Tuesday, July 26, 2011

This New Mom Rocked her Annie & Isabel Hospital Gown for Labor, Delivery & Recovery!!!

We always love when we get an order from someone who is excited to gift one of our Annie & Isabel hospital gowns to a friend for the delivery of their baby.  It is such a fun, unique gift to give a friend that is sure to bring a smile to their face.  We received a nice testimonial from Corina, who delivered her first baby recently.  She received her "Anita" designer hospital gown from her good friend Jenn.

Here is Jenn with Corina.  Jenn didn't want Corina to wear this dreadful, oversized standard hospital gown...........

 Jenn and Corina in the early stages of labor - love the starbucks!!

 
So she gave Corina the "Anita" gown for a more comfortable, stylish delivery:

Corina getting excited to bring her baby boy into the world!!


Trying to get labor moving faster.......and texting:-)




Proud mama with baby Chase.  He was born a healthy 7lbs 5oz after 16 hours of labor

Corina was able to enjoy her designer hospital gown for her labor, delivery and recovery!!  Here is what she had to say about her experience:

"The gown was great!  It was very comfortable and a size small fit perfectly.  I received compliments all day from staff, visitors and other moms.  I liked the pockets and the option to snap or tie the gown at the neck.  The gown was great for recovery as well and made nursing much easier compared to regular clothes.  I will be wearing my gown again at my next delivery."

Congratulations Corina!!  Welcome to the wonderful world of motherhood.  Thanks to Jenn, too,  for keeping your good friend comfortable and stylish throughout her hospital stay.




Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Proud New Mom Celebrates The Birth Of Her Daughter In Her PINK Annie and Isabel Designer Hospital Gown!

Introducing baby Emilyn and her mommy Loraine... 
in The Annie Gown


Loraine received an Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown at her baby shower. We keep hearing from our customers that the gift of an Annie & Isabel gown is always the "hit gift" and "talk of the shower"! Who doesn't want to make a mom-2-be feel comfortable, stylish, and celebrated on that special day? Loraine received our Anita gown, but knew she was having a baby girl and wanted to go all out with our pink Annie gown for her upcoming birth! Baby Emilyn is absolutely precious and Loraine looks beautiful in her Annie gown! Here is what she said about her experience, 

"Thanks for being so accommodating with my gown exchange. I truly enjoyed the personal service you provided ~ even down to the pre-washing my new gown in baby friendly detergent! You went the extra mile to ensure that I would truly enjoy my Annie and Isabel hospital gown... and I did! It was so much cuter and easier to feed the baby in than the frumpy hospital issued gowns. Thanks again!
~Loraine

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Tiffany Darlyn Hospital Gown Giveaway Winner!!!


We want to thank everyone who entered the Tiffany Darlyn hospital gown giveaway and a special thanks to Tiffany for hosting this giveaway!!!  We had over 100 entries into the contest which is awesome.  It was really fun to read through all the entries to see which gown each person would choose and what they would be using the hospital gown for.  The majority of women chose the Susan gown and most planned on using their designer hospital gown for pregnancy but we also had other entries from people that planned to use it for a surgery or as a gift to someone dealing with a chronic illness which is such a wonderful gift!!  We even  had a few men enter our contest to gift it to their wives or family members for an upcoming delivery.  How great is that??!!

Before we announce the winner we just want to say how much we appreciate everyone's support and we would like to offer a 15% discount to all those who entered our contest.  You can use discount code "TiffanyDarlyn" when you check out from our store.  This discount code will expire one week from today on Tuesday, July 19th.

OK....now what you have all been waiting for.  Here is a hint.....this person said they hoped to win the "Annie" hospital gown.



Using Random.org we chose our winner......and the winner is.........


On our blog the winner entered as JMeeTV and her name is Jamie Jones.  Congrats Jamie!!!  Please contact us ASAP to claim you new designer hospital gown.  You will definitely be the most stylish, comfortable and dignified woman in the hospital:-)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Two Days Left to Win an Annie & Isabel Hospital Gown with Tiffany Darlyn!

Have you entered our giveaway with Tiffany Darlyn yet?

Watch her video here and enter via the link below... 

Two days left...

We are closing entry at 12:00 p.m. PST this Tuesday July 12th.

We will use Random.org to pick a winner and announce the evening of July 12th..

Good luck to all...we are loving all the entries!!!




Wednesday, July 6, 2011

"How Is Selling Clothing Making a Difference In People's Lives? I'd Love To Know!"


When my sister and I made the decision to become nurses it was because we felt called to a profession that allowed us to help those in need......as is the case for most nurses.  We can't imagine giving of ourselves in any other way than through our hands and hearts as we care for our patients in the hospital. We feel honored to help others during times when they are most vunerable. Every day we have the privilege of making a difference in someone's life and that, in and of itself, is amazing.  But, doing what we do is not always easy and the stress of our jobs can weigh heavily on us. We try not to let our work life interfere with our personal lives but sometimes a particular patient's story or outcome will stick with us for days, years, and sometimes forever. It changes who we are and how we live. We both have had a few rough weeks at work and are so thankful for the support we give to each other. Anna has been dealing with a short staffed ER and barely gets a lunch or bathroom break most days. I recently experienced one of the hardest deaths of my career and have been caring for some patients with heart wrenching circumstances. Through all of this sadness, however, we find strength and inspiration from the men and women fighting the good fight before our eyes. When we come home on days where a person lost their life unexpectedly and we are faced with comforting their heartbroken family, it makes the little everyday stresses so inconsequential. It is on those nights that we hold our families close and remember that each day should be cherished like it is the last. Here are some things we should all remember:

Life is not always fair.

Every day without pain and suffering should be cherished and lived to the fullest. 

Appreciate the little and big things each day and try not to sweat the small stuff.

Treat each day like it could be your last and make the most of it. 




When we started Annie & Isabel it came from the core of who we are as women and nurses. We obviously didn't choose our career in nursing because we wanted to be recognized for our compassion and care. We chose it because we love to help others feel better. When we started Annie & Isabel as a side business, we based it on that same desire.....to help those in the hospital. Providing comfort and dignity in the small form of having your OWN hospital gown is not a genius idea! Hospital gowns have been around...umm...forever. We just redesigned them from our first hand experience and added features that we know are lacking in the standard gown. We have used our expertise from our professional careers to make what we know to be an amazing direct to consumer hospital gown. What other product can you gift yourself or a loved one that provides comfort, style, and dignity in the hospital?! What other product has the power to bring a smile to someone during a most difficult time?!

We receive so many emails from our customers telling us what a difference having their own gown made during their stay or in the stay of the person they gifted the hospital gown to. We are so touched and honored that people WANT to share their stories with us and especially love that the many testimonials we recieve, come from people wearing them in all stages of one's life.... from bringing a new life into the world to helping someone die comfortably and peacefully.



Amy, a woman welcoming her first child said, "I loved the fact that it closed completely in the back so I could walk the halls without worry and the shoulder snaps allowed me to easily nurse my little one"...



14 year old open heart surgery patient Katie said, "The gowns made my days so much brighter! I felt "dressed" in the gown, which made me feel less like a patient and more like a person. I love my hospital gowns!"

Karen who cared for her mother in her final days said, "She passed away around midnight and the gown brought comfort to more than my mom during the time of her final hours in hospice. We were pleased seeing her in such a nice hospital gown and knew she would appreciate the spiffy, detailing and the fact that they matched her slippers.  Thank you so much for helping us."



Hearing from these inspirational women is what keeps us going! Like we always say, "When you look great, you feel better!™" and that is not just what we think or what you see on the home page of our website... that is what we know. We know this from our days at work when we can take the extra time out of our busy days to wash our patients hair or soak their tired feet...and now we know this because of all our amazing customers that tell us about it when wearing their Annie & Isabel gowns in the hospital or at home.


Yesterday on Twitter my {very supportive} husband suggested @AnnieandIsabel  to @kim who was looking for "creative and positive people" to tweet about. Someone else tweeted back to my husband....

"How is selling clothing making a difference in people's lives? I'd love to know!"

Honestly, my first reaction was a feeling of frustration...knowing that he clearly did not understand our product and there was no way he had ever been a patient in a hospital bed.  My calm husband, however, chose to look at this as an opportunity and tweeted back to him with a link to our hospital stay testimonial page. His response......

"Cool- I'll try to remember them next time someone I love has a hospital 
visit that lasts more than a day"

We really want to thank all of our readers, followers, and friends for all of your support. You are all a part of our Annie & Isabel family. Every time we send out a hospital gown we think about the people that will wear our hospital gowns. Sometimes our thoughts are of excitement as a woman anticipates the arrival of a newborn child. Sometimes our thoughts are of prayer as the woman about to wear their Annie & Isabel hospital gown will be going through surgery, cancer treatments or battling a chronic illness and sometimes they are thoughts of sadness and comfort as a family prepares to say goodbye to a loved one. Just as we carry the stories of our patients from work in our hearts....we also carry the stories of the women who wear our hospital gowns in our hearts. Thank you all for helping Annie & Isabel make a difference.