Electra finalists: Event hire business Handmaid helps us celebrate better and reduce waste

Ray Butler and Charlotte Lee-Butler in Sadie, the caravan bar. Photo / Three Sixty Photography

Life is too short not to celebrate.

This was the inspiration for Charlotte Lee Butler to start Handmaid, an event hire business that enables the customer to hire quality items to decorate or accessorise their event without impacting the earth.

Five years in, Handmaid has now been announced as a finalist for the Kāpiti and Horowhenua Electra Business and Innovation Awards.

Working in Wellington and doing the commute from Kāpiti every day, Charlotte decided she didn't want a commute any more when her second child was born.

"I had it in my mind that I wanted to start my own business and in Kāpiti, a lot of people live here, but not a lot of people work here, so many are self-employed.

"Then a friend of ours died, and she wasn't the first one of my school friends to pass away.

"Watching her wedding video from a year previously, it was another really stark reminder of what life's really about, we've got to enjoy these little people while we can, and we need to celebrate the good stuff rather than gathering for funerals.

"That was the impetus of starting this particular business and the children were the impetus for starting a business."

It was while exploring the idea of a business which works around her children, that Charlotte and her partner Ray decided to get married.

"We had no grand engagement, but we wanted to get everyone together and celebrate.

"That got me thinking about the wedding industry and the amount of waste in it.

"I hadn't been involved in the wedding sector before, and I was seeing lots of Alibaba stuff coming through and breaking down and was wondering what's going to happen to all that stuff.

"So the business came two-fold.

"First, to help people to be better celebrators and help people celebrate the good things in their lives, and recently, even though we always did it from the beginning, we are now emphasising that actually we'd like to help people have celebrations that leave an impression on guests but not on the earth.

"While we can't make decisions for people, we can at least provide good stuff for people to hire that can get used over and over again, along with providing advice and tips on local vendors that use quality, local products."

Coming from a background as a lawyer, Charlotte was used to different systems and paper work, but found building a website and learning about marketing and finances all new to her.

"It's been a steep learning curve, but it's been a good one.

"I've been able to build it up around my kids and have been very clear on my boundaries because the point of it has been all about balance and fitting in with our lifestyle.

"It's been about redefining what success looks like.

"I've done the 60-hour weeks but now it's about reassessing what success looks like for me as a mum rather than as a professional.

"Being here in Kāpiti pushed me to make to take that opportunity."

Entering the Electra awards has enabled Charlotte to refocus on what's important within her business.

"This has been a good opportunity to look at our business values, see where we are, and push forward.

"I'm delighted to be a finalist, every bit of validation is welcomed."