Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Christensen.
Christine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Being where I am today was never really in my plans. Which is not necessarily a bad thing but a lesson in rolling with the punches. When Covid-19 hit the US and all schools in Atlanta closed on March 10, 2020 – my family was in the second year of running our community space for small families, HavenHyggeHouse. February 2020 was our most successful month ever and then, BAM! We decided to close as soon as the schools did because we cared more about the families than making an extra buck. What we didn’t know at the time was that we would never open our doors again. Having the tagline “Connecting families – in real life” – isn’t really a recipe for success during a global pandemic. So ya, HavenHyggeHouse was over.
When the pandemic started we were 6 months pregnant with our second child and in June 2020 he was born. This time around postpartum was different and everything felt a bit heavier – however, when the blues started lifting, the itching to create and do some good started again. So my husband and I thought it through and we decided to launch Blomst.
Our first child is born in Denmark (my native country) and parenting there taught us a lot. We especially love all the gear in Scandinavia, gear which enables parents to get out and be free, even with their little ones. Blomst is a diaper bag inspired by our time as parents in Scandinavia. I would be at HavenHyggeHouse and see parents bring a million small bags to the diaper table in the bathroom and I always thought “it should be easier than that – s*** is hard enough as is!!”. Our Blomst diaper bag, a simple, unisex, lightweight bag that you open up (like a flower – Blomst means flower in Danish) and voila, there inside the Blomst are all your necessities and a nice safe place for your child to lay during the changing of diaper – plus the side pockets serve as nice protectors for little hands to not be smeared all over walls, etc.
All of the diapers bags in our first edition were handmade by parents in ATL allowing parents to work at their own time, from their own home – enabling them to stay home with their children during these insane times.
Our biggest mission in all of our endeavors is to empower parents – because empowering parents means empowering the children.
The bag is pretty much a game-changer for any parent… if I may say so.
We are excited that we are now launching a backpack version of Blomst! We will move production to a larger facility here in the US and we are launching an indiegogo campaign soon, to let our hardcore Blomst fans get first dips on the Blomst backpack.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Has it been a smooth road? F*** no! There is absolutely nothing smooth about starting your own businesses. NOTHING SMOOTH. And losing and starting businesses during a global pandemic is as “not smooth” as anything can be.
It is a constant toss around – and you attempt to make the right decisions at any given moment. Mostly so you can look back and not blame yourself for how things turned out and know that you gave it your best all the way.
These years have been hard for me – and mostly everyone else. I am struggling daily. People see us from the outside and assume “oh look at them! They got all their shit together! 2 kids and a puppy (because we are insane) AND they managed to start a new business!” But the truth is that I pretty much wanna cry every day. I feel like I am drowning and that I have failed – not in a detrimental way – but in a “life has been really challenging and I have no way of recharging or coming up for air” kinda way. And every time I sit down to think about what I can do, the only result I come up with is “keep going”. That’s it. That is all we can do. Keep going and change paths where it is needed. Be fluid but determined. And hold on to the people you love.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I did this life coaching training with a friend a few years ago. And during that coaching, I had to figure out the one term that describes me. Even though I have spent almost all of my life as a professional classically trained cellist performing around the world – I really, really struggled with accepting that the word I came to label myself as was “creative”. It almost felt like it wasn’t serious and “business like” enough for me, as in, “I just wanna sit here and drink my coffee while diving into my creative work” (which actually is all I wanna do). However, my creative side has guided me through life. I decide to go where the passion is. And I am not afraid of fucking up because that is simply not how I live. I am lucky that I am creative because nothing needs more creativity than starting and running your own businesses. The question “what do you do” is so irritating to me. We, as a society, focus so much of this question, it is literally one of the first things we ask people “so, what do you do?” like that is all that makes a person. I am a mother and I create. I do what I need to do to feel like a complete and competent human. I also spend time licking my wounds of failure and then eventually I get up and try again. And I try to be gentle towards myself during the process (which is something I am not always good at)
How do you define success?
Looking at yourself in the mirror and accepting what you see. Accepting the way you live your life and not being afraid to adjust your life in whatever way it needs to be adjusted. Being proud of yourself. That is success to me.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@iloveblomst.com
- Website: iloveBlomst.com
- Instagram: iloveblomst
- Facebook: iloveblomst
