Featured 'LILL Girl' - Meet Amy!

There are so many LILL fans out there that love LILL's product and enjoy spreading the word about their experience. Their enthusiasm and dedication is what makes LILL the dynamic company it is today.

Each month I will be featuring a LILL Girl.

Meet Amy K. from Woodridge, IL. LILL Girl since 2005.

Do you have any special hobbies? "I make Swarovski jewelry and show an antique car in the summer."

Any fun facts you’d like to share? "I play the French Horn and I have over 150 handbags."

What began your love for LILL ? "My sister-in-law introduced me to LILL."

How many LILL Bags do you own? 8

What’s your favorite LILL handbag style? "ALLY and ANDI"

Top 3 fabric picks: Emerald City, Pearly Gates and Houndstooth Deville.

What would you do if you were LILL Queen for a day? "I would branch out and by using the existing handbag styles select a local artist to design a limited edition handbag of the artist's choice. Each bag would be numbered and maybe have a slightly modified LILL tag. It would widen the spectrum of LILL's clientele. The local artist could be a musician as well."

Amy recently designed an ANDI Bag online to add to her collection. She chose Pearly Gates for the exterior and Midnight for the interior and strap. Here is a sneak preview of her creation.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas Amy!

-Lilly S.

Hey girls!

Would you like to be a featured LILL Girl of the month? Email me a photo and short story for a chance to be featured on LILL's blog: lilly@1154lill.com

Meet Hadley!

We are happy to introduce the newest member of the LILL family, HADLEY!


HADLEY is our chic slouchy bag with sleek hardware and strap embellishment. Perfect for running errands and will hold more than your every-day essentials. The roomy interior can hold your favorite book, bottled water and umbrella while the interior lining has 3 slip pockets to perfectly hold your MP3 player, PDA and cell phone with a long zipper pocket for added security.






Now meet the girl behind the bag, Hadley!

She is the daughter of Jennifer Velarde (owner and founder of 1154 LILL Studio)
Let’s get to know little Hadley. I’ve asked her Mom to help her answer a few questions:
Besides your namesake – Favorite LILL style: Donna – my mommy carries all my supplies in this bag!
One unique or funny thing you carry in your bag: Silly hats – I love hats, so there are usually a couple in my bag.
Children: I’m still a babe myself, so no kids. I have one brother – Joey, age 3 1/2
Pets: A cat named Snowball
Ever met anyone famous? Still waiting for that first celebrity encounter!
Last great book you read: Fancy Nancy
Hero or Mentor: My brother Joey
Favorite Food or Recipe: I’m looking forward to trying something besides milk!
Hobbies or Activities important to you: I love watching my brother run around and coo’ing at my parents.

Thanks so much Hadley (and mom)!
I am looking forward to my first HADLEY design!

Lilly S.

Party with Lilly!

The holidays have ended and winter is truly present. I'm starting to go through withdrawal and am missing the togetherness with friends and family that the holidays brought.

Instead of sitting around and feeling badly, I've decided to host an at home handbag party! What a great way to spend time with the folks you miss so much while at the same time designing your very own LILL Bag! I need an update to my wardrobe and LILL has just brought in some beautiful spring fabrics.

The LILL on Location reps are so friendly and fun! Plus they offer stylist advice and walk you through the designing process. So you don't have to feel intimidated when it comes to designing your LILL Bag.

I'd like you to meet Kere, LILL's DC area LILL on Location representative.
As you can tell from her photo, she has a serious LILL Bag obsession which isn't a bad thing!

3 Top Fabric Picks:
Dotted Tuxedo, Posie Patch, Matador Floral

Favorite Style:
Standard Favorite: ANDI
New Favorite: HADLEY (of course!) and BRIDGET

What’s in the bag?
AMY (to hold a digital camera), AMY (filled with change, hair bands, Chapstick, Tylenol, floss) ANNE (filled with receipts and coupons), LIZ (filled with credit cards, cash, pictures, checks), LILL brochures, car keys, brush, powder, pen, gum and tissues. It’s very organized!

Fun Facts!
* My 18 month-old daughter, Hadley Bree, was born on July 4th! An Independence Baby!
* My real name is Kereth (pronounced Kureeth). In my 26 years, I have yet to meet
another one!
* Aside from being a LILL Rep, having a full time job in the federal sector, and being a wife/mother; I spend my extra time cross stitching, doing the monthly newsletter for my alum Sorority Group (Alpha Omicron Pi), and being involved as the Advertising Chair for my Women in Business Group.

New Years Resolution:
Get back into athletics, whether it be lacrosse, diving or taking a Hip Hop dance class!

What I love about being a LILL Rep:
Getting the first look at the new fabrics every two weeks! Being able to meet TONS of fun, interesting people at parties and learning from them, fabric combinations I would never have thought of.


Kere is just one of the many friendly at party representatives that 1154 LILL has nation wide. Book your party today and make a new friend!

Lilly S.

Lilly's New Year's Resolution

As today is the last day of 2007 many of you are probably looking upon this past year's accomplishments and looking forward to changes for the new year to come.

With the fresh start of a new year comes the time for us to start making our new year's resolutions. Here's what LILL employees and I are looking forward to in 2008!

My resolution is to spend more quality time with friends by trying out different restaurants, attending some great Chicago plays and of course, hosting a LILL Party!

Here are some of the LILL staff's resolutions:

"My New Years Resolution is to stay organized around the house."
Kristina L. - LILL on Location

"My new year’s resolution is to create and live off of a well balanced, monthly budget!"
Jeni A. - Chicago store

"Learn how to be a better cook."
Bridget O. - Marketing

"I have several aspirations for 2008:
- Learn something new – I really want to start rock climbing!
- Put my new sewing machine to use
- Paint more – maybe take some classes?
- Try out a new recipe at least once a week!
- Volunteer on the weekends"
Laurie C. - Creative Services

"My resolution is to relax more and to keep the house tidy."
Jess A. - Stock and Merchandising

Have one you'd like to share? Send me your goals and aspirations for the New Year and we'll post it on LILL's blog - lilly@1154lill.com

I wish you a wonderful new year full of happiness!
Hugs and stitches,
Lilly S.

Holiday Style Tips per LILL's Design Team

I asked Jamie from the Design Team what she was looking forward to for Holiday style and to give us some tips on how to dress for that next party.

Here are some fun tips for Holiday 2007 per Jamie!

“Here in Chicago, Holiday is always about a desperate attempt to escape the cold, grey, terrible, dark winter, and the endless days of practical fleeces, snow boots, bulky sweaters, claustrophobic turtlenecks, and my ubiquitous puffy coat that I am ready to burn already in December. But this season more than ever we will have ample opportunity to escape into a heady world of Shangri-La as stores will be filled with clothes and accessories that gilded, glowing, and sumptuous as fashion takes us on a trip down the Spice Road...
I'm looking forward to wearing a spicy palette of saffron, cinnabar red, and nutmeg brown. I'll add color and sparkle to that with pops of turquoise teal, gold dust, plum, and emerald green.












Even though I'll spend my December trudging through black ice, doing my best to dodge the yellow snow on the sidewalk, in my mind I'll be following the trade winds on an exotic journey to Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, all the way to the Far East. Jewels, gems, precious metals, baubles, and spice - Holiday 07 is going to be a party, for sure!

I'll be celebrating with sumptuous velvets and suedes, the luster of satin, patterns inspired by ornate architecture - temples, pagodas, filigrees & arabesques, along with rich paisleys, ornate jacquards and damasks, shimmering metallics, and decadent brocades. This is the season to gild the lily. For my part I'm going to be sure to have one last hurrah before fashion becomes sober and minimal again. And what better time to load up & pile it on than the Holidays?

In terms of accessories, I'm going for it this year: hats, costume jewels, dramatic belts -- maybe I’ll even be brave (or crazy) enough to work a turban or some gloves into my ensembles. For my handbag, the crowning jewel of any well-planned outfit, I'll be carrying CORA, ADRIENNE, and GRACE to all my holiday parties.



CORA I love for its dramatic, oversized grommets, substantial metal chain, and deco-inspired sunburst pin tucks. And, most importantly, it has an adjustable strap. Double it up through the grommets and you have a sleek little bag to wear on your wrist or over the shoulder for the office Christmas party. Let it hang long and you can wear across your body on New Year's Eve when it's time to get down on the dance floor or for those occasions when one finds oneself with both a cocktail and a glass of champagne ...












ADRIENNE I love for its vintage elegance. I'll be making mine with one of our modern, graphic fabrics to keep the look young and current. Its framed shape stands up well to the architectural silhouettes I plan on wearing this Holiday.

And GRACE I will need on those winter nights when I've spent the whole day feeling decidedly shapeless underneath all my practical layers and needs something decidedly feminine to cheer me up. GRACE is just the thing for that mood - it's delightfully coquettish in pink velvet Baroque-inspired floral with a mauve-y pink ruffle - a little convection fit for a queen (Marie Antoinette?).













But for me, I'll be making my GRACE out of a moody, emerald flocked taffeta for a femme fatale/Old Hollywood inspired look, doing my best to channel the smoldering glamour of Greta Garbo, even if I have my snow boots on. "








Thanks so much for the design tips Jamie! You have inspired me to go out and get myself ready for my next holiday party!
-Lilly S.

Have a holiday style tip you'd like to share? Please send them to me to help others get inspired for holiday dress! lilly@1154lill.com