Our first stop after arriving in Chicago was a little boutique called 1154 Lill Studio. Located in the Lincoln Park area, they specialize in custom-made handbags. I found them online a couple years ago and received a gift certificate from my parents that year for either my birthday or Christmas; with that I was able to create, online, a Lucy purse from their awesome website!
When we arrived at the store, our first order of business was to get Baylor out of his stroller for a much-needed stretch. He had just endured a 3+ hour car ride and had been such a good boy along the way. And boy did he stretch!
When designing your custom handbag, you first need to decide on the style of bag you're going to make. Then you get to search through rows and rows of fabric for the body, handle, details, and sometimes even the inside pockets of your bag or purse (or wallet or ...). Here is my sister on her fabric exploration.
Baylor was more interested in the ready-made bags they had available in their store (and online). For those not interested in the design process, they have gorgeous bags already made for the same price as those you create yourself!
Here I am deciding on fabrics for my bag. I ended up going with a green tweed body that I am really excited about; I have been eyeing it since I first checked out their website (that said, they do offer new fabrics all the time and sometimes a favorite won't be there forever). I'll have to post a picture of my gorgeous new bag once it arrives!
My mom did some prior research online before we even got to the store, so after finishing her bag with lightening speed she headed to the ladies' room. Noticing that his Oma was AWOL, Little B took it upon himself to check on her.
Once she was done, he made a break for it!
Here is my sister with her finished product! Yes, it looks a bit of a mess right now, but once it arrives it will be a work of art!
Brightly lit with spacious, stand-up work stations, the store seems to nurture the very creativity it takes to design one of these beauties. This is only half of the store; the area behind me focuses on smaller purses and accessories.
Some very satisfied customers! (And one adorable little boy, if I do say so myself!)
I can't wait for my bag to arrive in (I think) 2 to 4 weeks! It'll be so cool to see the finished product after having created it in the store.
That said, I really enjoyed creating my Lucy purse online and found that they do a good job of telling you as much about the fabrics as possible so you can select the correct fabric based on the durability you need or event you plan on using it for. They even have sort of satellite associates that can help put on a purse party, potentially in your area!
Any which way you create it, a 1154 Lill Studio purse is a great gift for yourself or a purse collector in your life!
And what a great way to start off our trip! Thanks again to Mom for the purse and the wonderful experience!
1 comment:
That is really cool! I can't wait to see the finished purse!!
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