Clare Spelta, Founder and CEO of Bon Maxie, has spent the past decade turning everyday frustrations into clever, functional designs. What started as a side project on maternity leave has grown into a multi-million dollar accessories brand with a cult-like following. Known for her obsessive eye for product detail and her honest, playful brand voice, Clare has carved out a unique space in the ecommerce world.
In today’s Add To Cart episode, Clare sits down with Bushy to reflect on Bon Maxie’s 10-year journey, from the early days of handcrafting in a sawdust-filled garage to manufacturing internationally. She explains how she’s built a customer-first brand while also shaping her business to suit her family’s needs, rejecting the traditional idea of what a “big” business should look like.
Today, we’re discussing…
- How Clare transformed a jewellery storage frustration into Bon Maxie’s first cult product, and what it took to move from hand-drilled plywood to scaled manufacturing.
- The obsessive product design philosophy behind Bon Maxie’s bags, wallets, and organisers: from strap lengths to zipper strength.
- The reality of outsourcing production overseas: quality control, communication challenges, and why understanding the process before you delegate is critical.
- How Bon Maxie built a fiercely loyal community through authenticity, from late-night pizza box photoshoots to Betty White gifs in Facebook ads.
- Why Clare believes messy, radically honest marketing cuts through more than polished perfection in today’s ecommerce landscape.
- The shift from serving repeat customers to acquiring new ones, and how Clare adjusted her ad strategy, content, and product range to match.
- Redefining success: what it means to grow a business on your own terms, balance family priorities, and design a lifestyle that works rather than chasing traditional scale.
0:00 Meet Claire and Bon Maxie
4:50 From Maternity Leave to Business
10:00 Manufacturing Challenges
15:20 Non-Negotiable Quality Control
17:52 Testing With Real Life Use
22:10 Capturing Product Content Effectively
28:30 Innovating with Content Creation
31:20 Building Effective Bundles for Customers
37:52 Designing Business Around Life
42:20 Takeaways And Closing
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