Bellflower Books is a company that was started by two best friends, Heather Smith and Kerry Wellstein. The idea to start this business actually derived from the difficulty they both found when trying to come up with meaningful, personal gifts for some big events that were happening in their lives – such as Kerry’s Father’s Retirement and Heather’s Mother’s 50th Birthday. After some brainstorming and soul searching, these ladies recognized that the gifts we give, receive and treasure the most are the ones that come from the heart; the kind of gifts shared with those we love. Heather and Kerry knew that combining the ability to get in touch with family and friends to share photos and ideas seamlessly would be the answer to creating a personal, affordable and meaningful gift that would last a lifetime. Hence, Bellflower Books was born.
I have to tell you that the major difference that clearly separates Bellflower Books from your typical Kodak or Snapfish platform can be found in the software that Heather and Kerry developed. The online tools at Bellflower Books give you the opportunity to make family and friends an integral part of your project with just a click and the addition of some email address. They also have tons of professional, hard covered designs available that really can’t be matched by their competitors.
Here is a photo of the Bellflower Book I received to give you a better idea:
You can also check out a sample completed you book with the ability to turn the pages online and they even offer you an Idea Center to get inspired! Bellflower Books make the perfect gift for any occasion, such as baby and bridal showers, retirements, birthdays, anniversaries – and the list goes on! The possibilities of the kind of book to make are endless…
For example, I am a blogger who takes photos when I attend a blog conference and I always find myself searching through Facebook pages and Flickr accounts to gather some great photos of my bloggy friends. Bellflower Books would have saved me so much time since the tools are available on the website (and by simply adding the email addresses other bloggers, this would give them to opportunity to upload their OWN photos and share their own text to the SAME conference that we all attended). Wouldn’t that be a fabulous way to remember an incredible event – and sharing this process with those that matter most? If you attended a blog conference recently or plan on attending some this spring/summer, Bellflower Books is a great way to preserve those fabulous memories in ONE beautiful book!
How It Works:
You begin by creating a free account, only using your name and email address (and choosing a password). Easy peasy! Then, you choose your favorite book style (so many fabulous colors/designs to choose from with some examples are here) and collect the email addresses of those who you would like some photos and/or text from to complete your book. The Bellflower Books web tools take care of the rest! When you are ready, you have the ability to preview the book online and make any necessary edits before you place your order!
But wait, there’s more. You know that I only feature women-owned businesses in The Marketplace that I trust and that make sense to this website as well as my readership. Bellflower Books certainly fills that criteria; I love the way that they are a real organic company, two best friends that had an incredible idea who designed an authentic product that touches the lives of others. I was not only inspired by their start-up story, but by their company’s mission and goals. They are truly two women I am so proud to partner with.
Therefore, you will find me tweeting for Bellflower Books, generating some great buzz as well as developing a fabulous community for the brand. I’ve come on board to help them kick-start a social media presence so I hope you join me in welcoming Bellflower Books to the social media space; they are certainly a brand you should get to know as well as one to watch!
Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. Bellflower Books is a proud sponsor of Theta Mom and I was compensated for this post and provided sample materials. However, all opinions expressed are purely my own and the content of this post was not influenced in any way.
What a fabulous idea! Do Bellflower ship overseas? If not, will they? I live in Malaysia
No, sorry mama – only the USA.
Since you are a “Theta Mom” contact me at kerry@bellflowerbooks.com and I will see what we can do!
What a fabulous idea!
And congrats on another partnership!
Thanks mama! I seriously think the idea for a bloggy book is fabulous! 😉 And I just LOVE this start-up story – these ladies are awesome!
I hope Kerry and Heather read this! G’morning, girls!
They sure will – and we are SO looking forward to your post. We love your blog Liz!!
Oh…I am really behind on my photo archiving. According to my photo journaling efforts, my Cherubs (10, 10, and 7) are only 2, 2, and not even BORN yet. These books are exactly what I need to be doing.
They make it SO easy to create such a meaningful keepsake. And two great women behind the brand makes it easy to support them! 😉
wow! what a fantastic company. proud to support moms and small biz owner!! i’m sure they will be ecstatic from the response they receive through your support thru social media!
Thanks Julia!! They truly are a fantastic company with a great product! Thanks SO much for your support of women-owned brands!
These books are absolutely beautiful! Too bad I’m in Canada!
We’ll have to change that. 😉
If you are really interested in creating a book contact me at kerry@bellflowerbooks.com and we can work something out:)
Great idea! I make these for my mom at Christmas. I’ll definitely check out what Bellflower Books has to offer!
Awesome, thanks girl!!
Very cool. Off to check it out. Thanks for the info.
Thanks so much Alicia!
Wow!!! You did such a perfect job of explaining who we are and what we are all about:) We are so very, very excited to be working with you and to get to know more of the amazing women in the “Theta Mom” community. Thanks for your nice comments and support everyone!
Thrilled to be partnering with you Kerry!!
This is a great idea! I’m compiling a list of mother’s day gifts (you know how dads can be) and this is a great addition to my list!
Fantastic! They really are a wonderful brand to support!
If endorsed by Heather, it must be all shades of awesome
And probably the kick in the pants I need in getting organised … finally!
I appreciate that mama! Yes, they ARE all shades of awesome! 😉
I just made an album for my mom on Shutterfly…. I make photo albums all of the time. Would love to have another option. Especially something created by two women. Headed over there now to check it out!
Thanks for the support Laura! They created a wonderful platform and have a gorgeous product to boot! Thanks for checking it out!
This looks really awesome! My youngest daughter does awesome photography and has kicked off her business doing sessions for young children. I had been thinking a bound book would be awesome for her to offer her clients. I will have to go check it out!
Bernice
Create habits instead of resolutions
Thanks Bernice!
That would be a great gift to send to the in-laws. I’m back to blogging (after a permanent hiatus from Alabaster cow) and it’s nice to be part of the Theta Mom Community again Heather!
Wow, Erika!! I am behind on getting to the new TMC blogs but it’s WONDERFUL to see you back! And I agree, Bellflower Books make wonderful gifts for the in-laws!! Thanks for your support mama!
What a great idea! I LOVE how you can put in emails and get pictures and information from others. I tend to have my hands full between my two little ones, so often the best pictures (or any pictures, really) end up coming from someone else’s camera. Such a great concept!
Congratulations on another great opportunity!
Thanks so much for the support Ashley!!
That is a great post !! Love the idea !! going there right now !!
Thanks so much!!
This is such a great idea and the best part for me is that it is a women-owned small business. I know they will take pride in their product because it is their “baby”. Thanks so much for sharing – I will be checking it out!
Perfectly said Paula! Which is part of the reason I am so happy to feature them!!
Awesome!
Thanks!!
Woo hoo!!!! YAY KERRY!!!
I Love Kerry! I did her blog design that is about to launch next week. She has been one of my best clients to work with!
I know! 😉 Aren’t they the BEST? Can’t wait to see the blog design!!!
Congrats! What a great partnership!
Thanks Jill!!
Thanks for profiling this terrific women-run business. Kerry & Heather are not only great business people that came up with this terrific idea they are wonderful people. Spread the word.