Voices
Meet Bumps N Bundles! 
This winter at Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York, we teamed up with Becky, the founder of the boutique Bumps N Bundles in Montana, to see the first hand experience of a buyer at the show. She let us follow along as she placed orders with Rylee + Cru, Quincy Mae, Noralee, Molo, and Maileg, and shared a bit of what drew her to their collections. We’ll let Becky share what she loved about these brands, but first, to better understand her selection, let’s learn about Becky and Bumps N Bundles! We sat down with her to learn about the store’s history, what the typical Montana customer is like, and to understand how she curates the offer in her store.
Let’s get into mountain time and learn about Bumps N Bundles!
Becky, founder of Bumps N Bundles, and her daughter JetHello! My name is Becky Salyer, I’m the owner and operator of Bumps N Bundles in Billings, Montana, USA. When I opened my store, my daughter Jet (Juliette), was 16 months old. We had a tiny space in downtown Billings where I wanted to create a place for parents to get items for their kids that are unique, high quality, and different. I wanted to offer products that were different than what they would normally find in a gift shop in Montana.
My husband, step daughter, and I discussed different names for months, and we kept coming back to Bumps N Bundles. I wanted the title of the store to be clear, informing people right away that we would have products for moms and kids. So, we decided Bumps N Bundles was it!
I start by finding products that speak to me, things that I love. Then, I take into consideration what’s trending, such as muted or vibrant colors. It also really makes a difference for me when I see product offerings in person. I like to feel the fabrics and understand exactly what colors the items are. This helps ensure that when our customers touch or see them in store, they understand the value of the items they are buying.
Things are always evolving when you run a business, but we have definitely expanded our offerings because our square footage has also grown. I started my store in a small downtown space. In 2016, we moved locations to a newer area of town and doubled the size of the store. In 2021, we had an opportunity to expand and double our square footage once again. So, with more space we’ve had more room to carry more sizes, as well as other product categories.
I think with any industry things are constantly growing and evolving, but in the children’s industry, the biggest change I have seen is there is just so much more to choose from! There are so many exciting new brands and innovative products that make parenting easier. There is truly so much to see and choose from while making choices of what to bring into the store! The number of brands and what they offer is vastly different than when I started.
Photo by Nathan SatranThis is so different based on each customer and what they need in that moment. Some customers are new parents who need help looking at car seats and making a decision on what is best for their lifestyle. Other customers are looking for a special, curated baby shower gift, or for help putting outfits together for family photos. And some customers just want to come in and see what’s new! It really is so much fun to get to know our customers and help them at so many different stages of their family’s journey.
The typical Montana customer is more like the rest of the United States than you might think. We aren’t all wearing wranglers and cowboy boots– even though there is definitely a time and place for that! We love finding amazing, unique, high quality, trendy items locally. That would be the key characteristic: the Montana customer truly supports local and understands the value of putting money into our small, local communities!
I first started coming to Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York after 2020. We had gone to shows in LA for years, but in 2021 a lot of the city was still shut down. We had a hard time even finding a place to eat after a long day at market, and quite a few of our brands stopped showing their lines there. So, I made the decision to go where we could see the majority of our stockists in one place, and Playtime & Kid’s Hub was it! Plus, who doesn’t love New York City?! So that was a bonus!
Now, Playtime & Kid’s Hub is my favorite! This show is such a great place to network with brand owners, designers, and reps, not to mention the amazing Playtime & Kid’s Hub team! We have made some amazing connections at this show over the past few years, and look forward to meeting with our brands here every season. We always find amazing new companies, too! At the winter edition, we got to meet with 7AM and we couldn’t be more excited to have them be part of our offerings!
I’m always looking for high quality products made with beautiful, soft fabrics (I promise, no one wants to put their kids in something scratchy!) that are unique. I want to fill Bumps N Bundles with products that not only the parents love, but also the kiddos! Nothing is worse than fighting with your kid to get dressed every day, so I curate an offer to combat that and please everyone.
Fabric texture, colors, prints, and branding all catch my attention. I try to shop the show as if I was a customer shopping in my store. What would inspire me to pick it off the rack and why?
I definitely think price point is important to our customers, especially now. With the price of groceries having increased by over 20% in the past five years, parents are looking for ways to make their dollar stretch as much as possible without compromising on the things they love.
Becky and Nicole from Bumps N Bundles at Molo’s booth, Playtime & Kid’s Hub NY W25We have been working with Molo for four years now. We love the collection, it’s always so fun and full of amazing hand drawn prints. This makes their products really unique, and something you’re not just going to find anywhere. Molo always has special pieces that not only parents love, but kids love too because it’s so fun!
Maileg is one of our most treasured brands! When kids come into the store, they love to check out the cute mice, other animals, and all the cute accessories. This is definitely a brand that is not only for mom, but also for kids! It is such an heirloom, but also so fun to play with. Everything is so well made, when kids play with it in the store it doesn’t break. It’s one of our favorite brands that we get to carry!
We’ve been really lucky to carry Rylee + Cru since the very beginning for both of us! It’s been since I opened my store and they launched their collection to wholesale. I was one of their very first customers! It’s been so fun to see not only the collection grow, the brand grow, and their team grow, but to do it alongside with them has been really special. It’s been amazing to see it grow to include the Quincy Mae and Noralee collections in addition to Rylee + Cru. And, when they’re doing well and they grow, it means we’re doing well and we grow, too!
Rylee + Cru, Quincy Mae, and NoraleeTrust yourself and take the risk. You won’t always make the « perfect » decisions when it comes to buying. This is why every retailer has a markdown section and a sale rack! Just continue to learn from it and keep taking risks.
I would really love to open a second location! So stay tuned… 😉
We are really looking forward to celebrating our 10 year anniversary and we are going to have a massive party in September– We can’t wait! We’re also working really hard on growing and expanding our online presence and can’t wait to see some massive growth there.
We don’t know about you, but we’re looking at flights to Montana to visit Bumps N Bundles… maybe we’ll have to join the party in September! We love learning the beautiful stories behind members of our community. Thank you so much to Becky for taking the time to speak with us and share her story! You can watch her experience at Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York in this reel we created together on our Instagram here!
