In light of the Government press conference this evening, I have had to make the heartbreaking decision to stop belly casting with immediate effect and until further notice.

The process of creating a Rock the Bump pregnant belly cast is completely safe but I don’t take any risks with pregnant women so I'll be taking a bit of an enforced hiatus until this storm passes.

There really is no substitute for a professional belly casting but, given the current situation, a Rock the Bump DIY belly casting kit (£25 plus P&P) is the next best thing. You can always send your DIY belly cast to me and commission Rock the Bump to carry out repair work (if necessary), strengthen, smooth and decorate with your own choice of custom design artwork.

For the time being I'll be keeping myself busy working on all the lovely belly bowls and bump casts I have in my home studio at the moment! If you have a Rock the Bump pregnant belly casting session scheduled to take place within the next 12 weeks I will be in contact with you directly to discuss any concerns you may have. Please rest assured that a full refund will be offered in the event of cancellation.
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Stay safe and stay well.

Big love.
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Zoe - Founder & Belly Cast Artist
Rock the Bump Pregnant Belly Casting

On Wednesday 21st November 2018, I was recognised by British businesswoman, Jacqueline Gold CBE, for my success as a female entrepreneur, and awarded with a prestigious #WOW badge.

I was one of three winners selected by Jacqueline after entering ‘Women on Wednesday’ – a competition launched by Jacqueline in 2011 to celebrate the growing number of UK female entrepreneurs and businesswomen.

​Women on Wednesday (#WOW) takes place every week and is run through Jacqueline’s Twitter page. When selecting the winners, Jacqueline looks for businesses that are interesting, that have strong brand values and that she thinks have potential to grow and succeed in their industry.  She looks for quality products and services, well designed websites and entrepreneurs who demonstrate good business acumen and who have spotted a gap in the market that meets the consumer’s needs.

It was Phoebe's 2nd birthday on Tuesday.  I literally have no idea where the time has gone but am fairly certain that I must have spent a good 6 out of the past 24 months in some kind of time vortex.  Phoebe is my third and final baby, my last pregnancy...  It means so much to me to have captured that moment in time in the form of my very own pregnancy keepsake belly bowl cast and never more so than now, as it dawns on me that my baby isn't a baby any more.  

I created my own belly bowl when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Phoebe and went on to use it in a newborn photography session with my friend and very talented photographer, Maxine Davies, when Phoebe was 8 days old.

Some months later, I revisited my belly bowl cast and was blown away by the connection I felt as I smoothed my hands over my precious bump, my 'Baby's First Home'.  In between the seemingly endless demands of my three happy little hooligans I somehow found the time to artistically finish my pregnancy keepsake belly bowl cast in a simple gradient turquoise with drilled spiral detail.  My belly bowl cast now takes pride of place in my home and is displayed on my living room wall alongside other precious keepsakes (and bumps... working as a belly cast artist inevitably means that my home is always full of bumps!).  Phoebe loves talking about 'mummy's bump' and I enjoy sharing it with her and remembering the time we spent together before she was born, the connection we had even before we met and how I could sense the beginnings of her personality just from her movements and how she would respond to my voice and touch.  

I only wish I had such precious keepsakes of my pregnancies with Alabama and Buddy.  Pregnancy is such an amazing adventure and documenting your personal journey can be fun, exciting and sentimental.  Baby scan pictures, pregnancy photoshoot, bump photo diary, pregnant belly bump cast - over the years I've even had customers combine the whole lot, having had their Rock the Bump pregnant belly casting session with me professionally photographed or filmed, using their Rock the Bump belly bowl as a prop in their newborn photoshoot and commissioning me to artistically decorate their bump cast with their precious baby scan pictures!

As the late Bob Dylan once said, "the purpose of art is to stop time", and creating an artistic pregnancy keepsake does just that.  As I'm writing this by the light of my laptop, I'm also watching my baby sleep, listening to her gentle snoring and still secretly trying to work out how that 8 day old baby has just celebrated her 2nd birthday.  My belly bowl cast will forever give me something tangible to hold on to as time passes, life happens and my children grow.  It's something I will never regret having done.