Thursday, March 4, 2010

Breastfeeding Wraps 50% Off

Mumcho Breastfeeding Ponchos are 50% off during March, while stocks last.

Six styles to choose from.  Functional, versatile, and gorg!

Click to get to our webstore

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Breast Pump - Free Gift

Buy any Avent Breast Pump (either manual or single electric) during March, and get a free gift. Get a free box of Avent disposable breast pads with the Manual Pump, or a free nappy bag worth $70 when you by the Electric Pump!

While stocks last

 

Avent Manual Breast Pump Free Gift
Avent Single Electric Breast pump with free gift
Electric Breast Pump with Gift

 

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

PJ Pants Popular

These are some HOTmilk PJ Pants that we have on special, to clear out the warehouse.

Although all the matching camisole tops have sold out (except for size XL which are available here)  these jarmie pants are really nice for slouching and lounging around.  I always tell new mothers to stay in their PJs as long as possible when at home with a new baby.  Then there is less rush, less pressure to get out and do things, just stay at home with your baby and enjoy

You can order the PJs at our store

 

A nice review

Just had to share, a customer sent this kind review about a product.
If you want to write a review (good or bad) about anything that we sell at our store, just go onto the product page and at the very bottom there is a place for you to click “Add Review”.   You can write whatever you want, (there is no way for me to edit) just nothing abusive, swearing, or competitor links.



From: Nobody [mailto:nobody@kowhai.websiteservices.co.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, 23 February 2010 10:30 a.m.

Hi, You have received a Review in your site.
Here is the review details
Product link : HOTmilk Bra She Embraced
Review Details :
Star : 5 Star
Title : Life Saver
Reviewer's Name: Alana
Description : I can not say enough good things about this company. as i am a very small girl with what is now a huge chest it has been impossible to get a bra that fits properly. Let alone a bra that doesnt look like it belongs on a geriatric. And now i have both. I also have alot of larger pregnant friends who are having simmilar problems. i have turned them all onto this site. i could not be happier. The Bras in particular are extremley solid and durable not to mention very soft and comfy.And its a bonus that they look adorable. And to top it off the item i returnd to order yesterday afternoon arrived THIS MORNING! (and it came wrapped like a little gift). That added personal touch makes it twice as good.! Thanks guys
Please be sure that you are logged in to the site before using the following links
Delete this
Approve this

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

HOTmilk for Ireland

A recent email from a customer in Ireland who had purchased some HOTmilk Lingerie online.

 


From: C S  [mailto:detail removed @gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 9 February 2010 10:54 a.m.
To: Breastmates - Frances McInnes
Subject: Re: order

 

Hi Frances,

I'm not sure if you have seen the Irish prices, but to give you an idea, I priced my order in sterling online as the same range isn't available on Irish websites. Pound for dollar, it was almost an identical number... saving that one pound is worth almost $2.30! Incidentially, they also had a sale on the same items you had. So it was some saving to buy and have shipped, even if I do meet the customs man :)


Friday, February 5, 2010

HOTmilk PJs Return

A popular style of HOTmilk PJs have arrived back in stock!  A bit of luck that’s for sure J

They are heavily reduced in price, so grab a HOTmilk bargain!  Strictly limited

Shop for maternity PJs here

Dear Twitter

Dear Twitter followers

For some reason I cant seem to access my Twitter account.  Things are still linking from my blog and Facebook, so there will still be updates.  I’m not ignoring any replies, I just haven’t been able to see them.

Frances x

 www.twitter.com/breastmates

 

Monday, February 1, 2010

Valentines Promotion for February

We have a new HOTmilk promotion that is running for February 2010.  First prize is $1500 worth of Jewellery for first prize

 

Read the full HOTmilk Promo here

 

 

 

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Be a Guest Product Reviewer

Introducing a new feature on our store, which will benefit all customers.  But I need your help to make this work.

Each product on the Store now has an "Add Review" link at the bottom of the page.  When reviews have been written they will display at the bottom of each product page,  with the ability for more to be added.

Invitation  I would love for you to come and add some reviews about any products. 

 

Whatever comments you write are displayed - there is no way for me to edit them.  (It works very similar to blog post comments).  The only control that I have to is to Accept or Reject.   If I accept, then it's displayed on the page exactly how you typed it, including your spelling mistakes. If I reject then its not displayed. 

Generally your comment would be visible after the site is reloaded overnight. 

The benefit of these reviews is that they are YOUR honest comments, to help other shoppers.  This is all part of my Open and Honest way to conduct business.  If you didn't love something, you get to say so. 

Here is a little guideline etiquette

  • I won't publish any reviews that are abusive, have swearing or harassment
  • I won't publish any reviews that mention other stores, spam, or weblinks
  • If you purchased a product from another store, but it happens to be a product that I also sell, you are welcome to still review the product.
  • Feel free to add comments about my service too
  • If you purchased a bra, it may also be helpful to other shoppers if you mention what size you purchased.
  • If you have a bad review, I hope that you would have given me the opportunity to rectify it before hand, if able.
  • There is no way for me to contact you after you have written the review
  • The "Add Review Page" does ask for your name, but you can use a nickname.  I'm not collecting personal info.
  • Reviews won't show instantly, they'll display after the site is reloaded within 24-48 hours.

 

So Go Forth and start adding reviews.  Go to the STORE to find the products that you loved.

 

 

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Feedback from Russia

A customer in Russia sent me this feedback today, what a great way to start the day!

 

Hello Frances,

Also, I did drop by at your facebook page and your youtube. They are both very informative and interactive.

It's seldom we meet people who are more like friends and less like a person doing her daily job. It's apparent that you enjoy what you do a whole lot.

I gather that the items you sell are of commendable quality and with reasonable prices. I would definitely mention your website at every opportunity.

Please let me know if there are any other padded bras on sale.

Thanks again  NR

Customer Email

It’s so lovely when a customer takes the time to email me some feedback.  This lady sent me a wonderful email, with a quote that I could use on my website too.  

 

I got two lovely packages this morning - so prettily wrapped! You are amazing, you know that? Your attention to detail, fast service and wanting to help each customer makes you such a wonderful business!!

 "I have just tried on my order and my 2yo walked in and said, 'pretty mummy' so I guess thats approval from her - and they have approval from me too! Hotmilk lingerie is so gorgeous and Breastmates superfast delivery and easy ordering, combined with the wonderful advice and support from Frances makes purchasing a breeze and a pleasure! The suprise gift-wrapping is like sprinkles on the cupcake.... and the whole experience is as sweet and delightful as an icing covered cake too!"

   

HEHE - you can use that bit above on your site :-)

 The pjs are gorgeous - thank you thank you!! I absoutely love that set, I think Ill be holding onto it for years to come. My poor cami is faded and stretched from washing and pregnancy but the winter pjs will be well looked after and treasured every night I put them on - they are beautiful. I have tried to get away with wearing the L/S top during the day too - it really is stunning!!

 

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Mumcho Ponchos

We have some new Mumcho Ponchos in stock, in some gorgeous new fabrics.

These ponchos are great for pregnancy and breastfeeding to allow for a little privacy.

You can see the full colour range of the Chiffon poncho's here Mumcho Ponchos, and we do also have some in merino and cotton at different prices.

 

 

Friday, January 15, 2010

Win a New House!!!

Win a House worth over $1 million dollars

WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?!

Murray and Michelle Smith decided to give away their home because they wanted to find a way to help provide much needed funds for the building of a church and community centre right in the heart of one of the most picturesque small towns in New Zealand — "Cambridge - the town of Trees and Champions".

The Smiths are passionate about making a positive difference to Cambridge and beyond... and that's why they're giving away their MILLION DOLLAR house!

Because they're so passionate about their community they're taking a piece of NZ to the world and want you to be a part of it. apieceofnz.co.nz is a not-for-profit brand that they have established to showcase to the world how great New Zealand is and why New Zealand communities are a great place to live and work.  All profits from the sale of apieceofnz.co.nz merchandise are channeled directly back into New Zealand and overseas community projects, starting with the church and community centre in Cambridge.

Every $25 purchase of six photographs becomes your "piece of NZ" to use on your computer as desktop wallpaper, screensavers, clipart... whatever! PLUS it automatically places you in the draw to be the new owner of the Smith's fantastic family home overlooking Lake Karapiro, with a market valuation of over ONE MILLION dollars.

Please have a look at their website, and spend $25 on set of images which then gives you a chance to win this house. 

Then we could almost be neighbours, I live in Cambridge too!!

http://www.apieceofnz.co.nz

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Maternity Fashion

Just as we have recently launched our website section with maternity clothing, I’ve found out about this new site.

 

www.maternityfashion.co.nz A new site for finding maternity wear, pregnancy clothing, nursing and breastfeeding fashion. Saving you money as they also list all the latest sales.

 

www.KidsfashioNZ.co.nz Kids Fashion Directory is the place to find stylish, designer kids clothing online, for your children. Over 500 online stores, the latest sales, fashion news and a weekly newsletter with giveaways.”

HOTmilk Videos

So you can see the colour and detail of HOTmilk bras in natural sunlight, I’ve made some videos on a beautiful sunny day J

 

http://www.breastmates.co.nz/hotmilk_lingerie/Demo_Videos_for_new_Lingerie.html

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

HOTmilk new styles

New arrivals of HOTmilk Lingerie are now unpacked and available online.  Sizes are limited until April, when our second shipment arrives.  That’s also when the FF and G cups will be arriving up to 20 body size.

Snow White  Full figure maternity bra

Princess and the Pea Maternity PJ top – which has matching boxers, camisole top, or long PJ Pants

Sleeping Beauty maternity nightie

 

 

Monday, January 11, 2010

Maternity Tops

Maternity Tops are now available online at our NZ website, this is the start of our collection:


Maternity Tunic
 $79.00  NZD


Maternity Top Sleeveless
 $69.00  NZD


Maternity Top Crossover
 $46.00  NZD


Maternity Top Scoop Neck
 $46.00  NZD


Maternity Top High Neck
 $69.00  NZD


Maternity Top Long Sleeve
 $75.00  NZD


Belly Band
 $39.90  NZD


Breastfeeding Wrap Merino
 $149.00  NZD

Friday, January 8, 2010

Breastmates Sale

Lots of things on sale at the moment, the quick links to our store are here:

Hotmilk Bra Midnight Mystique
$59.90 $49.90  NZD


HOTmilk Bra Ablaze with Azure
$59.90 $49.90  NZD


HOTmilk Bra Cherry Bomb
$59.90 $49.90  NZD


HOTmilk Bra She Craved
$59.95 $35.97  NZD


HOTmilk Tshirt Bra Her Playfulness
$59.90 $49.90  NZD


Belly Bands size 20 22
$22.00 $5.00  NZD


Hot Milk Bra Confidence
$59.90 $49.90  NZD


Avent BackPack
$119.00 $79.00  NZD


GR8X Camoflague Backpack Duo
$139.95 $70.00  NZD


Glamourmum Chocolate Size M Sale
$75.00 $55.00  NZD


GR8X Baby Traveller Bag Camoflague
$121.00 $60.00  NZD


C Section Healing Kit
$92.90 $78.90  NZD


Breastfeeding Hoodie Cotton
$79.00 $65.00  NZD


Nursing Tshirt Fitted
$60.00 $40.00  NZD


Heat Packs
$12.00 $9.00  NZD


Teething Jewellery
$34.90 $29.90  NZD


Nursing Necklace
$36.90 $28.90  NZD


Plush Animal Rattles
$21.00 $18.00  NZD


Mom Spit
$22.90 $19.90  NZD


Baby Wipes
$29.90 $24.90  NZD


Organic Nappy Cream
$23.90 $19.90  NZD


Organic Breast Pads Large Size
$32.90 $27.90  NZD


Organic Breast Pads Regular Size
$29.90 $24.90  NZD


HOTmilk French Knickers She Craved
$29.95 $17.97  NZD


HOTmilk Bikini Pants She Craved
$24.95 $14.97  NZD


Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Congrats to BabyBaby

Congrats to BabyBaby on winning the international iParenting Award for their nappy rash cream!!

You can read about it here:  Kiwi Rash Cream Wins Award

 

 

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

maternity clothes online

Oooo exciting times….

We have some new sections for Maternity Clothes.  The stock is ordered and on its way.  I was just too impatient to wait for it to arrive and have started preparing the new website page in our store.

 

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Teething Jewellery

We have a new range of Teething Jewellery available.  We used to stock the Dr Blooms range, but have shifted to the “smart mums” range because I prefer to deal directly with a NZ based company rather than getting product from overseas.  These are Jewellery for mum to wear, which baby can then chew on when they need to!

So what’s the deal with teething Jewellery?  Why bother?

I was sitting in a café with a friend once who had a 5 month old baby in a sling.  We’d been sitting there for a while and her baby was getting a bit grizzly. So she just took of her bangle and her baby was mesmerized by it.  Actually, her baby wanted it even before she took the bangle off her wrist.  Her baby was happy to play, suck and chew on it.  And it was perfectly safe, and was designed specifically from teething rubber that all the other baby teething toys are made from.  But this mum just kept it on her wrist and it looked perfectly normal.  The necklaces are also good to wear so that baby can look (i.e be mesmerized) and touch while breastfeeding.

Happy baby = happy mum who can enjoy her coffee.

You can see our new range and great colours of Teething Necklace pendants, and bangles at our store here:  Teething Bangles and Teething Necklaces

 

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Organic Nappy Balm

Organic Nappy Balm now in store – we are super proud to stock the Mothers Little Helper nappy balm.  I’ve been using for my son Lochie and I love it.

You can check it out here:  Organic Balm


Its made from natural ingredients, and no nasty petrochemicals.   J

 

 

 

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

HOTmilk Lingerie on the catwalk

skinny models were the standard catwalk models that were available at the Sydney Lingerie show. HOTmilk usually have pregnant models in their shots. The pushchair in the background was the only way they could indicate they were baby related.

Breastfeeding Naturally - Sonia Gray

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

HOTmilk models are really pregnant

I just answered a couple of common questions about HOTmilk lingerie and the marketing images.

Sexy pregnant models….!

You can read the article here  HOTmilk Lingerie Models

Oh Baby Magazine

Had my first article published in a magazine today. Oh Baby mag!!! Two pages!!!!

 

You can read what I wrote here:  Breastfeeding Tips  hope you like it!

 

 

Monday, December 21, 2009

Annah Stretton

Yesterday I missed an opportunity to meet one of my mentors.  Well, I walked past her in real life, but didn’t think faster to say hello.

I have a bad case of shoulda, woulda, coulda – but Didn’t.

 I still sent her an email, but gutted that I didn’t think faster and actually shake her hand!

 

She did reply to my email though which is very cool!

 

 

Thanks for the feedback Frances,  you should have said hi …..

 Merry Christmas !

 Annah

 

Editor and Publisher
HER, PINK & WHO'S WHO magazines
Stretton Publishing Company Ltd
Cnr Thames and Marshall Streets

P O Box 65
Morrinsville 3340
 
P   07 889 4053

F   07 889 4058

 

JanCover   RAFW09   S&B for Annahs email

 

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

funny gift card message

This is the funniest comment box I’ve ever had with a customer’s order:

 

How Did you Hear about Breastmates? “By accident while searching for porn.   Kidding.  Can't remember sorry, it was ages ago. I get the newsletter and joined the Facebook group, so it's one of the first places I think of for maternity/nursing paraphernalia

Message for Gift Card: “Dear [name removed]  Please treat yourself a gorgeous HotMilk nursing bra. Email Frances (Breastmates) if you need any advice, she's VERY helpful!!   Lots of love, [names removed]”

 

The funny thing about the gift card message, is that I have to write that myself.  I’m Frances and I’ll be writing a recommendation for myself on this present!!

Processing this order made me laugh.

Introductory Video

It was a bit of historical moment when this film crew came over and took this video of me.  It was done back in March 2009, so it has dated a bit now and my son has grown a lot bigger.

Now you can see the face behind the webpages!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPjIpKSR610

HOT Milk History

HOTmilk pictorial history of all the gorgeous maternity bras and underwear I’ve been selling for the past few years.  I should write a blog about all the gift card messages too, so funny!!

You can see this HOTmilk summary here

Copy Safe

School holidays have started, so it’s a change for me to have a child home while I am working.  When my business first started, I was a Work-at-home-Mum but that was five years ago.  I’ve grown a lot since then, and although it was a tough decision I know that putting my children into childcare was the right decision. 

My eldest started school in October, and so now he is home for 7 weeks for the holidays.  Its cool having my buddy here with me.  I’ve set up a “special desk” for him in my office, and he is doing work.

Yesterday he did a picture plan, and wrote a sentence “I am working with my Mummy”.  Cute.

This morning we played schools, I’m Mrs Broughton his teacher.  I watched while he drew a picture of Spiderman and wrote a story about it.  Then he did a © symbol in the corner.

I laughed!!!  He said “its so no one can copy my work”. 

I didn’t teach him this.  Even though all MY Breastmates work and my pictures are protected by Copy Safe.  (Its on the bottom corner of my website).

How adorable that my son knows this!!

I LOVE IT!!

 

PS> And before you judge his pictures and writing, it’s a miracle that he’ll even sit down with a pen.  This is the boy that likes being outside playing.

 

 

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Nappy Change Mat and Wallet

Great new product is the “B.Box” brand of nappy change mat.  Combined with your wipes and clean nappy, the change mat folds up into its own funky container.

These are super cool for gadget mums!

You can order here:  B.Box Nappy Change Mat

Monday, December 14, 2009

HOTmilk Confidence is Radiance

HOTmilk Lingerie style in the Confidence is Radiance style has now sold out.  We have a few pairs of knickers left, but the nursing bras have sold out.

This was a particularly favourite style of mine, it was funky and a little different in terms of the pattern.  I loved the styling and the confident bold pose of the model.  That’s why I had used the image in a lot of my marketing ads.

We have had a HOTmilk sale with up to 60% off to clear out these styles, making way for the new ones… which are just as gorgeous!  The new HOTmilk lingerie styles are in the “ever after” series and the themed photos have fairy tale settings.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Just in time for Christmas


Our new summer stock of HOTmilk has arrived - just in time for Christmas.  Santa knows you've been a good girl, so just send hubby a hint of what you would like and your size.
I've got 100,000 metres of christmas gift wrap to get through too, so everything is going to be gift wrapped by default.
This was our first shipment of these styles, so stocks are LIMITED until the next shipment arrives next year.
Shop here:  http://www.breastmates.co.nz/store/maternity-lingerie.html


 

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Baby Crying Leads to Movie

I just wrote an article about how one of my youtube videos has lead to a small role in an animated movie!!



Portable High Chair

We now have the versatile Snazzy Baby Deluxe Travel chair in stock.  It’s a fabric highchair with straps, that folds up small and can be used on any chair! So a perfect portable high chair.  See here

This is a great addition to our Starting Solids store section.