CHRISTIE

My bathroom usually looks like a tornado hit it. From the face powder scattered all over the sink to the eyeshadow packets strewed across the counter, my beauty regime tends to leave a mess behind. In honor of moving into a new home with my husband, I decided it was time to stop living like a messy teenager and start organizing my beauty supplies.

In order to do so, I created my very own customized CHRISTIE, a deluxe makeup bag which fits perfectly on my counter and holds all my beauty goodies. For the exterior and handle of the bag I opted for Apple Spice Tea, and for the exterior top and base I chose Kalahari Leopard. Animal prints and bright colors are huge right now and I feel like I am tapping into my inner Jungle Goddess every time I use my makeup in the morning!

Of course, with all of my addiction to beauty products, just one bag won’t do, so I created a couple more CHRISTIES that could store other essentials. I created another with an exterior and handle of Key Lime Twill, and I chose Southern Charm for the exterior top and base. Then, I created another with even more bright colors, this time choosing Strawberry Daiquiri for the exterior handle, and Mellow Yellow for the exterior top and base.

These Bags are for Fashion Animals!

Sometimes inspiration strikes in the most odd of places. The grocery store. A garden. The zoo. As it turns out, my last trip to the zoo with my kids left me with a million ideas for fun, fresh patterns. Of course, animal prints, always a hot trend, were foremost in my mind.

Excited to get to work, I chose our new BRIANNA bag for the base of my “wild” new creation. A recession-ista’s best friend, this roomy and reversible tote is two bags in one. For the exterior color I chose the Wild Zebra print and Bay Blue for the interior accent. Because this bag is reversible, I think it’s the perfect way to test the waters while you search for your inner Jane of the Jungle.


My creating didn’t stop there! Inspiration found me again when I received an invitation for a black tie event downtown. Feeling tired of all my jewelry and even (gasp! ) my collection of high heels, I created the little black dress’s perfect accessory, the little animal print clutch!

Using one of my favorite and most practical clutch designs, the ERINN, I decided to use the Snow Leopard print for the bottom portion and add a pop of color at the top using Pucker Up.

Needless to say, a fabulous bag always makes a fabulous night out!

The Fence Project

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
~Margaret Mead

Here at 1154 Lill Studios, fashion is the name of the game. We want our bags to be as bright, colorful, resilient and unique as the women who carry them. However, nothing is more than important giving back to the community, especially when it comes to our children.

In Chicago, Illinois (where 1154 Lill Studios was first founded) a number of children at the Nettelhorst School were being bullied for having families that looked a little different than the traditional nuclear family. Both a fifth-grader and a first-grader were being taunted for having two dads, and in addition, an eighth-grade substitute teacher was being harassed and called a ‘fag.’

Photos by Cat Conrad and Robin Schachtel

The families and the teachers decided it was time to nip this bullying in the bud and start instilling pride and respect in the Nettelhorst students. To do so, they created the Fence Project, in which everyone in the school and in the community could tie a colorful piece of fabric to the school fences in order to signify tolerance, respect, unity, and diversity. 1154 Lill Studio had the honor of donating fabric to this pride project, and the myriad of colors hanging displayed on the fence is a beautiful sight.

Meet Jasmine!

After months of a cold, gray winter, there is nothing like the summer sun. I love putting away my drab winter wear and pulling out my bright sundresses and flip-flops. I want to look as summery as I feel—and I want my house to look summery, too!

This year, I started by doing a little spring cleaning and clearing all the clutter from my shelves and drawers. Bye bye, dustbunnies! Then, to bring in a pop of color and summertime sun, I created a few of my very own Jasmine pillows. This fluffy pillow is the perfect size to dress up a living room or toss on the bed for a little extra color and flair!

In keeping with my bright, summertime theme I created a couple of Jasmines for my living room, in Pear Faux Suede and with a ruffle of Sandstone. I created another set with a Cocktail Paisley print and a Pear Faux Suede ruffle.

For my daughter’s bedroom, I wanted to create a couple of Jasmines in colors that would really pop. I helped her to choose Rosita with a Strawberry Daiquiri ruffle as well as strawberry Daiquiri with a pucker up stripe and a cocktail paisley ruffle. She loves how pretty and girly the room is now, and I love that it encourages her to make the bed!

In my bedroom, I wanted the theme to be a little more tranquil and peaceful, so I opted for Aruba for the exterior of the pillow, and then I chose Robin’s Egg Blue for the ruffle and for the second pillow, I chose the cornflower leaves with the blue belle stripe. The blue reminds me of the ocean, and I go to bed every night dreaming of my upcoming vacation to Mexico!

Meet Donna!

Graduation season is upon us! As the mother of two children who are barely out of diapers, I don’t often have graduation ceremonies to attend. However, this year, my beautiful niece, Kylie, graduated from DePaul University with a degree in marketing. She begins her first job at an advertising firm in just a few weeks, and I am so excited to see where her dreams take her.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a graduation, without a graduation party…for which presents are a must! I wanted to get Kylie something special, something as unique and beautiful as her—but also something she could use in her next adventure as a career woman.

I decided to design a Donna bag for her, which is a fashionable tote that can easily fit her laptop, and also has separate compartments to hold everything from pens to a planner to business cards. I wanted to choose bold colors which would really pop next to her business attire, so I chose Blushing Bride for the exterior of her bag, and Wild Poppy Sateen for the top and base.

Of course, I had to make the bag a little more feminine to suit Kylie’s tastes, so I chose War of the Roses for the fabric straps. Now, she has the perfect bag, and the rest is up to her—but I know she will make us all proud!

May's Team Member of the Month!

And the award goes to....Candice G.! Our LILL on Location Assistant Manager. Outgoing, fun, friendly and hard-working are a few words to describe Candice. She's always willing to help out wherever needed and has a funny story to brighten your day. Her bold, bright hair matches her bold, bright personality. Some of you out in the Yelping World may already be familiar with her.

Candice, you're always giving 110% and your peers appreciate the additional work you’ve taken on, especially recently. Candice was noted for having amazing potluck organization and planning skills as head of the social committee, as well as being creative, personable and willing to take charge and take on additional tasks. She's always looking for ways to lower costs and has creative ideas to improve sales and LILL overall. Candice was also voted the person you'd most want to be your sibling, Best Dressed, and Funniest at Lill's annual award ceremony. All this and she's just fun to be around!

Here's a little more about Candice...

How long have you been at LILL: Coming up on 4 years this July

Fave Fabrics:
G is for Giraffe, Lemon Zebra, Snow Leopard… I am “Where the Wild Things Are”

Favorite Styles: JANE with a DENISE attached. Currently snow leopard JANE with Red Rocks DENISE… though I wish the DENISE came with a lock where my credit card lives that made me answer the question “Do you really need this, Candice?” through voice activation before I bought anything.

Last Vacation: How about future trips? I'm going to Croatia for 2 weeks in July and August this Summer with LILL cutting associate, Katie L. and her sister, LILL Design Director, Mandy L. We'll be living the high life on a "yacht" (house boat) on the Adriatic!

Hobbies: I have a personal Time Lapse Photography study… that’s fancy talk for me taking a photo of myself everyday, in pretty much the same spot in my room, since January 1st, 2008. I post all my pics online and when I’m bored I like to revisit my past year and a half… it’s amazing the things you remember from just seeing what you wore each day.

Interests: Cryptozoology and serial killers. I am sooo fascinated with animals… especially ones that aren’t recognized by conventional science, are thought to be extinct, or are found waaayyy outside of their normal geographic range. Seriously awesome stuff… Wikipedia “Bloop”, it’ll blow your mind. And the serial killer thing has always been an interest of mine. At the very least, it helps to know what’s out there lurking… I don't worry though, I won 3rd place for Tang Su Do and Hapkido in the Midwestern karate regionals in 1997 sooo attackers beware. Ps- I was totally cheated out of second place.

Friends & Fam: My sons (cats)! My main babe is Homer X-Ray Cat Spiderman Gatlin-Kelly and my other two loves are Razz Berry Gatlin & Leon Spinx Gatlin. I also love my Dad… he’s pretty rockin’. I want to go on the Amazing Race with him, BIG TIME! Between my day-glo orange hair and his knack for planning and travel, we’d be a shoe in for winners. For a little romance I have my BF of 5 years, Smelly… long story but it’s been his name for well over a decade, I’ve never called him anything but, and it’s not gonna change anytime soon. And I just want to drop a quick shout out to some LILL gals... see photo on right of Jess A., Kristina L., and myself at a colorful Yelp.com Elite event sporting our Audey custom dresses made by Jess A. (Jess has on a dress in LILL fabric Toucan Leaves and mine has bats on it!).

Fave Celebs: My celebrity loves are still Bill Murray and David Letterman… call me! And my personal idols are Dolly Parton and Harvey Milk because Dolly is a stone cold fox and hides a whole lotta brains behind a whole lotta, well, you know. And Harvey because he’s a rock star and advocate for the people. I like to think that we’re alike because we both love getting up on our soapbox and no one can get a coup together like me and Milk.

When I’m not at LILL I’m: Yelping! Anyone at LILL can tell you that I just LOVE putting my 2 cents in. I love giving my opinions on everything and anything and especially love writing reviews. Yelp.com allows me to write reviews for restaurants, stores, gas stations, doctors, etc and post my detailed reviews to their online website. I’m considered an “Elite” member of the yelp family with over 200 (and counting) reviews to my name. For accurate opinions visit here: candiceadeline.yelp.com

Interesting Fact: Okay, maybe this is more a declaration but I can’t afford to have a living will drawn up at this point… I love, LOVE, L.O.V.E. animals and after seeing that Disney movie ‘Earth,’ I decided that when I die I want my body to be fed to starving polar bears in Antarctica. Save the animals.

Candice with her animal friends: (tigers left to right) Leon Spinx Gatlin, Homer X-Ray Cat Spiderman Gatlin-Kelly, and Razz Berry Gatlin.

Meet Grace!

I love wedding season! I admit it…I am a total sucker for all things bridal. The dress, the vows, the bouquet toss, the happily ever after—sigh. So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard that one of my closest friends, Anna, was engaged to be married (congrats, Anna & David!). The wedding was beautiful, from the first step she took down the aisle to the last shrimp skewer I polished off on the car ride home. (Yes, they were so delicious that I took some to-go!)

Anna, being the practical, yet sophisticated lady she is, wanted to make sure her makeup was perfect all night long, no matter how many relatives she kissed or Macarenas she danced. However, she didn’t want to carry around a bag that was bulky or a bag that clashed with her wedding colors. So, she found a bag that gave her both style and substance, Grace. This dainty clutch is ideal for special occasions, because it is the perfect size for just the essentials—compact, lipstick, keys and a credit card.

Anna opted for a Pearl Sateen exterior and a Dusty Rose ruffle to match her pink rose bouquet. The bridesmaids carried their own Graces as well, except their bags had a reverse color scheme—a Dusty Rose exterior and a Pearl Sateen ruffle. Each bridesmaid chose their own custom interior color so they wouldn’t get their bags mixed up in the hustle-and-bustle of the day.

Best Wishes to Anna & David!

Getting Ready for LILL Babies

The fun part of working with a mostly female staff is all the exciting life happenings that arise in our lives, such as weddings and babies! All at once, 4 women are expecting little ones due within a couple of month of each other. Jen Velarde welcomed Baby Grey Velarde into the world just this past March - St. Patty's Day to be exact! Next to be welcoming their babies are Emily R. and Amy F., both part of the Web Store Team! They are both expecting only days apart from each other. Here at LILL, we hosted a double baby shower for them to help Emily get ready for her first and Amy get ready for her second. LILL staff also wore pink and blue in honor of the moms-to-be.

Games included match the baby animal name to the parent (ie- kitten to cat) and a betting pool where LILL staff can choose a day and whether they think Emily is going to have a boy or girl. Winner wins the pot! Since Amy already knows she is going to have a boy, it takes most the fun out of the gamble.

Emily and Amy were also gifted lovely SUSAN diaper bags, each to match their personality. SUSAN is a great style for baby and for back to work so it was a great choice!

Amy's SUSAN features our Wild Zebra fabric with Sea Spray for a pop of color. Emily's SUSAN is a more girly combination with one of our most popular fabrics, Spring Fling, paired with Pretty in Pink Faux Suede and Yellowstone.