Spring is in the air! Here's why...

With Christmas around the corner (and snow on the ground here in Chicago) there's no denying the fact that winter is here, but we're already thinking spring. We're currently searching for our top choices for LILL's spring fabric collection, so our desks are filled with cheerful colors and fun florals...which is a nice view compared to the gray skies outside. It's quite a process, but always loads of fun!

After collecting samples throughout the year we take a look at our current selection of fabrics and decide which fabrics need to go because they're out of season and which ones we're not quite ready to part with. We make stacks and stacks of our favorites, our not so favorites and fabrics that aren't right for now, but may be for later. We consider what the "it" colors are for the season and get input from our fellow staffers, and a few weeks later they're available to you, dying to be designed with! Here are a few of our current favorites...

Current fall/winter fabrics are in limited supply, so if there's something you love, now's the time to treat yourself!

LILL's Elves

This time of year is always exciting here at LILL's headquarters because it's so evident that the holidays are here. Production is bustling with orders, our web store is flooded with phone calls and shoppers are loving their time spent at our stores. Here's a look at some holiday fun
around our production space...

A flurry of cut parts waiting to be assembled and handed off to sewing...

Imelda, from our Quality Dept.,

giving the bags

their final inspection...

& Vanessa prepping boxes for

shipping, from floor to ceiling.

As you can see, we're quite busy this time of year, but we'd have it no other way. Thank you all for your continued support and for giving the gift of creativity this holiday season!

Sneak Peek!

As many of you would assume, working for a custom handbag company has its perks, and one of them is having the opportunity to test drive a new style before it's officially released. This month everyone is clamoring for the chance to try out the Roxy, a new everyday style that debuts on January 3, 2011. Since you have to wait a couple more weeks to see it for yourself, we thought we'd give you a LILL holiday treat and share a sneak peek...

Maybe someone special will give you a LILL gift certificate this holiday season, and you'll be able to get yourself a Roxy to kick off the new year!

Oh Baby It's Cold Outside...

Greetings from Chicago! It's a chilly 12 degrees today (-6 with the wind chill) and boy is it cold. Like it or not, blasts of chilly weather and snow really do make it feel more like the holidays...and I specifically love how Chicagoans grin and bear it. There were still a number of shoppers on Michigan Avenue this weekend, and I have to give props to the Bears fans that not only sat through an entire game yesterday, but tailgated before hand. That's the spirit people!


Now, for those of you who'd prefer to do your holiday shopping from home...we're here to help! If you didn't already know, you can give the gift of LILL to others with a LILL gift certificate this holiday season. Not only do you not have to leave your house to get one, you can also have it sent electronically to your recipient if you'd like. A LILL gift certificate makes a great gift because while it's always nice to get a LILL bag, it's even better to give someone the experience of designing it on their own. See for yourself!


Here's a little something I designed for my wishlist. I hope Santa's reading this.

-Mandy

Not Ready for a Goodbye...Maybe Just a See You Later

I wish there was an appropriate way to show my gratitude towards

Lill, but I feel as though all forms just fall short. My time here as the marketing intern is something I will never forget and never stop being appreciative for. The incredible staff has been overly generous, kind, and patient with me this semester as I have learned the ropes;I could not have been surrounded by more genuine people.

Today is my final day, and boy have I been dreading this since the get-go. I have fallen in love with a city, its' energy, people, opportunities, beauty, and most of all Lill and the incredible "family" that holds it all together.

As much as I didn't want today to come, now that it's here I'm ready to make the most of it! What makes this so easy is that my amazing supervisor brought this incredible spread of breakfast foods to celebrate my leaving along with the gift of one of Lill's beautiful bags! Lill, way too generously, allowed me to design my own bag before leaving and I picked out a LEXIE in Onyx Honeycomb

and Raspberry Fizz (pictured here).

While I am in no way ready to leave Chicago and all it offers, I am very thankful to be going home to celebrate the holidays with my wonderful family and friends! Even though I do not plan on saying a permanent goodbye to Lill, I think I can handle a"See you later". So, "See you later Lill", it's been more than I ever could have imagined and you will always hold a dear place in my heart :)

All the best,

Anne