Sunday, October 21, 2018

It's been an amazing October....


Well our October has been very busy. Our Amoena promotion is proving very popular. It must end October 31 and it goes like this...

When you buy an Amoena prosthesis valued at $400 or more and an Amoena bra, you will receive your second Amoena bra for free. Our customers tell us they love the idea and have almost cleaned us out of stock. More arriving this week and next!

Meanwhile... we get lots of ladies from the country and Mark gets out and about to rural health services and hospitals ensuring they are stocked with our information. QLD is a big state and he loves getting out there for me between photo assignments at his studio. In fact he has just come back from a run out to Tambo and back.

Must fly.. looking forward to seeing you in the boutique soon...

Debra



On yer bike mark....

Friday, October 12, 2018

Want to be a part of our team?

Here at Spirit of Life we are looking for a new team member to be trained in the fitting of breast prostheses. The position is casual with 20 hours a week to start with. During sales and promotions the hours required will increase up to 35 hours a week.

You will need to be an experienced lingerie fitter to qualify for this position with at least 10 years experience to date.

Working at Spirit if Life is very rewarding and you will go home each day knowing you will have made a difference in many lady's lives.

If this sounds like you.. please email your resume to debra@spiritoflifeboutique.com  with "Employment" in the subject line.

Cheers

Debra

Saturday, September 29, 2018

How is this for a deal?


Hi ladies.. after talking with our good friends at Amoena in August, we have been able to negotiate a great deal for you all to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month.

During the month of October at Spirit of Life, when you purchase an Amoena prosthesis at $400 or more and buy an Amoena bra, you will receive another Amoena bra of equal or lesser value for free!

It's a great deal and one we have never offered before. For example after your Medicare rebate, you could end up with a breast form. and 2 bras and your out of pockets cold be only $89.95!

(Or less) depending which bra you choose.)

See this....


Buy an Amoena prosthesis and Amoena bra, and get a second Amoena bra for free.


See you soon in the Boutique.

Debra

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Last week for Spring Specials

Hi ladies.. our spring newsletter has had a sensational response this year. Lots of bras and prostheses going out the door with very happy ladies who have taken this opportunity to renew their lingerie while the special is on.

Just quickly, buy any 2 Amoena bras and receive 20% off your purchase. 


Christina and I have been run off our feet.

And now only one week remains for this Amoena factory rebate special. Come on down and save some real money on your purchase. Many ladies are buying 4 or even 6 bras to take advantage of this factory discount.

And the range is wonderful too...







Ann will be in the shop with Christina this week and like Christina and I, she is one of most experienced fitters in Australia. There aren't many of us with so much experience, we know what we are doing... why not come and take advantage of our knowledge and skills and say hello.

Debra

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Spring today!

Yes, today is September 1, the first day of Spring. And as usual we have our Amoena bra specials happening for the entire month. Buy 2 or more Amoena bras and enjoy a 20% discount on your purchase.

If you are a customer of the Boutique then you will have or shortly will received our latest newsletter. In it you will find details of the specials and also new fashion mastectomy bras, swimsuits and more details on Amoena prostheses.

And while I am here, a big thank you to the South Burnett for last weekend. I love taking the "show on the road" and in the past 12 months we have been to Barcaldine, Rockhampton (twice) and the South Burnett. In 2019 we will again be doing the same with Rockhampton again and the Sunshine Coast.

In the mean time... why not pop into the shop, say hello and see our new range.


Cheers

Debra

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Spirit of Life.. Rocking the South Burnett


Have you had breast surgery? 

Welcome to the Spirit of Life Boutique.

There is life and lingerie after breast surgery.

Regain and retain that feeling of who you really are!
Appearance can make all the difference in how people see you and how you feel about yourself – and it’s always nice to have so much choice that you can pick things that are exactly right for you.

Who we are
We are a lingerie shop that specialises in mastectomy lingerie, swimwear, breast prostheses and swim forms  – and we have one of the largest selection in Australia. That’s possible for us because caring for women after breast surgery is all we do at Spirit of Life. And we have customers all over the world! Come and find out why!

We had such a brilliant response last time we went bush, that we are now coming to Nanango for a prosthesis and lingerie fitting day! If you live in the South Burnett, then this is for you!

Where: Star Motel, Nanango. (Look for the Spirit of Life Sign)

When: Between 9:00 AM & 5:00 PM Saturday 25th, August 2018

See: The latest mastectomy fashion bras and swimsuits.

Debra herself will be driving up from Brisbane to be onsite to personally take care of you and give you that specialised service that she is known and loved for. But fitting numbers are genuinely limited, so you need to call her right now on (07) 3511 4222 to book your appointment. When you call, Debra will talk with you about choices and sizing etc and bring prostheses and garments for you to try on the day. And you don’t need cash as Debra will have credit card facilities on the day!

Don’t miss out! Bookings close August 22! Call Debra now (07) 3511 4222


Why not visit the Boutique on the internet in the meantime?

Monday, July 9, 2018

Another one past its use by date.


Here we have yet another form well past its use by date. This one is 5 years old. The lady who owned this could have had it replaced twice by now and claimed back $400 from Medicare. There is simply no reason to wear worn out prostheses these days.

A new prostheses fits well and more importably makes you feel good about yourself. Back to the old new you. And remember.. you need to own more than one bra as well!

So don't put up with a worn, dirty and broken prosthesis.. ring Debra now to arrange a fitting of a new form. You'll be glad you did!



Sunday, July 8, 2018

The people you meet...

Mark and I were invited out for an afternoon tea today. It was humbling to find that most of the women at the function knew of me and Spirit of Life. In fact the afternoon tea was at the home of one of my customer's daughters.

Working each day we try hard to help our ladies return to a happy life and to feel good about themselves. In fact, it's what we do at the boutique.

But to hear really positive feed back from a group of ladies, some of whom have been touched by breast cancer and a lot more who are just aware of what we do is really humbling. I came out of there walking on air and fired up for tomorrow at the boutique.

We love what we do!

I even had a some positive comments from fellow guest, our Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop. She also updated us on the latest news re the rescue of those teenagers in Thailand.


Julie Bishop MP and Debra

Apart from all of this I am working hard on choosing next seasons bras and matching briefs. Look out for our September newsletter.

Debra

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Is your prostheses too old?

Under the Federal Government's External Prosthesis Rebate Scheme, you can claim a new prosthesis every two years.  The refund is up to $400 ($800 for bilateral) which means that for a lot of ladies, there will be no out of pocket costs.

The very qualities that make a prosthesis soft so it passes the "hug test" also make it fragile so it must be cared for.

And they do have a finite life. Guaranteed for 2 years from date of purchase, the life of a prosthesis is usually around 2 - 3 years. And with ongoing changes in technology with modern prosthetic breast forms, new models are released regularly.

Why not update every two years?

Well a lot of ladies don't seem to and every day we see women coming in with ruptured prostheses wrapped in cling wrap to contain the filling. And often these are up to 8 years old.

Why put up with that?


Here is one 4 year old form that we have just binned.



Why put up with this mess?




This form is partially deflated as it is leaking filling.

Note the mould starting to grow and the tear at the bottom.

A close up of the tear allowing the filling to leak.


So you don't need to put up with this mess every day!

1.You can claim every two years.

2. Refunds are up to $400 which covers a large part of the range, so no out of pockets.

3. If you are an existing client and haven't changed in size, we can mail you a new form.

4. We have all the claim forms here and will help you fill them out and post them.

5. Ring Debra now on (07) 35114222.



Saturday, May 26, 2018

Back to the future.. Denim..

Just had our web folks add the new Amoena Denim coloured mastectomy bra "Jade" to our website. This would have to be the best selling bra we had had in recent times. Just flying out the door as we unpack them and before we can hang them.

Check them out here...


But don't wait.. limited stock!


Amoena T Shirt bra Jade.




Looking forward to seeing oyu soon in the shop.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Thank you Rockhampton!

Not long back in the door from our trip to Rockhampton.

Talk about a sold out tour.

My thanks go to all of the ladies who support us and appreciate it when we take the show on the road.  And of course this just wouldn't be possible with out the sterling coordination and support of those Magic Breast Care nurses, Donna, Chris and Bronwyn.

Thank you ladies from the bottom of our hearts.


Our new flag has its first outing in Rocky!




Quickly finished hanging the stock just minutes before we "opened"


And a really big thank you once again to the magnificent people at Cancer Council Rockhampton for allowing us to use their education centre as a pop up shop for Spirit of Life. We are so very much indebted to you.

All in all a big success and we will be back again to Rock RockVegas. Keep an eye on our website for details.

Also the following credits for cast and crew...

QANTAS for flying me up. Awesome airline.

Mark for driving all the stock up.

And Willy Wong's old girlfriend for managing the till.

Monday, April 30, 2018

Spirit of Life Rocks Rockhampton!

Yes.. we are taking the show on the road to Rockhampton.





Have you had breast surgery? 

Welcome to the Spirit of Life Boutique.

There is life and lingerie after breast surgery.

Regain and retain that feeling of who you really are!
Appearance can make all the difference in how people see you and how you feel about yourself – and it’s always nice to have so much choice that you can pick things that are exactly right for you.

Who we are
We are a lingerie shop that specializes in mastectomy lingerie, swimwear, breast prostheses and bras – and we have one of the largest selection in Australia. That’s possible for us because caring for women after breast surgery is all we do at Spirit of Life. 

And we are coming to Rockhampton for a prosthesis and lingerie fitting day! 

Where: Cancer Council of QLD, 43 Upper Dawson Rd, Allenstown QLD 4700

When: Between 9:00 AM & 4:00 PM Saturday, May 12

See: The latest mastectomy fashion bras and swimsuits.

Win: Lucky door prize of an Amoena Valletta Mastectomy Top!

Debra herself will be onsite to personally take care of you and give you that specialised service that she is known and loved for. But fitting numbers are limited, so you need to call her right now on (07) 3511 4222 to book your appointment. When you call, Debra will talk with you about choices and sizing etc and bring garments with her for you to try on the day. Debra will have credit card facilities on the day to make life easy.

Make sure you don’t miss out! 

Bookings close May 7, call Debra now (07) 3511 4222.

Why not visit the Boutique on the internet in the meantime?


Monday, January 29, 2018

How could this possibly happen?


This past week at the Boutique I have seen the most extreme example of rank stupidity when it comes to post breast surgery prosthesis fitting and apparell.

This is the first email that came to me...

Hello, can I please make an appointment to be fitted for a right prosthesis and mastectomy bras please? 

I have had a dreadful experience with another supplier and have a stick on prosthesis that I think is too big, it is uncomfortable and the bras are uncomfortable too, digging into the flesh under my arm on the surgery side.  I wasn’t fitted properly, just had a prosthesis and bras  thrown at me and given no choice in style, shape etc.  After I got home $650 poorer I read that you are not meant to wear stick on prosthesis until 6 months post surgery. My surgery was 24 October. 

Ideally I just want a traditional prosthesis (I can’t be bothered with one I have to scrub every night - I am a busy working parent) that matches my other breast and bras that I can stand wearing for an 8 hour work day,  and possibly swimmers and a swim form. 

I would be looking at possibly late this week (thursday or Friday) if you have anything or the week of the 23rd January. 

Many thanks for your help

Ms B


So from this email a very distressed lady came in and very tearfully asked if I could help her.

Once we were in the fitting room, she removed her top and showed me....

This lady was of small frame and had her breast removed due to cancer.  She went to another retailer (whom we shall not name) and was fitted in a bra several sizes too big for her. The "expert" then supplied her with a breast form to suit the bra. And of course it was too big for her body and much bigger than her remaining breast. So the "answer" was to supply her with a SECOND partial prosthesis to "pad out" her remaining breast, so that the bra now fitted.

If you're old enough to remember the Carry On films, then you will remember Barbara Windsor who was small with a large bust.

This lady looked liked her and cried as she told me she hated lugging all of this weight around and looking out of proportion.

I fitted her in a single prosthesis of the correct size and a bra of the correct size.. she now cried tears of joy and hugged me over and over as she now looked and felt like her old self.

How on earth could a supposedly qualified prosthesis fitter do this to this poor lady?

It's not good enough and the lady suffered for weeks as a consequence.

As I said.. we have never seen this before..  just an awful experience for a woman coming to terms with breast surgery.

We see women every week who have been poorly fitted.. and we get them sorted much to their relief.

But this takes the cake..

Cheers

Debra

STOP PRESS

And today this email came to us.....

Good afternoon Debra,

I just wanted to thank you for looking after me so well on Tuesday. I wish I had just come to you in the first place! I wore my new prosthetic and bra all day after I left your store and it was comfortable all day long. When I finally took it off that night, my husband could not believe the difference in weight and size compared to the one I was originally sold.
I wore my new singlet top with the prosthetic on Thursday and got nothing but compliments. I will be so much more confident going back to work in a few weeks looking like myself!
I have recommended you to my sister and have let my breast care nurse know of my experience. I will definitely be back to purchase more bras and a swim top later on.
Thank you again for your kindness, understanding and obvious expertise!

Kind regards

Ms B.