Our first party hostess winner!

For the month of January we are drawing the name of one lucky party hostess a week to win one of our new Design A Bag Kits. Our winner from week one is Tara Lamboley who hosted a party in our Chicago Store on January 7th. She was very excited to hear that she won and is looking forward to designing her new bag! We asked her to tell us a little about her experiences with LILL. Here are the answers to the questions we asked her. She also sent a picture of her and some guests at her party. Many thanks to Tara and her guests for their business. We look forward to helping you design again sometime soon!

How did you first hear about 1154 LILL?

"I had heard about 1154 LILL a few years ago when when I was going to Optometry school and living in Chicago. I thought it sounded like such a fun idea, so when I got married a year and a half ago I decided to design LILL handbags for my bridesmaids."

What is the best part about hosting a party with 1154 LILL?

"The best part about hosting a party with 1154 LILL has to be the atmosphere to create with friends! The boutique is cozy and quaint with wonderful designers on hand to help out! I brought my staff here for their Christmas present this year and we all had such a great time. With purses, bags, and fabric swatches on every table and throughout the store we all truly enjoyed custom designing our very own handbags! I think 1154 LILL allows for such a fun and unique gift idea! "

What is your favorite LILL style?

"Being a new mom, my favorite bag style is Susan! I thought that was such a great idea because, not only do I have a trendy diaper bag, but eventually I will have a trendy overnight bag once I no longer need to use it for one of my children. It is large enough and has plenty of pockets for all of my baby needs! Best of all, it is one of a kind!"

What would you like to see 1154 LILL do in the future?

"Unfortunately (or fortunately), I do not have any future requests. I think you all are doing an outstanding job! Your stores and website are fantastic!"

We love hearing from our customers! It renews and inspires us to do more each day to make LILL the place to go for unique handbags and creative experiences. Happy Designing!

Jen Velarde

2010 - Off and Running!

Where did the month go? Its been a month since I posted - shame on me! And, I thought 2010 would be different....

I look forward to January each year for a fresh start, for a time of reflection after the holidays and for the optimism that comes from a new year full of possibilities. Its a month of planning at LILL - we're talking new styles, new fabrics, new sales strategies. We're taking what we learned in 2009 and applying it to our plans for 2010 and beyond. We're reaching out to other businesses and our customers for ideas and inspiration. And, we're coming up with some good stuff....

I'm excited about a few new bag styles coming out the beginning of February - the LILLI, the ISABEL and the NANCY. The LILLI is a versatile tote bag that can be worn large and boxy or clipped together to make a smaller trapezoid silhouette. It has removable straps so you can interchange them with various bag bodies or clip on an accessory piece like the NANCY wallet and add another pattern to your look. The ISABEL is a mini messenger bag with an adjustable strap that can be worn long or short. It can also be combined by clipping on the NANCY wallet to create a two tiered bag. Order them up in some of our new spring fabrics like Tazo, Malibu Rays and Lagoon Faux Suede and create a stylish new look for a new year! We are loving all the possibilities with these bags and can't wait to see what our customers will do with them. These bags will be launching first in stores and through our LILL on Location Parties at the beginning of February - so be the first to see and order these by planning a home party or a trip to one of our stores in February. Expect to see these styles on-line later in February. You won't be disappointed!

I am also very excited about a focus group we conducted a week ago at our Chicago Store with a group of college students. I was extremely impressed with the ideas that were generated by talking with this group. They had several new ideas on how to reach the college market and offered us valuable insight on what is important to them, why they buy and what they are looking for in a brand. I really enjoyed listening to their thoughts and hearing first hand what they would do to create more brand awareness for 1154 LILL. I expect we will utilize many of their ideas this year. We also plan to do more focus groups with various groups of our customer base. Look for information on our facebook page and in our email communication about upcoming focus group sessions!

Lastly, I want to mention some of the current "good stuff" we have going on in January. Our January promos are wrapping up on the 31st - so you still have a couple weeks left to take advantage and pick up that bag or accessory you didn't get for the holidays now AND at a great price to boot! Here are the current deals: 10% off all month online, 15% off at all home parties, and the add it up sale in stores (buy 1, get 10% off, buy 2 - get 15% off, buy 3 - get 20% off). More info available on our website. http://www.1154lill.com/

So, we are off and running with 2010. I hope you are as well and that the year of possibilities ahead brings you everything you're planning for!

Jen Velarde