'I moved to Henley-on-Thames with my husband, Graeme, seven years ago to start a new career as a teacher at Cookham Rise Primary School. We have three children, Joe, six, Amber, three, and Sid, one.

   'When I was a child, my mother would give me a shoebox filled with fun things I could play with if I was ill in bed. As an adult, I started making "Get Better Boxes" for friends' children
if they were unwell or had a hospital visit. When I was on maternity leave with Amber, I was desperate for a new challenge – something not involving nappies and night feeds – that
I could really get my teeth into. I received such lovely responses for my boxes, that I decided to take it to the next level and launch a playful brand with a retro twist – Box of Smiles.

   'The first thing I did was sign up to the Love Local Christmas Market in Henley. As my Get Better Boxes were proving successful, I was originally just going to tweak them and market them as Christmas Boxes. I put a business plan together and it was then that I realised there was huge scope for line extensions.

   'The hardest bit was establishing the brand but I had done a lot of this without realising when I had put the name down on the market form without giving it much thought. The use of the characters in the logo helped give it the retro twist I was after because a lot of the products I use are traditional wooden toys.

   'I have a BA (hons) Marketing degree and Institute of Sales Promotion qualification. This, coupled with over six years' experience working in marketing agencies has really helped me get things started. My first sale was a Get Better Box for a little girl with meningitis. I put a few extra goodies in that box.

   'I now work full time on Box of Smiles and have a range of boxes, including the Welcome to the World box for new babies, the Super Mum box for new mums, the You’re a Star box to say "thank you" and the Sending Hugs & Kisses box to say "I’m thinking of you". Each
gift box is personalised with the recipient’s name and printed personal message card. Customers also have the option of adding a personalised hand-stamped vintage spoon.

    'Box of Smiles has collaborated with three local small businesses, all mothers themselves, to strengthen her product offering whilst supporting local talent. Eat Real Food, Henley, have packaged their delicious energy balls with a little card detailing the nutritional benefits for new mums. Mrs Min’s Vintage, Henley, are supplying their popular and scrumptious gluten-free brownies. Based in Reading, Sheabutter Cottage have created an indulgent
hand and lip shea butter product specifically to care for mothers’ over-washed hands. Not only does it nourish your skin and smell gorgeous, Mango Monoi is a Fairtrade product. Sheabutter Cottage ensure they pay a fair price to the producers in Ghana, they visit some of these co-ops and a percentage from each sale is donated to help strengthen these co-ops and projects.

   'Box of Smiles has also teamed up with another slightly further afield talented mum,
Sarah Darby, now living in Australia. Sarah was named one of Harper’s Bazaar "12 Australian Fashion Illustrators to follow" and is well known for her live illustrations at top fashion shows. Her beautiful illustration of wings can be found on the Super Mum pocket mirror and gift box card.

   'Personalisation, presentation and localisation are three key ingredients to Box of Smiles. When you send a Box of Smiles gift, you are choosing quality products which include local producers, stylish packaging with the addition of personal touches to make the recipient feel truly special.

   'Box of Smiles is setting a pledge to create 365 smiles (one per box) in its first year of going live. Visitors to the website can track this progress on the smile-o-meter.' 

 

For Mother's Day

Our Super Mum gift box is for new mothers but it is also a perfect gift for any mum of any age on Mothering Sunday: https://www.box-of-smiles.co.uk/products/super-mum-gift-box 

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Visit https://www.box-of-smiles.co.uk