simply in love with the vision and purpose of this local Ottawa company! They create the best boxes for all types of events, from new baby, to pampering mom and even a love for dad. They do also offer custom gift boxes (which I've ordered!) to just about anyone special in your life. These two sisters have thought of it all! Sharing their story below and ensuring you know the best local place for all your baby and family gifts in Ottawa! What I am most excited about is their new subscription boxes which they will be launching next month, imagine receiving the perfect blend of pregnancy care, birth essentials, post-partum care and newborn baby necessities ~ dream! Thank you Tara and Tiffany for sharing your story with me and helping us create unique gifts for the special people in our lives! xo

Introduction: Tell us a bit about yourself!

Pimpernel & Plum is curated gift box company run by two sisters, Tiffany and Tara, who are also Moms. I (Tiffany) am the eldest and have a 1.5 year old boy. My sister, Tara, has a 3 year old and an 1 year old girls.

How did your business venture come about?

Being a new Mom can be a challenge. I was on maternity leave and it felt isolating. To help each other through the rough times, my sister and I would message back and forth on our phones every day. We would mostly chat about what our babies were doing, play scrabble, and share fun links - anything to get us through the day. 

One of the things we ended up messaging about were gifts for Moms. We would see the options that were out there and felt that we could do something better. And we felt so passionate about our ideas, that we decided to take the leap and make them into a business.

Why did you decided to cater your products towards mom and baby?

Being new Moms ourselves, we feel we have a good perspective on what products are helpful for Moms and babies. We don't want to forget new Dads, too, so we have created special gift boxes for them.

There are many great handmade baby items, artisan foods, natural and organic health products, and more that are all great for new families. We like to bring them together, so that friends and family buying gifts can give them something that is special and thoughtful. Many of the products we carry are also made locally, so you are supporting many other small, local businesses when you buy one of our gift boxes.

Which is your favourite curate gift box? Why?

My favourite box is probably the New Dad Box. I love it, not only because it is great for a first Father's Day gift, but also because I put so much time and effort into making the perfect gift a new Dad would appreciate.

If you have any advise to give a fellow mom, what would it be?

Both my sister and I love this quote from L.M. Montgomery (very Canadian, eh?): "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it".

What do you wish to remember the most about your children today?

I want to remember my little guys laugh and the fun times where simple things, like splashing water, can hold so much pleasure.

Mom Friends - Ottawa baby + family resource

One highlight in my career is meeting strong women who have a vision to help other women! I met Aviva and Liz at the Meet the Doula Event hosted by Ottawa Doula Services, Aviva was holding her little baby girl (just 4 weeks old) and I was immediately smitten by her ability to mother and get her materials together for the event. Shortly after, I couldn't resist and asked to hold her baby girl and help her settle ~ moms helping moms!

Being new to the Ottawa community, it was lovely to attend an event and meet other women who share the same passion for babies and families. I asked the the lovely trio at Mom Friends to give my readers an introduction to their postpartum product. With an added bonus to share some of their personal advice and how they value the moments of being around their own children! Below is our chat :)

All photos by Aviva from Mom Friends
Find Mom Friends Online: momfriends.ca

Thank you ladies! xo

Introduction: Tell us a bit about yourself!

We are Aviva, Lisa and Liz in Ottawa, Ontario. We know a lot of people making babies, and have made a few ourselves. We have noticed from these experiences-especially for first-timers-that there is a lack of knowledge and access to postpartum care products that support healthy bodies and minds. There seems to be a bit of an unspoken stigma about what post-birth is like for mom. We want to fix that by increasing how women and their loved ones share information, peer support and postpartum resources. Thanks to the input of hundreds of moms we have conceived (see what we did there?) practical, intimate and thoughtful postpartum care kits to help moms and their loved ones during those special first days.

How did your business venture come about?

We realized that we knew very little ourselves about postpartum care. So we started gifting postpartum care kits to our friends at their baby showers. When we were putting them together we found that the items were often hard to find and the quantities often weren't quite right for products used during the first week after giving birth (e.g. adult diapers). So really the idea came from our own struggle as new moms and friends of new moms!

Why did you decide to cater your products towards postpartum moms?

Postpartum rest and recovery is primarily for the mom to figure out, but she can't do it alone. By developing the postpartum care kits as the perfect baby shower gift we are hoping that awareness around postpartum support grows and it starts a conversation between moms and all of their supports be they partners, family or close friends.

Which is your favourite postpartum item? and why?!

Tough question! We can only pick one!?  Well for me (Aviva) I would have to go with the reusable organic bamboo nursing pads. Many women experience leaking, engorgement and sore nipples after giving birth and the bamboo material in the pads we have sourced is the softest and most absorbent there is! We were especially excited to be able to source them locally for our kits as they are hand-sewn by FWrap :)

Let's get Personal ... 

If you have any advise to give a fellow mom, what would it be?

Don't Google!  Just kidding.... but also not....  I would say trust your instinct.  Whether you are a first time mom or not, you may doubt yourself from time to time.  But remember that every baby is different so what works for some babies may not necessarily work for yours.  As much as other moms may loooooove giving unsolicited advice, you can take it or leave it and remember at the end of the day, it's your call (your partner's too!)

Also, while you may want to do everything for your baby, you must take care of yourself first. I know it's hard as you just had a baby so it's an intense time but looking after yourself is just as important. Our philosophy is that often healthy baby isn't possible without healthy mom too. Postpartum is a time of emotional and physical healing in a lot of ways which is why it's so important to rest and relax. Don't refrain from getting help from your loved ones!

If there was one thing you wished to remember about your children today, what would it be? and why?!

So much to remember and they do grow up so fast. For Lisa the memory she always wants to relive is the moment her son was born and his warm wet oily body was placed on her which she says is the best feeling in the world. It's hard to come up with something else as I totally agree that is a moment I always want to remember because it shows that the pregnancy, labour, delivery and postpartum is totally all worth it!  But every day for me it's their smiles which warm my heart. In my mind a smile from your child is their way of saying thank you for being an awesome mom (even when I don't always think I am uh oh... cue tears!)