One of the questions we get asked the most is, "How do you decide what to make?"
The answer is... it's a lot more complicated than simply choosing a cute print.
Every collection starts months before you ever see it. By the time we're sharing sneak peeks, we've already spent countless hours planning, revising, and making dozens of decisions behind the scenes.
When we choose prints, we're thinking about so much more than what we personally like. We consider what our community has been asking for, seasonal trends, colors that work well together, how a print will look across different products, and whether it's something families will still love months from now when it finally arrives.
Then come the styles.
Should this print be available in a sleeper? A two-piece set? A bubble romper? A sleep bag? A twirl dress? Adult pajamas? Every style we add increases manufacturing costs, inventory, and production time, so we have to be intentional about where each print will shine.
Sizing is another huge consideration. We want families with babies, toddlers, big kids, and even adults to feel included, but every additional size means more inventory to produce and manage. We spend a lot of time balancing variety with making sure we can continue offering the quality and service you expect from us.
Then there's the preorder itself.
How many prints should we release? How long should the preorder stay open? What time of year will these items arrive? Are holidays in China going to affect production? Will customers have enough time to receive them before the season they're intended for? These are conversations we have every single launch.
Sometimes we have to say no to prints we absolutely love because they don't fit the collection. Other times we swap a design at the last minute because we know another option will better serve our community. Every decision is made with one goal in mind: creating collections you'll be excited to wear and make memories in.
Owning a small business means making hundreds of decisions that most people never see. Some are easy, and some keep us awake at night. But every choice is made with care, and every collection is created with our customers at the center of the process.
So the next time you see a new launch, know that it represents months of planning, countless conversations, and a whole lot of heart.
Thank you for trusting us with those decisions and for allowing Lolly & Laddie to be part of your family's story. We truly couldn't do it without you.