wildly popular Block to Grow On, a ceramic block that allows parents to mark baby’s first milestones. Now, the Child to Cherish collection boasts 150 products and is carried in more than 8,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada alone. But with success came challenges, including a wave of companies selling and marketing lookalikes of Lowe’s bestselling items. Though she doesn’t condone it, she understands the temptation, as the keepsake market continues to grow, even during turbulent times. After all, she knows just how important special gifts can be—and not just from the lessons of her challenging childhood, but also from her first entrepreneurial endeavor, as a gift wrapper. Lowe had noticed how the Marshalls in her hometown was always packed during the holidays, so she petitioned the city to put up a giftwrapping booth tucked right under the store’s awning. “My husband Gordon built this awesome little house, and I just basically lived there with three kids from morning until night the three weeks before Christmas,” Lowe remembers. “He made little bunks for the boys, and I had a TV back there, and I just gift-wrapped and they watched TV. And I made $20,000 in three weeks. That’s a lot of money when you’re a cocktail waitress!” The booth’s success can probably be chalked up to Lowe’s attention to detail: Every gift was wrapped with ribbons and small ornaments, and seams were verboten. It’s why gift-wrapping is always her top suggestion to retailers looking to stand out from the competition, and also why she’s meticulous with the packaging for Child to Cherish. A gift, after all, should be special. But Lowe’s not only helping foster memories for other families— she’s also making many of her own, now that her husband and three sons work for the company. Her husband Gordon handles all the product importing, quality control and product specifications. Her oldest son, Tucker, does all of the computer designing and systems invoicing. Her second son, Taylor, is the company controller and large account compliance director and oversees the company’s computer systems and Internet development. And her third son, Cody, is in charge of inside sales, account development and customer service. “They’re a huge part of the business,” Lowe shares. “They’ve lived and breathed it from the beginning, from living in that little gift-wrapping booth to bagging plaster. They’ve done it all with me, right by my side. Sometimes it’s weird being a mom and a boss and a wife and a friend, but I wouldn’t change it. Even though I walk into work sometimes, and my boys ask, ‘Mom, did you bring toast?’” What was the biggest challenge in the beginning? In the first seven or eight years, the difficult part was trying to come up with new ideas, bring them to market and get them out there before others could copy the idea and flood the market. Being a small manufacturer is very, very difficult because you’re competing with people who have the relationships and resources to move products very quickly. If someone has the money to market and advertise one of your good ideas, they can succeed. That has been one of the biggest roadblocks for Child to Cherish, because our products are all unique, and we know when someone is copying us—but they’re experienced, and they’ve got money. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a lawsuit to compete. We actually went to court once, to get the trade dress rights for our Block to Grow On, which we developed in 1998 and has probably earned us the most recognition. It’s essentially a baby book on a bank. >49
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