Welcome! It’s so great to have you here.
My name is Jess. This is my family; my husband Hayden, my daughter Emmabelle and my son Leo. We live in the beautiful Orange, NSW, Australia and we are so grateful that you are here! The one you can’t see here is our first born daughter, Lilly.
In 2017, we went into premature labour at 22 weeks, 6 days and had to say goodbye to our little girl after 28 minutes. After our experience, I began to realise just how many people are affected by pregnancy and infant loss.
This is us!
This photo sums up our family pretty perfectly! I’m the Mum who lives in gym gear and hoodies and rarely does her makeup. Hayden is the typical family man, always holding one, if not both of the kids and growing a beard for Beards of Hope for the 5th year running! Emmabelle is a sassy, cheeky, caring 4 year old who loves splashing in puddles, doing puzzles and of course, Bluey! And Leo is our crazy (usually smiley) daring, 2 year old who puts everything in his mouth and loves to have a dance!
When you purchase a care package from Made to Bloom, this is who you are supporting. You are putting food on our table, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us and believing in what we do.
Why bereavement boxes?
Studies have shown that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss. According to Bears of Hope, approximately 150,000 families will need support every year. Every day in Australia, 6 babies are stillborn, 3 babies die within the first 12 months of life and a miscarriage occurs every 3.5 minutes.
After looking at these statistics, I was shocked. So I decided I needed to do something for these families. For their support systems. For their babies or children, gone too soon. I felt like I needed to create a legacy and keep Lilly’s memory alive. And so, Made to Bloom was born.
Why Made to Bloom?
The name Made to Bloom came about after we lost our daughter. I can recall an image popping to mind as I started to navigate a world without my daughter. The image of a flower blooming through the concrete. This image represents rising through adversity, growth through unbearable challenges. As women, as mothers, as bereaved parents; we were made to bloom.
We are invested in the wellbeing of parents through some of the most challenging parenthood journeys. We are doing this for you. For your babies. For our baby.
Why should you choose Made to Bloom?
Our goal in business is to support local, Australian businesses. We have had a rough couple of years here in Australia and nothing makes me happier than supporting small Australian businesses with similar goals. Although, often times, Australia does not have access to some of the beautiful products available in other parts of the world. When I feel that a product will make a profound impact on the family receiving it, I will try to bring some of these incredible products to Australia, such as the cards and artworks, designed and made in the USA.
I want to ensure as a business, I am being as environmentally conscious as possible, by reducing waste and choosing sustainable or recycled alternatives for both packaging and gifting. I have also opted to use Sendle to deliver our care packages due to their 100% carbon neutral delivery options.
How will our business grow?
Bereavement boxes are released gradually as we find inspiration and more beautiful products. Over the next 12 months, boxes will be released in stages and new and exciting products will be coming well into the future.
My goal is to have everything you could possibly need for bereavement gifting, in one easily accessible and affordable place.
I have plenty of ideas to come and am super excited to share them with you. But rest assured, one of my main focus points is accessibility, and coming from a family who loves to give, I have some plans in motion that I would love your help with to ensure access to these products is easy regardless of your financial situation.
And bereavement boxes… they are just the beginning. Stay tuned for some of our exciting initiatives, projects and fundraisers throughout the year!
Get to know us a little more!
Favourite colours:
Jess - Orange, of course!
Hayden - Blue
Emmabelle - Green
Leo - BlueIf I could eat one meal for the rest of my life:
Jess - Tacos
Hayden - Pizza
Emmabelle: Sketti (Spaghetti)
Leo - Pumpkin SoupDream car:
Jess - 67 Cheverolet Impala
Hayden - Ford Focus RSCelebrity Crush:
Jess - Jensen Ackles or Margot Robbie
Hayden - Mila KunasFavourite thing about each other:
Jess - I love that Hayden puts family before anything else. I love that Emmabelle has a cracker sense of humour and I love that Leo sings You Are My Sunshine with me!
Hayden - I love Jess’ dimples, Emmabelle’s laugh and that Leo knows what he does and doesn’t want.
Thanks so much for joining us on this journey. We are so grateful to have you here. Your being here means the subject of baby loss is familiar to you and for that I’m truly sorry. It also means that the subject is losing it’s taboo. Together, we can create an accepting, supportive community filled to the brim with love and hope.
So much love,
The Crawfords xxxxx