“Cradle + Bee is a clothing, gift, and home store with a heart to
give you an easy and enjoyable shopping experience.”

What a fun job this was! For this sweet little shop in Birmingham, Cradle + Bee (C+B), I was able to work with their new logo and brand ideals to establish a look and feel for their new print pieces as well as a few images for launching their new brand on socials too!

A few of these pieces are featured below along with a brand board I put together and images from the shop. Also below is an interview with shop owner, Bryson Kessler, about life before C+B, how it started, and how they strive to serve their customers. Enjoy!

A snapshot from the August 1 store preview with some of the C+B staff, family, and small business owners who each played a part in the launch. Shop owner, Bryson, is pictured center in the fun pink!

Please share where you are from and a little about your life.

I was raised on a farm right about 30 miles outside of Montgomery. It was an interesting way to grow up that was both challenging and rewarding. Everything we did was in Montgomery (church, school, friends, etc). When we were home, we were on the land and were pretty isolated from the “real world.” I grew up feeding cows and riding horses and building forts in the woods, etc.

As a child, it was fun and there seemed to never be a lack of adventure around. As a teenager who wanted to play less and socialize more, living 30 minutes outside the city where “my life” took place was often frustrating.

But, I look back now and see the value in escaping the hustle and bustle and pace of city life. I believe it taught me the value of hard work (land takes work) and kept me from getting into things that might have not been the best choices for me as a teen. It definitely prepared me for my future in many ways.

A few home goodies available at Cradle + Bee

What was life like before Cradle + Bee ?

It’s hard to remember! So much of my adult life has been owning and running a small business. Prior to owning a store, I was actually a student minister in Nashville, TN, and then later part of a church plant in Franklin, TN, so much of my early adult life was involved in ministry. Those were wonderful days that I will forever cherish. Many lasting friendships were made in those days, and I am forever grateful for that.

Once I became a mom, I knew I wanted to prioritize that in my life, and it was difficult to continue working in ministry in the capacity that I had been. We eventually moved to Birmingham and shortly afterwards, the Lord opened the door to create our small business, which allowed me to continue working but also prioritize being a mom. Although store ownership is A LOT of work and involves countless hours “behind the scenes”, it has been a tremendous blessing and a journey I am thankful to be on.

Custom logo cookies created for the store preview party

Please share a little about the Cradle + Bee shop and brand.

Cradle + Bee started as The Swanky Stork 11 years ago. At the time, my sisters and I owned a children’s boutique, Fireflies & Fairytales, so we were already in the small business world. I was pregnant with my second child and struggled to find maternity clothes that worked for my changing body but were still stylish and affordable. So, seeing that as a need in the marketplace, my sisters and I decided to open a sister store to Fireflies & Fairytales, and The Swanky Stork was born.

During our time with Fireflies & Fairytales, we created and produced our own children’s clothing brand as well as baby bedding. We started designing and producing our baby bedding line, and as it grew, The Swanky Stork really became two stores in one: maternity clothing and baby bedding.

At the same time, we had many customers who would return to the store after having their baby to keep shopping because they were finding it was difficult to find fashionable and appropriate styles for moms after baby. We saw the Lord, again, showing us a need in the marketplace and saw Him begin to transform The Swanky Stork.

Small business is so much about knowing who you are and realizing you cannot be all things to all people, but also just as much about adapting to the way your customers change and the world around us changes. From this place, the idea of Cradle + Bee was born.

Cradle + Bee still provides the same stylish clothing for moms-to-be but now also takes her beyond her pregnancy by providing clothes that are on trend, functional, and appropriate for a new mom. And we not only help dress her body during pregnancy, but also help dress the nursery with our beautiful, custom baby bedding line.

Our goal is to provide an easy and enjoyable shopping experience for moms in an often stressful and full-of-change time of her life. We want her to walk out of our store feeling as beautiful and unique as she is not only with her style but also with her creativity when it comes to designing her nursery.

What is the meaning behind this name/how did it originate?

Cradle + Bee is from the brain of one of our super cute and creative employees. We knew that as The Swanky Stork was clearly evolving and expanding that we needed the name to also reflect that. We spent months thinking through a name that would reflect that past but also reflect the new future. Cradle + Bee was born from that idea.

Cradle represents the baby bedding line and all things new baby while Bee represents our Queen Bee moms.

When it came to creating your brand and branded pieces, what words came to mind that you wanted shoppers to associate with C+B?

We loved the idea of playing up the “Bee” in our name for many reasons. One, it is unique and different and objects are often easy to remember and associate with a brand (think Nike swoosh, Apple). But, beyond that, we love the fact that the Bee represents our beautiful moms who are hard workers, unique, beautiful, and created with purpose.

A brand board I created after we established the look and feel for the direction they wanted their designs to go, many of which are featured below.

Above, social media countdown images I created for the big grand opening and directly below, art for their socials story to kick things off!

What makes Cradle + Bee a fun place to shop?

One of my favorite things about C+B is our staff. The Lord has provided amazing workers who truly care about each customer and making sure our customers have a pleasant shopping experience each time they walk through the door. This includes helping to find styles that flatter each unique body type, looks that work for specific functions or events, or walking through the bedding design process from start to finish.

We have also worked to create an atmosphere at Cradle + Bee that is beautiful but relaxing. Our hope is that our customers walk in the door and feel excited to shop at C+B but never feel overwhelmed or stressed.

We have toy buckets for our moms with young children and we have corn hole outside for our older children or dads who might need a shopping break.

We also provide monthly events at C+B to get to know our customers even more and say “thank you” for being part of the C+B family. These events are often classes like painting or cookie decorating or flower arranging. Sometimes they are special events with delicious treats and great sales. We always enjoy these extra times with our customers.

What is your favorite thing about serving others through C+B?

My favorite thing is that so often, our customers become like family to us. The beauty of serving moms-to-be and new moms is that we see them often in the process of designing bedding or shopping frequently as their body changes throughout pregnancy.

We have the privilege of walking through a life changing season with them. We not only get to help them find clothing for their body type or design bedding for their nursery, as moms ourselves, we often have the opportunity to share advice on motherhood based on things we have learned along the way.

These customers become friends and family. When these customers, now friends, bring their new baby to the store to meet us or share pictures of the nursery fully designed, we are reminded, once again, what a joy it is to serve our customers and walk through a season of life with her.

Me and Bryson at the August 1 store preview!

Anything else you'd like to share?

As a small business owner, another important aspect of our business is supporting and working with other small business owners. One of my favorite aspects of C+B is the unique and local products we offer in the store and the small business owners (often moms themselves) we work with. From soaps, to ornaments, to custom baby pillows, to candles, many of our products are made right here in Birmingham from hard working, small business owners.

Also, in walking through the rebranding process, it was very important to work with other small businesses in our area for our branding, marketing, etc. In the process, we have built this truly unique and beautiful team of women (many of them moms) who support each other and spur each other along in the small business journey.

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behind the seen: cradle + bee