A MUM has launched a unique and emotional business after her husband suddenly passed away while she was pregnant with their third child.
Back in 2019, tragedy struck the Caulfield family after 53-year-old Nick suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack on Valentine's Day.
With the episode happening while his partner Charlotte was pregnant and before she was made redundant during covid, the mum-of-three said that the last few years "have been a struggle, to say the least".
And as her three young girls, now aged 4, 7, and 8, have started to ask about their dad, Charlotte has launched a business to help them remember him and learn about what sort of person he was.
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The business, named 'Always Cassiopeia' after a star constellation, provides a personal QR code that takes you to a website dedicated to the life of your lost loved one.
The page, which is private to those who have access to the QR code, can include pictures and videos of a person who has passed away, as well as their favourite songs, memories, and information about their life.
Charlotte, 30, from Leigh, said: "When Nick passed away, life took a sudden flip and things have been a struggle, to say the least.
"Because it was so sudden, I've always had a niggle at the back of my mind about what would happen if something would happen to me, and how my girls would know what me and their dad was like.
"Families can have as much or as little information as they want, but the idea is that it will last forever and people can access this whenever they want."
While Charlotte started 'Always Cassiopeia' to support her family through their grief, she has begun to branch the business out so that other families can do the same and keep the legacy of their lost loved ones alive.
She has also helped to install QR codes on headstones and memorial benches so that people can access information about their loved one's life at a place of remembrance.
In addition to this, Charlotte has also been invited to customers' weddings and events, where a song or moment's reflection is planned to remember someone who has passed, which is then captured and uploaded through the QR code.
Speaking about the feedback to the business, Charlotte said: "After I shared this idea with other people, it has been really special and given me some fire in my belly to take it further.
"The feedback has been quite emotional at times as people have told me how much this has made a difference in their grief, so it does feel really rewarding.
"I'm not bothered about making a million-pound company but if I can help people through their grief and preserve memories of loved ones, then that is a blessing."
Charlotte also explained that Always Cassiopeia will send ten percent of its sales towards Wigan and Leigh Hospice as it is a cherished hospice in the borough.
More information about Always Cassiopeia can be found here.
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