2009... SO FAR...

I don't quite know where January went, but as February begins, I realized I haven't posted a blog yet in 2009. And,...as one of my New Year's resolutions was to get a bit more tech-savvy and participate more in the blogging community. I guess it's about time for me to get started. Here's a quick catch up on the highlights of my year so far....

New Year's Eve with Friends..... I toasted at midnight to being pregnant on New Years (again) and to a happy and health year ahead.

Family trip to Mexico...... My mother-in-law plans a trip for my husband and our kids each year. Usually it is in March, but with the pending arrival of her 3rd grandkid, she planned it earlier this year. What a wonderful getaway (and mother-in-law)!

Returning to sub-zero temps in Chicago was not fun, but our month of snow and frigid temps has provided for some cute shots of my "snow bunny" and some fun indoor projects for Joey....learning to bake cookies at Nana's, and several nights of "pirate ship building" in our living room.

January at LILL is full of planning for the year ahead. My favorite project for the month was our Spring/Summer fabric buy. At times this month Winter has seemed relentless, but with beautiful fabrics arriving daily at our production offices, Spring is definitely in the air at LILL! Look for them to arrive shortly on the web, in our stores and with our reps.

We've also been working on a number of new style introductions and the implementation of new technology systems aimed at enhancing the shopping experience for our customers as well as the management and marketing tools for our internal team. All of the projects have our team excited about the prospects for the year ahead.

Our team at LILL HQ watched the inauguration of President Obama together. No matter your politics, it was a historic moment and you couldn't help but feel proud to be an American. Witnessing such history with our team was something I won't soon forget.

We have a monthly potluck lunch at our LILL HQ offices. It is something everyone looks forward to. At our January potluck, we also announced the winners of our 2008 LILLies Awards for everything from Team Member of the Year to Most likely to end up with 7 kids. Our internal "social committee" makes these potlucks so much fun.

As January ends and February begins, I'm looking forward to being a month closer to better weather, longer hours of daylight, new spring fabrics, new spring styles and a new baby. I can't wait to spend more time outside (seriously suffering from cabin fever) and generally be renewed by a fresh new year and the forthcoming change in seasons. Happy February!

Jen Velarde

Founder / President, 1154 LILL Studio

Celebrating a Special Day with LILL

As the LILL Bridal Contest came to a close it seemed to inspire a few more LILL brides to write to simply share their stories about how LILL helped make their special day unique. LILL loves brides and we especially love to hear your stories. We are happy to provide a product and service that helps make at least one of those bridal tasks easy and fun!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I hope this post will inspire some of you future brides-to-be!



I'd like you to meet Emily P. from Pittsburgh, PA who recently tied the knot on January 3rd, 2009.








She visited our Chicago boutique this past summer for a girls weekend in Chicago. She had her bridesmaids stop in and make their bags. They could do any combination of red, black and white.

Let's get to know this Pittsburgh bride a little more:

Favorite style: "ANDI - My now sister-in-laws introduced me
to LILL when they got me a gift certificate to LILL for Christmas in
2007. My very first bag was my ANDI and it is still my favorite!"

Most memorable part of your wedding day: "The best part of my wedding
day was by far the ceremony. It was elegant and absolutely perfect."

How did LILL help make your special day, special? "LILL helped to make
my special day special by making it so easy for me to pick out a fun
bridesmaid gift in my wedding colors that my bridesmaids could use at
the wedding, while looking stylish, but then also be excited to use
afterwards and always remember how they were part of my special day."

"In addition to the custom LILL Bags for my bridesmaids, I also
purchased two small Leslie bags for my female readers that were
already in black, white and red fabrics."

Thanks so much for sharing your story and your pictures, Emily! You make a lovely bride!

If any of you LILL Girls out there would like to share your story about you experience with LILL, whether you are a bride or simply a purse fanatic, feel free to write in. We'd love to hear from you!

- Lilly S.