Belle’s Box

For those of you who don’t know I recently put together an anniversary box for my clothing boutique to kick off our seven year anniversary celebration. I had envisioned this coming together for almost a year so to see it all finally come to fruition felt pretty darn good. That being said I certainly learned some lessons for the next one (and yes there will definitely be a next one because this one was a HUGE success). This box is something I am incredibly proud of and something I can say is helping my business to evolve and grow. I thought I would take a second to share some of the behind the scenes creations of the box and the contents that we selected to go inside. Shall we . . . let’s do it!

Firstly I will say I hugely underestimated the hours and logistics that would go into this project as I based my ability to easily do this by the fact Jillian Harris does 10,000+ of them so how hard could fifty be, right? Wrong. It turns out she has a massive fulfillment, production and management team. Well I have me (and Greg did some taping that needed to be corrected so it was a really good time LOL). Anyways, that being said I actually loved putting each and every one together. It felt special, it felt authentic to the brand and it really was such a delight working with so many Canadian, female-run brands. Each and every item was selected or created by me with keeping true to the Belle’s vibe and I think each item really did hit the mark (if I do say so myself).

Before I delve into what was inside these little cuties I want to say one thing that truly blew me away and made me feel so honoured and proud to be apart of creating this tribe of Belle’s babes. When the boxes were set to Launch on Feb 1st I had no idea what the response would be and to say I was nervous was a MASSIVE understatement. I was calculating over and over if they didn’t sell out what would be the fallout for us. Purchasing 50 of each item in the box was certainly an investment for my little business. We are small and this was an add on to our spring budget, it wasn’t factored into our buying budget etc, so it felt like a big deal. It is a big deal. ANYHOW, at about 5-10 minutes to the launch time I hopped on the backend of our website so I could see how many people were on and there was about thirty people live. I was talking myself down at this point, it would be okay if we sold 30/50, that should be alright, and at least it will get some representation of the brand out, etc, etc, etc. I was trying to make myself feel better because I was already feeling a little defeated. Well at 2 minutes to the launch this number started climbing, and quickly. Just before 7pm our little site had over 300 people live waiting to purchase. I was blown away. We sold out in about seven minutes and I was physically shaking. It was a testament to the fact we are moving the shop and the brand in the right direction. We are staying true to ourselves, we are staying true to our passions and people are following along. It was seriously a pretty great moment in my entrepreneurial career and one I am very grateful for. It is humbling to have people stand behind you and support your vision so I just want to make it very clear that I see everyone, that I feel the love and that I promise to push forward and continue making our space on the internet, instagram and within this community a good one! Okay enough with the sap, here is what I put into the (highly coveted) Belle’s Box. Also hoping this gets everyone who did not snag a box a little extra jealous and amped up for next time (kidding! but not really . . . )

I knew I wanted to include some local babes (duh), so I hit up some of my go to ladies at the end of 2020/2021 and they were onboard. Jibe Jewelry, Sunshine & Whiskey Bartending and Muskoka Aesthetics all joined in on the fun. Jibe and I created a gorgeous pair of earrings together, and by created together I mean I told her I loved a heart pendant that we had done for a necklace previously and she magically made them into the cutest little set of earrings. Christa, the owner, is a beautiful human inside and out and I am so lucky to call her a friend! Then of course we needed a celebratory drink, insert S&W for the champagne requested cocktail creation. And no question we all love a little pampering so it was a no brainer for Muskoka Aesthetics to create a little package of masks and tester treatments for us to enjoy. Voila, local contributions complete and so fabulous (if I do say so myself).

I wanted to make sure the box represented our favourite things and there was absolutely no way I was leaving out Brunette the Label. We were lucky enough to create not one but two exclusive items for the box with Brunette and it was truly so fun! The fonts were our own creation and the design process was so great to be apart of. These are two of my favourite brunette items I own and making them exclusive to the box makes them feel even that much more special!

Also included was a GIANT State of Grace mug because honestly coffee keeps me going (when wine cannot) and I feel like that is all too relatable for a lot of us. The perfect pair of sunglasses were a must from Shady Lady, if you know you know. And a cute little scrunchie from Blondielockes and lip balm from K’Pure rounded off the physical items in the box. The value of all the items in the box was well over $350 which felt like a great value for the purchase price so I am quite pleased I was able to pull that off!

I wasn’t quite done there though and wanted to add even more value to the box and of course thank everyone for showing us so much support. I included a year long discount code that can be used online exclusively connected to the emails who purchased the box. This discount will constantly change throughout the year and will offer exclusive launch discounts on items that never go on sale and other super fun things. Just a little extra fun for my online shopping gal pals!

I think I will end this by reiterating how incredibly blessed I feel to have such wonderful support for our little shop and growing brand and I cannot wait to move forward and continue pivoting with the business and this insane time in the world. If a year + of Covid has taught me anything it is resilience and I am very grateful for that. Let me know over on the gram what you thought of everything inside. I hope everyone who got a box loved it and everyone who didn’t I promise we have more in the works! Happy spring babes. Let the good weather flow and lake babe season commence!

xo

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY THE TALENTED CARLYN FROM LENNY & HUME - IF YOU DON’T KNOW HER YOU NEED TO, GO GIVE HER A FOLLOW STAT!