A little birdy told me that it's 55 days till Christmas and time for me to get serious about gift shopping. If your time's limited (and whose isn't?) why not consider mail order gift shopping?
This year one of my favorite online shopping destinations is http://www.wisteria.com/, and one of my absolute must-give-gifts is sure to be their Angel Wings Mug (www.wisteria.com/Angel-Wings-Mug-New/productinfo/W2811/) along with my favorite cocoa mix or tea bags.
I'm also totally loving the Groovy Gooseneck USB Light over at http://www.delight.com/ (www.delight.com/Groovy-Gooseneck-USB-light) that's small enough to pack into a laptop case but big enough to get the job done ... and all for well under $20.
Some of the other online emporiums I turn to for my Christmas gift giving include;
http://www.fredflare.com/ (Bacon dental floss anyone?)
http://www.redenvelope.com/ (love, love love their "100 Good Wishes" candle set)
http://www.restorationhardware.com/ (the Matchbox Musicbox is an adorable find)
Got someone on your list that always seems too tough to shop for? Check out what the brilliant mind behind http://www.giftgenius.com/ has to offer. Simply choose the holiday and the recipient and the gift genius makes suggestions running the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime.
And if all else fails ... you can't possibly go wrong with a handmade one-of-a-kind T-shirt from La Petite Pilot. Whether the gift recipient is a Vegan with a wicked sense of humor or your great aunt Grace, I can offer you dozens of design choices sure to fit the personality of even the pickiest gift recipient. Give me a call at 623-330-0301 and lets talk T-shirts today!
55 Days and counting ...
Lori
Showing posts with label pilots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pilots. Show all posts
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Our Flyboys
Our grandsons (L to R) Devin (age 3), Keith (age 6) and Trevor (age 6 weeks) joined us last evening to celebrate (husband) Keith's birthday in style and they wore the t-shirts I made for them a few weeks ago.
Devin's t says First Officer, Keith's says Captain and little Trevor is the Flight Engineer.
Cute, cute, cute!
Friday, September 18, 2009
It's a fabulous Friday and business is good
It's looks like it's going to be a fabulous Friday, and it begins with a new order from my national supplier AeroPhoenix for another half gross of my aviation themed baby bodysuits (think onesie).
I'm pleased my baby items are selling, but I'm surprised that the one I thought would sell the best (I Belive I Can Fly ... nope, just gas) really hasn't been the best seller. That slot is held, and firmly at that, by a little block airplane, and the words - Just Plane Cute - a unisex design top seller!
On top of this second order from AeroPhoenix, I've also been commissioned by two friends to make baby bodysuits and toddler t's for them to give as gifts. Little by little La Petite Pilot is growing, and no one's more surprised or pleased than me.
If you have a new baby joining your family, or if you know of someone who does, my designs are not limited to aviation themes, and I'm always honored to fill special orders.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Lori
I'm pleased my baby items are selling, but I'm surprised that the one I thought would sell the best (I Belive I Can Fly ... nope, just gas) really hasn't been the best seller. That slot is held, and firmly at that, by a little block airplane, and the words - Just Plane Cute - a unisex design top seller!
On top of this second order from AeroPhoenix, I've also been commissioned by two friends to make baby bodysuits and toddler t's for them to give as gifts. Little by little La Petite Pilot is growing, and no one's more surprised or pleased than me.
If you have a new baby joining your family, or if you know of someone who does, my designs are not limited to aviation themes, and I'm always honored to fill special orders.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Lori
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Goodbye Girl
Or; why I fly 5 hours, (that's 2,133 miles according to http://www.convertunits.com/) to spend one night in a Newark, NJ hotel with my airline pilot husband, then fly 5 hours (yep, another 2,133 miles) home ... alone.
When I say I'm flying to Newark to overnight with my husband Keith, and will be home the next day while he flys off to some far off place, I'm usually met with blank stares or something like; "what the heck for?" I could say it's because I like the pizza in New Jersey (Bruno's - yum), I could say I like hotel romance, I could say I enjoy the occasional (make that rare) upgrade to First Class on Continental Airlines ... and all of that would be true. But the real reason I do it, is to spend those few precious hours with my husband.
Home life is a nonstop crush of schedules and committments, of school bells and student pilot training, of expectations and deadlines. But the 5 hours on the airplane to Newark, even if my husband is asleep in the seat beside me, and the ten to twelve hours alone with him in a New Jersey hotel room are a gift beyond compare.
For those few hours there are just two of us. There are no one elses wants and needs more important than our own, there is just my husband and me enjoying the quiet of a small New Jersey hotel room as we sip our Coke-a-Cola's and eat our pizza, and share a few hours of husband and wife talk.
Then all too soon it's over, and I'm re-packing our bags in preparation of going our seperate ways. I take his dirty laundry home with me (no sense in him carrying it to China and back), and we grab a quick cup of tea before the van takes us back to Newark Airport. My job as the Goodbye Girl is about to begin.
At the airport there is just enough time for a late breakfast or early lunch, then Keith is due in the weather room. There, as he meets the rest of his flight crew, he pours over weather reports and route charts and begins in earnest his work as the professional and dedicated pilot I so admire and respect. He will inevitably introduce me to the Captain and the IRO's (International Relief Officers) flying with him, but it's my job to stay in the background, quietly observing but beaming with pride. That man, the one discussing impending turbulance and route diversions with such experienced authority ... that man is my husband ... imagine that.
I always schedule my return flight to depart after Keith's plane leaves, so once he's through in the weather room we head to the gate where his airplane awaits crew and passengers alike. I find a quiet corner in which to wait, while Keith goes down to the plane to "load the box", a pilot's expression for loading the route and flight data into the airplanes computer.
It's not long before my husband is back at my side, asking how the loads (seating) look for my own flight, and what I plan to do whilst he's away. Small talk fills the next few minutes, but it's what we don't say that hangs so heavily in the air. That we'll miss each other. That I wish he could retire tomorrow. That I hate goodbyes.
All too soon the gate agents begin calling row numbers, filling the plane with passengers. Keith hugs me, telling me how much he appreciated and enjoyed my coming all this way for such a few small hours. He reminds me it'll only be four days and then he'll be home again. In my mind those four days might just as well be forty-four. One more lingering kiss good bye and it's my husbands back that's disappearing down the jetway. But not before he turns around one last time and using the ASL sign for "I love you" - blows a kiss to his goodbye girl.
I wait at the window in the boarding area as all the passengers board, the door is closed, the jetway is wheeled away from the plane, and the supertug begins the slow push of my husbands' beautiful jet towards the runway. One last kiss blown back and forth, one last "I love you" hand sign, one last prayer asking God to keep him safe, and he's gone.
My job as the goodbye girl is over ... until the next time I pack an overnight bag and follow my pilot husband 2,133 miles to Newark New Jersey for a few precious hours with the man I love.
Why do I do it? Because to do otherwise would be to rob us of that time together. Because my husband seems so much more relaxed when I'm saying goodbye to him in person than over the phone. Because it makes the man I adore feel loved and special. And that he is.
Lori
When I say I'm flying to Newark to overnight with my husband Keith, and will be home the next day while he flys off to some far off place, I'm usually met with blank stares or something like; "what the heck for?" I could say it's because I like the pizza in New Jersey (Bruno's - yum), I could say I like hotel romance, I could say I enjoy the occasional (make that rare) upgrade to First Class on Continental Airlines ... and all of that would be true. But the real reason I do it, is to spend those few precious hours with my husband.
Home life is a nonstop crush of schedules and committments, of school bells and student pilot training, of expectations and deadlines. But the 5 hours on the airplane to Newark, even if my husband is asleep in the seat beside me, and the ten to twelve hours alone with him in a New Jersey hotel room are a gift beyond compare.
For those few hours there are just two of us. There are no one elses wants and needs more important than our own, there is just my husband and me enjoying the quiet of a small New Jersey hotel room as we sip our Coke-a-Cola's and eat our pizza, and share a few hours of husband and wife talk.
Then all too soon it's over, and I'm re-packing our bags in preparation of going our seperate ways. I take his dirty laundry home with me (no sense in him carrying it to China and back), and we grab a quick cup of tea before the van takes us back to Newark Airport. My job as the Goodbye Girl is about to begin.
At the airport there is just enough time for a late breakfast or early lunch, then Keith is due in the weather room. There, as he meets the rest of his flight crew, he pours over weather reports and route charts and begins in earnest his work as the professional and dedicated pilot I so admire and respect. He will inevitably introduce me to the Captain and the IRO's (International Relief Officers) flying with him, but it's my job to stay in the background, quietly observing but beaming with pride. That man, the one discussing impending turbulance and route diversions with such experienced authority ... that man is my husband ... imagine that.
I always schedule my return flight to depart after Keith's plane leaves, so once he's through in the weather room we head to the gate where his airplane awaits crew and passengers alike. I find a quiet corner in which to wait, while Keith goes down to the plane to "load the box", a pilot's expression for loading the route and flight data into the airplanes computer.
It's not long before my husband is back at my side, asking how the loads (seating) look for my own flight, and what I plan to do whilst he's away. Small talk fills the next few minutes, but it's what we don't say that hangs so heavily in the air. That we'll miss each other. That I wish he could retire tomorrow. That I hate goodbyes.
All too soon the gate agents begin calling row numbers, filling the plane with passengers. Keith hugs me, telling me how much he appreciated and enjoyed my coming all this way for such a few small hours. He reminds me it'll only be four days and then he'll be home again. In my mind those four days might just as well be forty-four. One more lingering kiss good bye and it's my husbands back that's disappearing down the jetway. But not before he turns around one last time and using the ASL sign for "I love you" - blows a kiss to his goodbye girl.
I wait at the window in the boarding area as all the passengers board, the door is closed, the jetway is wheeled away from the plane, and the supertug begins the slow push of my husbands' beautiful jet towards the runway. One last kiss blown back and forth, one last "I love you" hand sign, one last prayer asking God to keep him safe, and he's gone.
My job as the goodbye girl is over ... until the next time I pack an overnight bag and follow my pilot husband 2,133 miles to Newark New Jersey for a few precious hours with the man I love.
Why do I do it? Because to do otherwise would be to rob us of that time together. Because my husband seems so much more relaxed when I'm saying goodbye to him in person than over the phone. Because it makes the man I adore feel loved and special. And that he is.
Lori
Monday, August 17, 2009
So far ... so good
Tom Rubin over at AeroPhoenix, the marketing whiz who's responsible for my baby bodysuits being available to pilot shops nationwide, sent me an email late last week saying the line is selling well. "Well" to Tom means his customers are taking notice and ordering a few to see how they move in their particular pilot shop. But when is "well" - well enough?
Below are a few of my other designs. These are just 3 of the t's I've designed for the Deer Valley Airport's pilot shop. - Lori
Personally, now that I'm in the game, I'll feel like La Petite Pilot is a success when I walk into a major airport such as Phoenix Sky Harbor or Newark's Liberty International, and see my baby bodysuits on display. That said, the fact that a national distributor has picked up my babywear certainly isn't small beans, and I'm duly grateful that Mr. Rubin has given me a chance. But now that I've had a bite of the apple ... I want more. I want Tom's next call to say my babywear is "flying (pun intended) off the shelves".
I had a lovely luncheon this past Sunday with two members of the Pilot Wives Club (http://www.pilotwivesclub.com/) during which both ladies said they'd looked for a website for La Petite Pilot. So far, this blog is my only outing on the internet, though I know that the best bet for getting my babywear seen (and bought) is a website. Until I get there, and I'm not quite ready, this blog will continue to be the only web presence for La Petite Pilot. So far ... so good.
Below are a few of my other designs. These are just 3 of the t's I've designed for the Deer Valley Airport's pilot shop. - Lori
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I had a grandson, then I had an idea
On the 6th of this month our family welcomed it's newest little Lamb ... Trevor Anthony Lamb. There's something about the birth of a child, it renews your sense of hope in the future, reminding you of what truly matters. For me, it also reminded me that not everything has to be a complex, big deal, too-much-thinking kind of experience. Sometimes ... simpler really is better.
My daughter-in-law (Trevor's mom) had asked that I design a trio of t-shirts for her three boys. Should it be "biggest brother", "little brother" and "littlest brother" ... hmmm ... no, that's not quite "it". Maybe I could use their nicknames; Bubba, Duece and Tre ... still not "it". When something that should be easy suddenly feels difficult, it's time for me to take a step back. So I took a day off and just let all the ideas crowding my head come to a rest. And then it came to me;
This is a family head over heels with airplanes. The boys' grandfather (my husband) is an airline pilot, the boys' father learned to fly years ago, and their mom, well she just embraces the family obsession with a sense of humor. I'd already made the trio a French Memo Board (complete with royal blue airplanes against white clouds) for their bedroom, so why didn't I see what was right in front of me? The t-shirt theme was now crystal clear;
Captain Keith Lamb, First Officer Devin Lamb, and Flight Engineer Trevor Lamb
My daughter-in-law (Trevor's mom) had asked that I design a trio of t-shirts for her three boys. Should it be "biggest brother", "little brother" and "littlest brother" ... hmmm ... no, that's not quite "it". Maybe I could use their nicknames; Bubba, Duece and Tre ... still not "it". When something that should be easy suddenly feels difficult, it's time for me to take a step back. So I took a day off and just let all the ideas crowding my head come to a rest. And then it came to me;
This is a family head over heels with airplanes. The boys' grandfather (my husband) is an airline pilot, the boys' father learned to fly years ago, and their mom, well she just embraces the family obsession with a sense of humor. I'd already made the trio a French Memo Board (complete with royal blue airplanes against white clouds) for their bedroom, so why didn't I see what was right in front of me? The t-shirt theme was now crystal clear;
Captain Keith Lamb, First Officer Devin Lamb, and Flight Engineer Trevor Lamb
I can't wait to see these three wonderful little boys in this new design from La Petite Pilot (wow, that's me!). I've asked my daughter-in-law (an awesome photographer) for a photo of the boys modeling the shirts, and I'll post it as soon as I have it.
So, with this project now complete, and having re-learned a good lesson, I'm calling it a day!
Till next time,
Lori
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Welcome!
Welcome to La Petite Pilot, the home of aviation themed decorated apparel including baby bodysuits (think onesies) and t-shirts (adult/children/infant).
La Petite Pilot began as a kitchen-table hobby with the single intention of making t-shirts for my airline pilot husband. Well you know how it goes, first a friend sees as wants one, then another friend sees and wants one, then the nice man who owned the pilot shop at Deer Valley Airport (DVT) here in Phoenix saw them and thought they might sell in his shop. That lead to me making a couple dozen t's for adults plus a few kid-friendly ones and a half dozen onesies (Gerber's) all with aviation-themed verbiage and graphics.
I admit it was a shock to learn Mike Hosa over at DVT even wanted to see my designs, after all, it wasn't meant to be a business ... just a time filler for a sometimes lonely pilots wife. Now here I was agonizing over designs and colors and wondering if anyone would really buy them.
A year later, here I sit, having been picked up by a leading national distributor of aviation-related goods; AeroPhoenix, who supplies pilot shops at more than 200 airports across the United States. Yesterday, I delivered my first order for AeroPhoenix; a gross of baby bodysuits (think onesies) under my label; La Petite Pilot.
This blog is my lead in to what I hope will eventually become my website. Check back often for photos of my work, news on where my baby bodysuits are available for purchase, and news in general.
I hope you enjoy my work as much as I've enjoyed producing it! - Lori
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