Fulfilling a desire for cute, affordable maternity clothing without a local store specializing in the products can be burdensome.
That’s why Kisha Cranston has created The Bump Store, a maternity shop that opened recently at the Malls Shopping Center, 711 W. 23rd St. No. 22. in Lawrence.
The Bump’s model is like a Plato’s Closet for pregnant people. Cranston buys clothing — most of it gently used — from people jettisoning their maternity wardrobes, then resells it for a low price.
“You have to go and basically buy a brand new wardrobe (when you’re pregnant), which is really expensive. And then what do you do with it when you’re done with it?” Cranston said.
Though the bulk of the Bump’s products are gently used, Cranston also offers new clothing, to reduce the chances of someone leaving her store discouraged at a lack of size options. The new products include novelty T-shirts with messages like “Beauty and the bump,” “Eating tacos for two” and “I miss wine.”
During one of Cranston’s pregnancies, she’d had the words “Oh my God, Becky, look at her bump,” printed on a T-shirt, then used it to announce one of her pregnancies on social media. She imagines shoppers eying her store’s T-shirts with similar aims.
Possessing a master’s degree in higher education administration from KU, Cranston recognizes opening a business is invariably a risk, but she also identified a hole in the market. She remembers what it was like trying to find clothes during her two pregnancies a few years ago: it meant driving to Kansas City or Topeka, or buying online and then being dissatisfied when something didn’t fit.
But you can’t even do the former anymore, Cranston said. Most maternity stores have shifted to online-only models, a trend that Cranston hopes to reverse.
Her goal is for people to start their pregnancy journey at The Bump, from conception to the postpartum period.
The Bump has products like Preggie Pops, anti-nausea suckers; baby shower games; and gender reveal announcement kits. There’s also postpartum underwear, belly support bands, and nursing tanks and bras — the sort of niche items you’re unlikely to find in a retail department store.
The products are pregnant — not baby — centric.
“I want to focus on the pregnant person because that’s the person who’s been neglected,” Cranston said. “This store is built around being pregnant. There’s a comfy spot to sit; there’s a wide area so you can get a stroller around; there’s a place to pop a kid. We have a nice giant dressing room … and if you need to take a stroller in with you, you can.”
Kisha and her husband, Bryan, bought the space last January and renovated the store over the course of the last year, installing new flooring, upgrading the bathroom, and rewiring the electricity.
They used recycled materials when they could. The racks and hangers are refurbished, as are the lighted sign, the TV, and the mannequins.
Cranston even has a discounted rack for less-than-perfect items that people might feel tempted to trash: clothes with holes and stains, which are extremely discounted.
“Fast fashion is such a terrible thing for the environment … so we’re not wasting anything and you can come and get a lot of stuff at really low prices and then, you know, come get some money back when you’re done,” Cranston said. “I just want this to be a comfortable space for everybody to come in and get what they need. And if we don’t have something, I’m happy to find it.”
The Bump Store is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
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Chansi Long (she/her) reported for The Lawrence Times from July 2022 through August 2023. Read more of her work for the Times here.
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