The concept for Branch+Twig was originally inspired by the poem above. Many new moms are told "isn't being a mom the most wonderful thing?", but for many new mothers, this period in their life is painful, both physically and emotionally. It's been reported that 70-80% of new mothers experience some form of "baby blues", and 10-20% struggle with clinical postpartum depression. This is just added to the fact that, whether their baby was delivered vaginally or via C-section, a new mom feels like her body has been broken in the process of bringing life into the world. The aim for Branch+Twig was to rediscover how to speak to new mothers in a way that felt authentic and genuine and nurturing. It's important to reach out to new mothers where they are at and say "we understand that this is hard. Give your body and spirit a chance to heal and give yourself space to accept who you are in this moment of your life". She is a forest, and she will grow back over and over, no matter how badly she is devastated.

The conceptual customer for Branch+Twig is a bit of a free spirit and loves living a crunchy life. As a new mom, she has big dreams about using cloth diapers and making baby food herself from organic fruits and vegetables, but then also laughs at herself when she realizes how much work she signed herself up for. At the end of the day though, she is conscientious about what she feeds as well as what she clothes her and her baby with. She is also environmentally aware and wants to leave a planet for future generations to enjoy. To appeal to this new mom, the fabrics used in Branch+Twig collections are mindfully sustainable. All fibers are either recycled, or organically grown in a local farm. Instead of infusing the fabrics with harsh chemicals during the dying and print process, the fabrics are dyed with natural plant dyes, and the water recycled in a closed-loop system.

While it is expected that most of the sales will be online, as it is tricky for new moms to get out of the house with a newborn, above is a visual representation of what the store atmosphere and marketing/branding would feel like. It's important for the store to feel clean and bright to create a sense of calm for the shoppers. Live plants bring a sense of nature into the space to keep it feeling warm and inviting.

Shown above is the proposed woven labels, heatseal label, and hang tag for the Branch+Twig styles. The woven labels would be a natural, lightweight, cotton twill and the hang tag would be on recycled card stock. The hang tag is important to the post-pregnancy line, as many of the styles are designed to be able to be worn with a changing body. Many of the knit styles would be fit with a maternity belly as well as without so that the customer can get more use out of the garments that she buys.