Encouraged by family and friends, Jennifer Velarde decides to sign up for a booth at a street fair in Chicago where she can sell the newly named 1154 LILL CHICAGO handbag line. She switches to part-time at her corporate job in order to give herself more sewing time, but still is only able to make about 20 bags and a variety of small accessory pieces in time.

The night before the August fair, her friend Robin Newberry and another sorority sister come over to help Jen get everything ready. It is there that 1154 LILL’s signature custom-order concept is born. Jen realizes that if things go well, she may sell out early and then they will have to sit in an empty booth for the rest of the 2-day fair. She decides to bring the fabrics and have people custom-order their bags, saving her sewn bags as “sample styles”. Robin types up a quick flyer suggesting Handbag Parties as a way to purchase again.

The street fair is a huge success! People love the creative outlet as much as Jen and she soon gets started on sewing all the new orders for the first 1154 LILL customers. Handbag Party requests roll in and soon Jen (often accompanied by Robin or other friends) is spending her free time bringing fabrics and bag samples into people’s homes and offices so that they may design their own LILL Bags. The word on LILL is spreading! Jen leaves her corporate job to focus on LILL full time.