Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Justine and Ash Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Justine and Ash, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Creativity plays such a huge role in our business! Being parents has helped our creativity in many ways; as a parent you learn to improvise and make quick decisions based on what is happening at the time, and what resources or tools are available. Along with this, our children are constantly inspiring us with their curious personalities and love for play and nuance. They inspire us to try new things and we learn about what they find interesting by including them as much as we can in curating and creating products. As simple as the concept of mindfulness is, discussing it with children takes creativity and understanding about their stages of social and emotional development.
Nature is also a big source of our inspiration, as evident in our books; nature is the perfect place to practice mindfulness and it has a positive impact on our mental health.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
We are the owners and co-founders of Calm Buddy Box. Calm Buddy Box focuses on promoting mindfulness and emotional learning for young children, families, and the community. We are a husband and wife team and parents of two young children. We both have a passion for wellbeing, with one of us dedicating a career to it, as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).
We have a few different products that we’ve curated and/or created, but our feature product is called The Calm Buddy Box, which includes simple activities to help children learn about concepts of mindfulness and stress reduction while having fun.
Mindfulness can provide children with essential tools to navigate their emotions, develop attention skills, manage stress, foster empathy, and build a strong foundation for their overall wellbeing.
We find a lot exciting about our business, but a couple things that come to mind are the support and encouragement we’ve received from family and friends, as well as the expansion of our products in schools. Social-emotional learning is a hot topic in schools, and it can help support students’ mental health and education so schools make for a great partnership.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back (not too far back because we are fairly new), we think the top three most helpful qualities for us have been: creativity, flexibility, and optimism. Sending love to anyone who is early in their journey of entrepreneurship; the road is not easy but we believe it is worth it. The three qualities we mentioned are huge because entrepreneurship is often not an overnight success, it’s like planting a seed and caring for it and tending to it until it grows and eventually thrives. While we are not in the thriving stage yet, we truly believe we will get there! This is also where the optimism comes in 🙂
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
We would love to continue to partner with schools, mental health agencies, and with any space where children and families gather, especially from underrepresented communities. We also enjoy partnering with like-minded people who promote mindfulness, mental health and wellbeing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://calmbuddybox.com
- Instagram: @calmbuddybox
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calmbuddybox
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/calm-buddy-box
Image Credits
1st photo (multiple photos in one)- Darren Mamaril
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
