243: Gili Guise: A Mom’s Journey to Create a Sustainable Fashion Brand

Lauren: 0:00

I wish I would have spent more time networking with people in the industry, especially this market. I find people are very, very kind and if you ask questions, people will take the time and work with you.

Camille: 0:22

So you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know this is Call Me CEO. Welcome back everyone to Call Me CEO. This is your host, Camille Walker, and we love to talk about women building businesses here and mixing it with the chaos and the beautiful world that is motherhood. And today we are talking to Lauren, who is the co-owner and founder of Gili Guise, which is pants that grow with your children.

Camille: 1:07

Now, being a parent of four, especially three little boys, I have come through so many pairs of pants where the waist is way too big and the length is way too short. My husband is six foot six, and so my kids tend to go through bursts of growth where I'm like, wait, what happened to these pants I fit last week? Or my kids tend to be a little bit more small or narrow waisted, some more than the others. They're not all the same size, which, of course, they're not, and I was so thrilled to hear that Lauren has developed a design where you can extend the length and you can extend the waist, but the starting waist size is not huge, which is just brilliant.

Camille: 1:54

Of course, a mom came up with this. That's when you see a gap in the market and you're like, wait, I'm looking for this, this is a problem. This must be a problem for a lot of other moms out there, and that is the best birth story of businesses that live and thrive are the ones that are solving a problem for a gap in the market, for something that we need. So I'm so excited, lauren, to have you on the show. Thank you so much for coming and sharing your story with us.

Lauren: 2:22

Yeah, so thank you so much for having me. It's so nice to be here and talk about this because, yeah, you nailed it on the head when you said when there's like a pain point in the market and there's a lot of moms out there that find them and we do our best to fix them, so here we are, here's the Gili Guise.

Camille: 2:39

That is so good Now. So tell our audience about how you came up with the name, because I love how you did this.

Lauren: 2:46

Yeah, so we have a couple of different consultancy firms and things that we established the name Gili and Gili is my family name, our family name.

Lauren: 2:57

So the G is my husband, greg. The first I is my son, indy, who is five and a half. I'm the L, lauren, and then the little I is our four-year-old, our fresh four-year-old, Ireland, and so the Gili name has always been part of us and something that we established years ago and we would say we're the Gili family, we're the Gili family, and then, when we decided to launch this clothing brand, we wanted to extend upon that. So we added guys to it because, as a mom who is designing and developing things for our kids, I thought of things that I wanted as a kid, things that I didn't like, things as a mom that I liked and disliked, and so now we're really kind of living under the guise of our children as we watch them grow and develop, and so and that goes along with our designs as well. So Gili Guise was created and, yeah, we launched in August of 2024 officially, and it's been quite the journey. It's been a lot of fun.

Camille: 3:54

So that's us. Oh my gosh. I know that for a lot of us who are starting something that's new and actually bringing it to the market, it lives in our brains for years before it actually comes to market. So tell our audience a little bit about how, what you were doing before, where did this idea come from, and what were the beginning steps and stages of bringing it to the world?

Lauren: 4:19

Sure. So my history was not in fashion design. I actually was in recruiting at HR. I had a recruiting firm for about seven years and then, after I had my son, I shut that down to be a stay-at-home mom, and that's kind of when the idea started twirling, when I was trying to find pants that fit my son and he was tall and lanky.

Lauren: 4:39

I also have a tall husband, have a tall husband, but my son would go through these spaces where he would get chubby and then he would shoot up and we'd get chubby and he'd shoot up in all these pants. And he was so particular and he still is about what he wears. Everything has to be soft. He doesn't want to wear jeans, but of course you know it's like Easter comes around. I want Easter, cute family photos, and we have holidays come up and you know birthdays are special events and I want him to look cute. So I don't want him wearing some pants but then with belts he couldn't get them off fast enough to go to the bathroom, and so then we were dealing with that all the time. I needed something that could get on and off easily, that could adjust with boys as they grow, whether they're tall and lanky or they're a little bit thicker. I want everyone to be able to wear them and I wanted the denim to be durable and soft.

Lauren: 5:31

So I started designing and creating different designs and I brought them to my husband one day and Ireland was not Indy had just started school full-time. He started when he was three because he was doing Montessori. So they had him like three, four and five adults and Ireland was home with me full time and I went to my husband and I was like I have this idea, hear me out, I think I want to create these. And he was like and I had them all drawn out and he was like OK, how are you going to do that? And I was like I don't know, but Google is there for a reason, so let's, let's get into it. So he's like if you can, if you can get a sample and get you know something created in it, it's durable, let's talk about it. And so I did, found a source of manufacturer, had some mock-ups made, had them shipped over and put them on my son and he loved them and he actually wore them. And so I had some friends try them out. They liked them and I was like all right, here we go and so I brought back and we decided to create Gili Guise and from there we have created.

Lauren: 6:30

We are a boy focused brand. We do have a girls line as well, but I love designing boys clothes and so that we spiraled and we feel crew necks and t-shirts, but the idea that everything is durable and soft. I want everything to be just soft and that you don't just wear it once and it fades or that it rips. And the Grow With Me jeans were the first thing that we came up with, the first thing we designed, and it's our best-selling product for a reason because it's my favorite. But that's how it all started. I mean, that's the journey of the Grow With Me and how really this company came to life.

Camille: 7:04

Wow, okay, yeah, the fact that it's a boy-focused brand. Thank you. I feel like it's so much easier to shop for girls. There's so many more options, lengths, you know, things that we can. It's a lot more fun to shop for a girl than it is for the boys because there aren't as many options. It's very, very limited, especially where I have a son who is very, very sensitive to textures, hates, tags, only, want shirts that are slick feeling, will not wear jeans. So I am so excited to try out these pants for him because it sounds like exactly what he needs when I want him to not be wearing sweatpants or the joggers or whatever. So, right, yeah, I'm curious. Oh, go ahead.

Lauren: 7:52

No, I was gonna say it's interesting because, yeah, it's, it is about the texture, and that was the biggest feedback I've gotten from all of my friends is like, oh, it's like the neck is too tight or this. And so when we went into this, we went with it being like let's make sure everything is like kid approved. Let let's make sure everything is like kid approved. Let's get samples created of absolutely everything down to like the exact design and get everyone's feedback, because I mean, the kids are going to be the most honest and if you're going to spend money on something and throw it on your kid and they're going to go, I don't like this tag or I don't like this, I'm going to toss it.

Lauren: 8:18

You know, I'm like I'm not going to wear it again. You feel that you wear it again and They'll let me wear it again and that's a waste and I hate that because there are so many cute things out there. But you know, I bought. I purchased so many things for my kids that they have tried on once. I've been like I'm not going to wear that. So, yeah, I need to try to do it myself now.

Camille: 8:37

Oh, 100 percent, Because my oldest he's a six year age gap from my next son and nearly all of the clothes that he passed down from one brother to the next would not have it because it was not the right texture. Like it was such a problem. Yeah, I mean some of the things would work but most no. Like I found a pair of pants that he would wear and bought them in three colors because it was the one thing that he would wear and I knew that it was a pass. You know that it would work. So, anyway, I'm curious about finding for someone that is creating a product or coming up with something that's their own design. Was it difficult for you to find a manufacturer that you could trust, as well as quality? Because, especially, I don't know if you're working with someone overseas or if it's here in the United States, but what was that process like for you? What did you learn about going through that process of creation, samples, the shipping, all of that?

Lauren: 9:36

I will say I probably didn't do it the best way only because I threw myself into this industry and I was a stay-at-home mom and I'm doing this research. I put my babies down. I'd sit on my computer talking to people all over the world and then all day in the United States during the day while my kids are in school and try and just narrow that down Me and my husband we spent quite a lot on just getting samples made. Now that I've been in the industry and I can talk to people who have worked at larger companies, you know they're very comfortable with their manufacturers. They can send designs off and they don't need samples made. They just send them off and get put them into production, buy them in bulk, and I'm just obviously not at that place to do that.

Lauren: 10:21

I think it's really important that every single piece that we issue has been tested, has meets, you know, child safety standards. So the CPC certification, everything's tested, everything is kid approved from a kid standpoint, that it's soft and comfortable, that we like the way it fits, that we trust our manufacturers. So I mean I have talked to pretty much probably every manufacturer in the US. I've talked to a ton overseas in various countries. So it has been me being on my computer 24-7 so I can hit their messages, making sure that they meet the standards for US requirements. Also, it does vary from country to country. Us is very strict, which I appreciate as a mom, and so make sure they meet that.

Lauren: 11:10

I have been on FaceTime with every single manufacturer because I want to see what their day-to-day looks like. I require videos. I want to know details of every single part of the process. So I'm a little bit type A. It's very time consuming and very costly, but as a mom, as a stay-at-home mom, I want to make sure that my research is doing, I do my due diligence before I put something on another child's back. That's just for safety and like peace of mind for me. So I've spent a lot of time sourcing and finding the right people to make our clothing, and so we only have a couple now that we work with exclusively and they've been wonderful so, and if I don't like something, they're very quick to make changes to it. So, yeah, it's been quite the process, but it's, I mean, you have. That's what you have to do as well. Yeah.

Camille: 11:57

And do you? You said you made a lot of mistakes. What advice would you give to someone if they were starting a process like this from the beginning? What would your advice be to them?

Lauren: 12:06

I wish I would have spent more time networking with people in the industry, especially this market. I find people are very, very kind and if you ask questions, people will take the time and work with you. And so I dove into it and from here I've made a lot of relationships since then and a lot of connections that have helped put me in certain directions. Or hey, have you looked at this or checked out this? And it just kind of helped me jump into this quicker. I mean, they went to school for it, so they're giving me like a crash course in it, Whereas if someone who is just breaking into this or wanted to try something, I'd say go to every single expo out there, network, reach out to people on LinkedIn, just try to get connected and ask questions.

Lauren: 12:56

It might just save you time and money, truthfully, but it gives you a little bit more hand-holding experience, whereas going in blind and then establishing those relationships afterwards. But we went to a lot of expos. We did do a lot of those where we just went around and walked around and talked to people, which we found to be extremely beneficial.

Camille: 13:08

Yeah, that's good advice. I feel like that could apply to any industry because in my experience, especially with women, if you find the right group or people in general, I think most people, if you approach it in a very humble and curious way, a lot of people are willing to share and teach and especially the people who are really, really successful are the most generous. I found that time and time again, where they don't look at someone coming into a new field as, oh no, this is my competition, they look at it and say there's plenty for everyone. I've been in this field for forever and ever and I'm successful and I want you to be too. You know where. It's just that reciprocity, oh my gosh.

Lauren: 13:57

The reciprocity.

Camille: 13:58

Thank you. That's a big word for today, apparently, but gosh, I think that there are a lot of nice people in a lot of places, so I love that you bring that up, because I found that true in many cases as well.

Lauren: 14:13

Yeah, and my husband, I mean, he's the one who's he grew up in a really small town, like a town of like 1300 people and he always says be nice to everybody and you'll find that most people are good, you know, and he goes. That's in every industry. Don't be afraid to reach out and network and ask those uncomfortable questions, because people are, they're good, they're going to want to help. And especially if you come with it at that kind of curiosity and I'm just here to learn, and and again, I mean, if you think about it, it's like going into this, it's like gosh, what is my competition? And there are so many amazing kid boutiques and stores and clothing lines. How am I going to make my mark?

Lauren: 14:49

Well, you know, I'm in California right now and if you walk up and down the street, how many restaurants probably have the same food distributor? But they just add their own twist to it and their own flair and they add their own touch to it and their own flair and they add their own touch to it. And that's the same thing with every industry. People look at swimsuits. It's like there's a ton of swimsuit companies, but they all have their own unique touch to it and there's room for everybody. And again I mean everybody I've met so far has been honestly very wonderful and has helped me a ton. So it's been eye-opening, but it's been a lovely experience so far. I love it. That's amazing.

Camille: 15:18

Yeah, that's so cool, yeah, okay, so tell me a little bit more. I know you've had a lot of friends speaking of coming to each other and mentoring each other that have come to you and asked about building a business while being a mom with young kids, which comes with a very special set of challenges, very time consuming and demanding, I think any kid and their different stages some it's more physical because when they're younger it's more their physical time and as you get older kids it's emotional time, which is a bit of both of where we are as moms. Tell me a little bit about what you would, what advice you'd give them for starting a career, and how you were able to do both motherhood and launching this successful business.

Lauren: 16:05

Well, you know, I think there's a few parts to this question, because I think that I'm still trying to navigate that and go through that as well and how to ensure that my kids are still getting the most of me. But you know, for starters, anyone who does reach out on our Instagram, I'm the one who answers everybody. So even if it takes a couple of days for me to get back to you, I mean, I've had a lot of people reach out to me through there and just ask you know, how did you, how did you jump into this? And, truth be told it, really I felt like, you know, my daughter was going to be in school full time. My son was already there.

Lauren: 16:42

I always knew that I wanted to do something more. I didn't want to go back into the recruiting industry. I was getting these samples made of these jeans that I loved, and I was getting a good response from my friends and my community, and so I said I'm either going to dive first into this and give it a try and give it my all, and I'm going to have to readjust my entire life, because being a stay-at-home mom is more than a full-time job.

Lauren: 17:05

You know, I think someone said it's the equivalent of working like two full-time jobs at once and you are on call, and I wasn't willing to give that up either. So it was a matter of how was I going to? If I'm going to do this, how am I going to? How am I going to navigate my day-to-day? And I do feel like I'm on a good trajectory now. But the first six months there were a lot of tears, there was a lot of mom guilt, honestly, and I don't even think that my kids really noticed the difference as much as I feel like they noticed the difference. But I was doing something that I was passionate about and I was excited about, and I think it's OK to want to do something for yourself, even if you're I was excited about. And I think it's okay to want to do something for yourself, even if you're a full-time mom. And if you are a working mom and still the responsibility of being a parent to one child or eight kids, it doesn't matter. It's like your heart is in two different places and that's okay, you know, and I've had to kind of learn and readjust that.

Lauren: 17:59

So my day-to day is chaotic. I get up before my kids. I make sure their lunches are packed. I try to answer some emails, get back to people on social media, take care of the immediate, get my kids to school. I go to our warehouse, I do orders, I take care of anything that needs to be done there. I usually try to work out of there also. Then I go get the kids if we have activities that night, come home, make dinner, put them to bed and then I jump back on and then usually I'll work for the rest of the night.

Lauren: 18:29

So it is just a matter of you know. Before it was like it was a nine to five and I'm at work and then I close my computer and go home. But now it's just a matter of you know where are my priorities laying out how my, what, my day to day is, and knowing that, oh, my kids need me here, or knowing when to turn off work too. If I see my son come at mommy, mommy, can you play a memory game with me? He's obsessed with memory games or he just come and can you go play outside with me? It's you know. If I get asked like more than once while I'm trying to get something done, it's like it's a no brainer, it's like turn it off, keep your kid the attention.

Lauren: 19:04

You know nothing's going to totally fall apart with work and I can always just stay up a little bit later to make sure that my kids get that too, which is draining on me. But you know that's what coffee's for. You know I drink probably too much of that. But you know, at this point they're young and they're impressionable and I think it's good to also take that dive.

Lauren: 19:24

Do what you're passionate about, take that risk. We're young enough that we can. We have the ability to do that and juggle those things. So I'm blessed in that aspect, but also, because my kids are so impressionable, making sure that they know that you can do it all. You know like you can work and you can spend time with them and you take them to activities. You can still show up for them without anything else really defaulting. So it's just a matter of juggling. It all is really where it comes down to and knowing when to say no to certain things and knowing when to just say, like every Friday, we're going to watch a movie and order pizza or whatever your tradition is. It's a long-winded answer, but that is again. As you know, I've been juggling and dealing with it over the last few months. It's pretty fresh on my mind.

Camille: 20:09

Oh, absolutely yeah. And it's interesting too, because the way that I would govern my day and my time when I had young ones at home is different than the way I get to govern and use my time now that my kids are older and are in school full time. So I think it's important to look at the season and think I don't have that, whether it's a hard stop time for the day where you shift from one to the other or you say, hey, this, this day is heavy in business and tomorrow is going to be heavier in family, and that's great. And I all eras of time, you've never seen a period of time where kids have not seen their mothers working hard. And so that value of them seeing you do something you love and working hard with passion in the home, outside the home, building this business, that is a gift to children that they can invest in themselves and cherish their family. And I think that's a really beautiful gift that it doesn't have to be all or nothing, that it doesn't have to be something where you think, oh, if I give and devote time and attention to this other thing, that automatically means I don't love them, but to have them be a part of that conversation, of we get to work together as a team and I get to work and help and build this family with you, and I also get to build something outside of our family that helps us enjoy our lives together even more. And I think seeing that fulfillment from a mother is a gift to the children, whether it's a daughter or a son, because that gives them a better shape for what they want to look for as a teammate when they go on to make their own family.

Camille: 22:07

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Lauren: 23:01

Right, I agree, you know I'm very fortunate that I was able to start this company and then have this part of my husband. I mean, my kids don't see what I do on the back end of it, you know. They don't see all the intricacies of the operational standpoint. From it they can see the fun stuff. And that's why, when we started this, I said I want to make it a family brand. I'm very cautious about how much information, obviously, I put out of my kids. They're featured in a lot of our campaigns, but that's the extent of it and they're part of the design process. What colors do you guys like? What prints do you like? And so I do try to make it a fun family thing as much as possible, because even though they might not realize that, hey, mommy's working, I make it fun for them too, you know.

Lauren: 23:44

So we're out in California right now. For the next month we're based out of Wisconsin, that's where our warehouse is. But we're out here for a couple of conferences. We're out here to do content and creation, out here and meet with some manufacturers, some other individuals who've been helping with us. So, but like we, last night we went to the beach with them and it was a beautiful sunset and I was able to get footage of them running along the beach, you know, and having fun.

Lauren: 24:08

But then I can just put my phone down or put our camera down and play with them for the next hour. So it's like I'm very lucky that I do get to kind of intertwine those lives, but that I do have to tell myself, you know, like hey, I turn it off, gotta be a mom. But yeah, it is, it's, it's, it's a lot of fun. But I mean they love it. I mean when they put on clothes, oh, that you know. So they know that this has happened and that they're part of it. But it's just, it's cute to see, you know it's, they're little, so it's fun. It's always fun thing to kind of grow with them over time.

Camille: 24:44

What do you hope that they learn from watching you build this business?

Lauren: 24:50

Well, specifically for my daughter, I want her to know that she has opportunity. I mean, my son is he's going to be he's going to be a Delta pilot. He said that since he was two, my, my dad was a commercial airline pilot. My mom was a stay-at-home mom and her mom was a stay-at-home mom, and so I didn't grow up seeing my mom outside the house. She was with me and raised me and my brothers full-time, so my dad's schedule was a little bit more chaotic, but their chaotic schedules, I think, helped me realize that you can still be successful in a chaotic environment. So I want my daughter to see the same thing. I mean, I don't, she's never expressed what she wants to be. When she grows up she's four, it changes by the day but I want her to know that there's opportunity for women to do whatever they want if they have the passion and drive to do it, and that we're lucky that we live in a world where we do have things like Google.

Lauren: 25:42

That has helped me create this. Where do I even begin? How do I even start this? That if she's passionate about something, she knows that there's resources there to do it and that you can juggle that and be successful, and that's been a fun thing. Especially about this industry too is there's a lot of moms who have started companies in this industry and they all have very different creative stories, and so to kind of ping that off of each other, to kind of set that bar for the little next generation to know that they can do that too is kind of cool. So that's definitely one thing that I can see that they can if they're passionate about it, they can. If they're passionate about it. They don't, they can wake up and do whatever they want if that's what they're passionate about.

Camille: 26:26

Yeah, yeah, I think that's a beautiful thing, it's, and it's interesting too, because I think as women, we want to do it all. We want to be multifaceted. So I think almost the new challenge for us is there is so much possibility and you can do more than any other generation perhaps could have done in the past, because we live in an environment, rich world, where we can really search and research and yeah, you didn't go to school for it, but you could figure it out like, if the passion and the time is there, like you did so then it becomes what do you say no to? So that you're not saying no to the things that matter most. And I think for us, this generation now, it's almost that that's our new biggest challenge. We're not out hunting and gathering and we have washing machines and dishwashers.

Lauren: 27:07

Yay, yeah Well you know what I mean. Sometimes that's still not enough. My like load of laundry, oh totally no-transcript.

Camille: 27:44

Do it. You just have to build teams and resources around you so that you are not doing everything.

Lauren: 27:50

And it's okay to ask for help.

Camille: 27:52

Yes, it's okay to ask for help. Exactly yeah.

Lauren: 27:56

I mean I always say everyone needs a page. I have a page and so I hired her out of University of Wisconsin Stout's design program and I mean she has been instrumental in just helping me get through. I mean she's almost kind of teaching me in some ways about the design process too, because she it's. If I yeah, I'm going through something like okay, I need help with this. I can't quite figure out.

Lauren: 28:18

Um one of our spring jackets, we had this detachable hood on one of our boys coats, so cute. But oh, my gosh, for the life of me I was like why can't I figure this out? And she knows, you know. Or it's just like even things that are just, you know, forecasting, and is it that I can like leverage and lean on her for? And I'm'm like that's okay, cause I got to put him like I am going to need help. You know, I really, if I could teach you this all by myself, it's going to be, it's going to be difficult, and so I'm like it's okay to reach out for help. And people have asked that Do you feel okay hiring? I mean, luckily I was in recruiting previously, so I enjoy that a bit, that too.

Camille: 28:53

That's a huge strength actually, because then you're used to building a team, a team mindset, Right yeah.

Lauren: 29:01

And just kind of knowing those right questions to ask and making sure that we're going to be compatible and work together on projects. And so I mean it's yeah, reach out for help, ask for help, get a virtual assistant, you know it's, it's beneficial and needed, I mean, especially if you're trying to figure out how to juggle everything.

Camille: 29:16

Yeah, I'd love to tap into your knowledge there a little bit. What are some good questions to ask for finding if you'll be a good like, if someone's compatible with you? What would be some key points for that? If people are listening and going yeah, I need that. Tell me more.

Lauren: 29:32

So I always tell my husband this so I've recruited for his company, I've recruited the last 16 people or something for him, and I always say I'm like can you just tell within the first five minutes that this person is going to be a good fit? Because it's like you want to know what your company and who you are. That's the foundation of the interview. And is this person going to be like-minded with you? What can they bring to the table? But more so, people like to work with people ultimately, and if you get a good vibe from somebody right away, I mean lean into that. That's okay to trust your gut on some things. Then the other questions can come later and you can ask about you know what's a hardship that you've had in a company and how did you overcome it.

Lauren: 30:15

You can ask those kind of boring questions later, but get to know the person from the beginning. I mean you want to know what their interests are, who they are as a person. You know what are their strengths in life, not just necessarily the workplace, because that's going to all translate to them on their day to day. And so those are the kind of things I always look for in the first few minutes of an interview is who is this person? You know, like I want to know them. I mean, you have to be on call with them all the time, messaging them, emailing them, and if they are compatible with what your company groundwork and morals are, you're going to be fine. Yeah, you know. That's really what it comes down to, in my opinion.

Camille: 30:53

No, I love that, I love that. And to it might hit in. No, I love that, I love that. And to really pay attention to your gut instinct with that. I agree with that too, because when I help people to hire a virtual assistant, I will help set them up with three different interviews two to three typically and I say, do this on Zoom, because I am not going to pick for you. I want it to be where you find some like-mindedness with each other or you see that there's that you gel well with this person, and that really is something that doesn't have a perfect formula. It's more just getting to know the person. So I think that's really, really good advice.

Lauren: 31:28

Yeah, and Zoom. Luckily, I mean, we've kind of transitioned into a lot of people working remote and a lot of interviews being over Zoom, so but you could still tell just as much from a Zoom interview that you can with someone having a cup of coffee or having them come into your office. I mean you'll know. You know, just trust your gut, and your gut's usually right.

Camille: 31:45

Yeah, good advice. So for forecasting for the future, where do you want to take your company? Like what? Shooting to the moon? I mean, mean, you're a few years in now, what? Where do you hope to see it go?

Lauren: 31:58

so we are expanding for spring and summer. We will be expanding above 5t just a few sizes. Um, my motivation for that is because my son is outgrowing all of his 5t, because he's five and a half and I like to use him as a model and so I'm like, well, here we go. Um, I am gonna yeah, I know we're gonna keep going. Um, we are gonna expand on the girls line, um, just more heavily, just because we've had a lot of people reach out and ask the whole goal with this is that everything on our website matches with something else. So all the color pantones match. So if you're searching for family photos or a nice family dinner, you want your kids to be in similar colors. They don't have to be the same patterns. I mean, it's the similar colors, same pantone range. We offer that, and so we need more girl items. So we are expanding upon that for this and fall. We also have family matching sweatsuits. So we will do some family, more family matching things for next fall, as we're working on right now, but mostly just kind of staying on that heavy boy clothing. We love that Midwest vibe and we love it that it can go across all seasons and so that's just going to maintain that focus moving forward for right now. But I don't know, we'll see.

Lauren: 33:25

We did launch something new that is hosted by Gili Guise in the Twin Cities area. So if you guys are around and part of it and want to be part of it, it's called the Minnesota Kid Rave Get Gili and it's. We started doing a lot of pop up shops and things in the Twin Cities area and this is one that we did, where we have now created a kid's rave and so that's so fun and we had different characters and we featured Gili Guise clothing there and over the next year, with every ticket purchase they are going to be getting a piece of clothing or article that goes with that particular event that they're attending and it all kind of encompasses that kid rave feel. So that's kind of something that we're expanding on right now. We just had our first one about two weeks ago. It was so much fun.

Lauren: 34:13

But yeah, I mean it's going to stay kid focused, you know, kid motivated. We're going to keep just working with our kids to make sure that we're putting out what kids want to see and where, and it's going to be a lot of fun. So I mean I don and where, and it's going to be a lot of fun. So I mean, I don't know if I'm looking five years down the line. I just want to keep expanding and getting our name out there and making sure that we're producing hits, it's like, and that the sizing is accurate and that we're approachable. People can reach out to us with questions and we shall see, hopefully I love it.

Camille: 34:43

I love it okay. So this episode is going to be coming out probably pretty close to a few weeks before Easter. Are you doing any Easter promotions or anything like that? Or maybe you'll have some Easter sales Easter sales.

Lauren: 34:56

Our spring and summer line are being launched a little bit later than typical spring. Okay, it's very summer focused that we're putting out, so we are pushing, just because, being in the Midwest, our spring it still is kind of winter Same.

Camille: 35:11

Because we're in Utah and I'm like there's still snow. I mean it's sunny today, so fingers crossed we'll get good. I feel like Easter is a little later this year, but this year is a little bit later. Yes, it's like mid-April and we are recording this early March. So if there is a code to share, I will put it in the show notes. Perfect.

Lauren: 35:31

How does that sound? I know that sounds great. No, it'll be well. We will have Easter sales happening leading up to it, Actually beginning of April, Because, yeah, it's towards the end of April we have those going out, but the actual new collection will be coming shortly after that.

Camille: 35:46

Yay, okay, well, I'm so excited. Tell our audience where they can find you and support you and find Gili Guise online.

Lauren: 35:53

Yeah, so if you just search giliguisecom, so it's G-I-L-L-I-G-U-I-S-E com, so think disguise, but with the D-I-S at the beginning, so just giliguisecom, and then same thing on Instagram, just at GiliGuise, you'll be able to find us there as well. So, yeah, you'll see, you'll see my kids on there, you'll see me on there. I try to get on lives quite a bit and just talk to people and answer questions and a lot of it are just very, you know, moms looking to start something new and fresh, which has been the best part of this journey is just getting to connect with other moms and people who want to either jump in this industry or another industry. But yeah, you can find me on there.

Camille: 36:34

We're all in it together. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show and thank you for everyone for your listening and sharing with other moms. Every story shared is inspiring other women to chase after their dreams, to enjoy their road of mother, and it's just amazing. And before we say goodbye, I forgot to ask you my two questions I always ask. The first is what are you reading, watching or listening to? And the second is a motherhood moment you'd like to share with our audience?

Lauren: 37:06

Okay, what am I watching? Well, I'm only this top of mind, because I think I'm on the very, very last episode. Right now I'm watching Younger on Netflix.

Camille: 37:14

Oh, that's a cute show With.

Lauren: 37:16

Sandra Foster and Hilary Duff. Oh my gosh, it's so cute. Just because I think it just has a lot to say about just women in general who are working, which I think is really interesting. Yes, it's so good and it's an easy watch too. I watch it when I'm working out. I'm like you know, I'm more motivated to work out so I can get through my episodes. That's a great recommendation. I love that one.

Lauren: 37:40

My favorite kid moment was um my gosh, I have so many Probably getting my kiddos into our new house we remodeled a few years back. But it's at the same time that they really started kind of building this dynamic and this friendship and so they were interacting with each other more but they had more space so they spent so much time outside and just knowing that that was our forever home, that we were going to be in with our kids, building those memories and then watching them grow over the last few years, has just been. It's been really special. I mean every time iPhone brings up a new photo it's just of them in our house building these memories, and it just makes me feel really happy that we chose to live in Wisconsin, that we're close to my family and that we can build Gili Guise together.

Camille: 38:26

So yeah, that's beautiful. I am so happy for you and what a wonderful product and family and you're just amazing. So thank you so much.

Camille: 38:35

Thank you so much for having me, you bet. All right, we'll see you all next time. Bye, hey, CEOs. Thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment and a five-star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram at callmeCEOPodcast, and remember you are the boss.