Potluck Eggs-travaganza!

We recently hosted our monthly potluck! The birthday kids voted on pizza to be served, an oldy but a goody! Being as we always need to have some sort of activity to go with our food, we tied in an Easter theme with potluck and hosted an Easter egg decorating contest. Team members brought in their eggs that they decorated over Easter weekend.

Check out these egg-squisite works of art!

Imelda F., our Cutting Department Manager submitted these. Notice the Mardi Gras inspired egg, completely covered in colorful sequins!

Mandy L., Design Team Director, submitted this elegant egg. Died with onion peels (her grandma's recipe) and a hand-drawn, henna inspired pattern.

Rachel D., Creative Services Manager, submitted these beauties. Dyed with a Martha Stewart recipe that involves food coloring, olive oil and vinegar. You may notice the egg on the right magically appeared with a tiny smiley face on it!

These delectable treats were not real eggs, rather egg-shaped cakes! Submitted by Erika B., Marketing Assistant

Everyone at LILL voted on his or her favorite entry. It was a close race between all 4 submissions, but Imelda F. ended up with the prize! LILL's newest style, NIKKI. Made in Fleur de LILL.

Really, in the end, everyone wins. Not only are these contest entries beautiful works of art, but they are delicious, edible treats!

Mandy and Imelda were caught enjoying a little egg dessert after the potluck.


We hope you enjoyed sharing in our potluck festivities!

Email me if you have a fun idea for our next potluck! lilly@1154lill.com

St. Paddy's Day Potluck!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

The Chicago weather has graced us with a pleasant 70 degrees today and it's potluck day here at LILL. What a wonderful day.
















The theme for this month's potluck was "Go Green". LILL team members donned green attire and contributed vegetarian food to complete the theme. The spread consisted of delicious and healthy foods such as breaded eggplant, veggie wraps, Dal (a spicy Indian lentil dish), Smart Dogs, Edamame Salad and much more! Not to forget the many delicious desserts like Laurie's famous oatmeal cookies.

We also hosted our 2nd annual St. Patrick's Day Bingo! Prizes were give to the top 3 winners, 3 of our Simply Chic bags. The competition was heavy as everyone had their eyes on the well sought after prizes.

First round was a basic round of straight Bingo, won by Amy F. - Web Store Manager
Second round was Four Corners, a bit of a tougher feat, won by Bob V. - Photographer
Third round was Full Card, quite a challenge and marathon of a game, won by Sarah R. - Store Operations.





Wish wish you all a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day with a bit of luck of the Irish!

-Lilly S.

February Team HQ Team Member of the Month!

February's HQ Team Member of the Month is.....Donna C. from LILL' Parts and Pieces Department.

Donna is originally from Dayton, OH and has been with LILL almost 5 years now. She is a genuine person and is always willing to help. Her contagious laugh echoes throughout production and she brings a smile to everyone she meets.



Donna is always warm and welcoming! She is very helpful in finding easy solutions to sometimes challenging tasks and voluntarily makes herself available to help out whenever someone needs it. Kind, resourceful, giving, willing helper and friendly are good words to describe this month’s LILL person of the month, Donna!









Let's get to know more about Donna by learning of her favorite things!

Favorite LILL style? "MOLLY, SOPHIE, DENISE - so many to choose from!"

Top 3 fabric picks:
"Watercolor Pond, Hula Girl, Black Basketweave and all our new spring fabrics!"














What do you love most about working for LILL? "Oh my, working with all the great people at Lill everyday."

Do you have a nickname? "Doona Jane, LOL, BUT TRUE!"

Where did you last go on vacation? "Spent a week with me family in Ohio, Indiana."

Anything else fun you’d like to share? "I just love life :)"

Thanks Donna for being a bright spot in our days, you are truly a joy to work with.


-Lilly S.

December LILL Team Memeber of the Month!

December's LILL Team Member of the Month is.....Alexandra A. from LILL's HQ Cutting department! You may also recognize her from an earlier post.

Alexandra is from Mundelein, IL and joined the LILL team in February of 2008. She also works as our Jr. Fabric Associate and works with the Design team. She exudes a feeling of teamwork and positivity. She is known for being a speedy worker and a joy to work with. Alexandra’s hard work ethic, as displayed in her assistance with the new fabric system and dedication during the busy period of the cutting department, influences those around her to push a little harder in all that they do. Whether in cutting or design, Alexandra is always giving her all, learning and implementing as much as she can and always willing to share what she has learned with others.

Let's get to know Alexandra!

Favorite LILL style?
HADLEY…I already have 2!

Top 3 fabric picks:
Tomato Faux Suede, Higan Bloom, Fruity Pebbles (This is my all-time fav!)

What do you love most about working for LILL?
"That all day long I get to look at purses and think about what I’m going to purchase next!"

Nickname: "For the most part I go by Alexandra, but my brother and the girls at the restaurant I work at all just call me Al."

Favorite bands or music genre?
"I am a long time lover of the band Green Day but also hold all genres of Spanish music very close to my heart!"

Where did you last vacation?
T"o Huatulco, Mexico almost two years ago."

Anything else fun you’d like to share?
"I love to sing out loud at work and annoy all the girls by knowing every song that is on the radio no matter what station we are listening to lol!"

Thanks for sharing your fun info with us, Alexandra! It was a pleasure to get to know you better and is truly a joy to work with you.

-Lilly S.

Team Member of the Month!

November’s Team Member of the Month is….Alex A.!
Yes, LILL does have some male employees!

Alex has been a tremendous help in so many projects and in every department of LILL HQ and beyond. He is known for being innovative in his thinking of project solutions especially to make them time efficient. Alex has always been distinguished by his great work ethic and willingness to help even when extremely busy. Kind, knowledgeable, even tempered, patient (especially for working in an environment of mostly women), consistent and positive are some of the things that were used to describe Alex in the votes submitted. He has done an outstanding job!

Alex is originally from Fresno, CA and has been with our Tech Team for the past 1 and ½ years.
Let's get to know Alex, you can see why we here at LILL enjoy working with him.

Favorite style: HADLEY

Top 3 fabric picks:

Hitchcock Roses, Bubble Gum Linen, Manatee Faux Suede

What do you love most about working for LILL?

The people I work with, a fun bunch of funny bunnies

Nickname? Al (short for Alex)

Favorite type of music: Every type of music, viva eclectica!

Where did you last go on vacation? Berlin, Germany.

Have a fun story you'd like to share?

My name in Latin means leader of man, which can't be true because I get lost all the time. Once while camping I went wandering and couldn't find my way back, so was forced to sleep outside the whole night, like a failure. I woke up in the morning about 6 feet away from my tent.

Thanks, Alex! You are truly a joy to work with.

-Lilly S.

This Week's Employees

Last week you met our 3 “models” from our website’s home page. Now meet some more behind the scenes folks that work hard everyday to ensure you truly love your LILL Bag.

Meet Adrienne S., Senior Fabric Associate Design Dept.
Favorite Style: ANDI and PAULA
"I love all the creative minds and seeing how a bag comes together. I also like that it is a mostly women run company. It is very inspiring. It is a great work environment and I never dread going to work."

Fun Fact: The ADRIENNE bag is named after this very Adrienne!

Meet Donna C.,
Parts & Pieces Associate
Favorite Style: MOLLY & DONNA of course.
"I work with an awesome team. I love how I have learned so many areas of the company.
Our potlucks are the best ever."
Fun Fact: The DONNA bag is named after this very Donna!

Meet Brayan N., Shipping Associate
Favorite Style: "If I were to be a girl, I would say the AUDREY JANE would be my favorite. It would have a Lux Tux exterior and fairy dust for the JANE."
"What I love about working at LILL is that it’s very motivating. I have learned so much and I enjoy working with my co-workers."

It was great getting to know this week's highlighted LILL team members. Check back soon for more fun posts from LILL's owner and see what Emily's pick of the week will be this week. Your LILL Bag could be famous!

-Lilly S.

Spook-tober Potluck

Here at LILL HQ we host a monthly themed potluck to celebrate all the team member's birthdays that fall in that month. It also provides a fun way to gather and chat with each other and catch up with each other's lives. The birthday kids get to pick the theme and the rest of us bring the grub.

It was no surprise that our October babies chose a spooky Halloween theme for October's potluck. The spread consisted of delicious sweet bread that took on the shape of brains, mummy hot dogs, and pumpkin shaped PB&J sandwiches. There was also a nice sprinkle of fall foods such as spicy pumpkin bread, apple cider and an amazing apple pie.




Activities included guess how many candy corns are in the jar and a costume contest where team members brought in photos of costumes they wore in past Halloweens.

The candy corn guessing game was won by Bob H., LILL's photographer and brother to owner Jennifer Velarde (I think the "fix" was in).
The costume picture contest was won by Imelda F., LILL's Cutting Manager and Design Associate won with her picture of a her and her husband dressed in a horrific, gory costume.




Jack also made a special appearance as he also celebrates his birthday in October. He enjoyed a delicious cupcake while all the LILL folks sang Happy Birthday to him.









It was a great potluck and we all continued our day with full bellies and happy thoughts of what next month's potluck will bring.




-Lilly S.