LAPLACE — With the nearest maternity boutique positioned an hour absent in Baton Rouge, Katelyn Montalbano a short while ago opened The Bump & Business LLC to assistance expectant mothers in the River Parishes and past look and feel their greatest.
Situated at 1974 Ormond Blvd Suite F in Destrehan, the new enterprise was a dream many many years in the producing.
Montalbano was six months together with her first son in December 2017 when she announced her pregnancy to her mother. The following day, they headed straight to Location Maternity in Metairie, with her mother insisting she wanted to be well prepared for the early morning she’d wake up and realize absolutely nothing in shape. The good thing is, the store had a bogus stomach that Montalbano was capable to try out on to gauge how clothing would healthy additional together in her pregnancy.
Location Maternity experienced shut down by the time Montalbano was pregnant with her second infant fewer than two years later on. The only selections for maternity browsing were the restricted alternatives at Walmart and Concentrate on. The outfits she was ready to discover didn’t match her fashion, and the huge chain retailers didn’t provide a pretend stomach to see how the apparel would healthy.
Discovering maternity clothes in significant box retailers has come to be even more hard as fitting rooms have shut amid COVID-19 safeguards.
“At that stage, my mom and I talked about opening up a maternity retailer, but we did not do it. I experienced two toddlers underneath 2 yrs old, and there was a lot heading on,” Montalbano reported. “Then, in the course of Hurricane Ida, we had been sitting all around with no electricity or water, and we made a decision to pull the plug and open a maternity shop. We went forward with our thought and inside 6 months, we opened, and we’ve been executing very well.”
The Bump & Corporation LLC gives maternity clothes to fit every occasion, from laid back again leggings and T-shirts to fashionable robes for child showers and photoshoots. Other solutions provided include things like hats, necklaces, candles, slippers, stomach aid bands, Mommy and me robes with matching swaddles, and PJ sets for maternity, postpartum and breastfeeding.
Of system, Montalbano designed positive to stock the fitting home with a soft stomach that velcros beneath the apparel. When she hears giggling from behind the curtains, she is familiar with a to start with-time mom is seeking on the tummy, giddy with excitement in excess of what’s to occur.
According to Montalbano, lots of of the shirts and dresses at The Bump & Firm are not strictly maternity pieces.
“Around 85% of our items can be worn postpartum,” she said. “A large target of mine is to have a ton that can be worn later on so folks are not paying a ton of revenue on a thing that can only be worn for a couple months.”
Th Bump & Firm strives to maintain a acceptable price tag position, with a the greater part of apparel and components ranging from $20 to $60. In the initial thirty day period of company, the most well known items have provided sweater attire, hoodies, ball caps and tie dye pajama sets.
Heading into 2022, Montalbano’s objective is to have a new item in the retail store just about every 7 days. The Bump & Company will also be functioning with a nonprofit firm this yr.
“We are operating on obtaining men and women to donate their maternity photoshoot attire. The moment we get adequate, we will set out a rack and offer them for $20. The revenue we make will be donated to a battered women’s shelter,” Montalbano reported.
Since opening in late November, The Bump & Corporation has presently gained a adhering to of return consumers. As a St. Charles Parish indigenous, Montalbano is grateful for the assistance she’s viewed from her group, as well as the bordering region.
“This is my first compact small business. I’m having a large amount of help not just from St. Charles Parish, but from the River Parishes, Houma, Mandeville and Baton Rouge. I’m having a wide range of buyers from all above, which is phenomenal,” she reported, adding, “I am always open to suggestions on what folks would like to see.”
Support has also occur from exterior of Louisiana. Right after posting a TikTok showcasing maternity wear, Montalbano woke up to online orders from 11 distinctive states. It only took two days for the TikTok to surpass 240,000 sights and 10.4K likes.
The Bump & Corporation LLC is open from noon to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday by Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The boutique is closed on Sunday and Monday.
For extra facts, adhere to The Bump & Business on Fb, Instagram and TikTok or go to thebumpandcompany.com. Montalbano might also be achieved by electronic mail at [email protected] or by cell phone at 504-401-1956.