Heather of Laken & Lila

Heather's shop Laken & Lila first grabbed my attention with its enticing mix of wonderfully styled photography and product shots (not to mention the cutest children's clothing). Her shop is a great example of how investing in photography/styling can really make your shop stand out to bloggers, shoppers and buyers!

Pssst. She's also having a 20% off sale, details in her shop.


1. Imagine that you're in an elevator and an old friend from your past just walked in - you have about ~15 seconds to answer ..."Oh my god Heather, how are you?? You look great!... Yep the kids are fine. What are you doing these days? Where do you work?"

Life is very busy. My son, Laken is almost 3 and always on the go. He inspired me to start designing and creating handmade children’s clothing. I work from a studio in my home and sell my clothing online and wholesale to boutiques across the country.


2. What was it that made you want to start creating? Did something specific trigger it?

I’ve always loved creating. Writing, scrapbooking, cooking, etc… but my love for clothing and creating pieces has always been my true passion. I started sewing during a high school sewing class and I have enjoyed it ever since. I worked in the corporate world before I was a mom and then stayed home after having Laken. Being a stay at home mom is more difficult than I could ever have imagined but I would never trade it. After some soul searching and life changes, I decided I could have it all if I started incorporating my love of sewing back into my life. Making handmade children’s clothes just came naturally because of my love of children. What I realized was there is a need for unique, handmade, quality children’s apparel. Back in the day of my Grandmother and even my Mother handmade gifts were always given at Baby Showers. My clothing pieces are truly timepieces to cherish with a whimisical flair.


3. Artists, designers, bloggers who often work from home alone (all day long) develop some pretty unique and quirky habits. Can you share one of yours?

I’ve always worked from home even when I was in the “corporate world”. Working from home is now vastly different from before. Before I was a single girl planning events for a non-profit organization and truly tried to keep my home office separate from my living space. I set regular working hours and stuck to them. Working from home almost 7 years later is quite different ..Now I incorporate my living space into my working space. Now, I have a 3 year old son that requires lots of attention from mom… so even when I plan my “work hours” sometimes they don’t always go as planned. One of the reasons my studio is in part of my living space is so my son can feel a part of my work. (note one of my pics of Laken pretending to sew). Let’s see quirky habits… I have so many I probably don’t even realize it… okay, playing solitare on my computer or brickbreaker on my blackberry when I am dreaming up new creations.


4. How do you come up with your creations? Can you walk us through your creative process when dreaming up new pieces?

A walk through my creative process… things just sort of come to me especially when I’m shopping for new fabric. I find fabric I like and then may just buy it even though I have no plan for it… then a few months later I may find something that would go just perfect with it and pick up where I left off. That’s where I am planning for the fall collection right now. I found the cutest fabric on etsy and just had to have it… it’s been sitting on my work area for a few months and I just found some amazing fall fabric to use with it – then I will go back to the drawing board and figure out just how and where to use the original, unique fabric. My process is not very scientific… I like something, I’m drawn to it for some reason… and then I find a use for it. An example would be my nautical smocked dress (pic. Included) I saw the striped fabric it just sort of popped out to me but had no idea what it would be good for…. My inspirations, lakes, boating, boats, etc. had me thinking about using this fabric for a nautical inspirited project. I found the most perfect rope like adornment and added that as the strapes. I’ve been in love with the dress ever since and it’s one of my favorite creations yet.


1. A red garden truck. It is in my garden and my son picked it out and just loves it. It was a housewarming present when we moved into our new home. 2. A Mermaid, I just love mermaids and I found this at a shop while visiting the outer banks. It lets me bring my love of the ocean home. 3. A sign that reads "to the lake" I live a few steps away from Chautauqua Lake in Western, NY


6 Random things about Heather...

I love mermaids
My 3 year old son and I can’t get enough sushi!
I snowboard
I love to cook especially Indian food
As a kid, I loved waiting for the mail to come…. I still do
Fresh flowers in my house make me happy!

Thanks Heather!!

Links: www.lakenandlila.etsy.com, product shots www.clpphotography.com & www.kelleypsmallman.vpweb.com