Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Egreis Gjergjani - How to Launch An Online Boutique

You can read the full post on my official page and blog: www.stilettomeup.xyz

But here is a preview:

In the first few days of 2015 I decided I wanted to launch an online boutique for children, ages newborn – 8 years old. Well, originally I thought I was only going to go up to 3 years old, but the more I search for brands, the higher up in age I’m going! I’m sticking to 8 years old for now! I posted a blog describing the background behind me wanting to do this and why now. If interested read Egreis Gjergjani – Reflecting on 2014 and Goals for 2015 blog post. It may seem like such a sudden decision, but the truth is I’ve been wanting to do something ever since I left Los Angeles and became a stay at home mom.I didn’t really know what. I knew it had to be involved with motherhood or kids somehow.
Before Gio I had wanted to do shoes; a shoe line, a collaboration with a current shoe company, etc. But after having my son, my focus has shifted completely and as much as I like shoes, i just do not care enough for them to want to start a career related to shoes. Maybe down the line, but not now. I played around with the idea of a baby spa. When Gio was 4 months old, we went to London and I took him to a baby spa there. I loved it so much that I spoke with the owners for the possibility of franchising in United States. It’s still something I would like to explore but it requires a lot more work and time than I can possibly give right now. So that idea will have to wait. Then I thought about doing mommy and baby get togethers; I explained a bit of that on my other blog post as well (listed above). I would like to do that too, just not now. I am 6 months pregnant and as much as I want to attack all these things and do them all, I just physically and emotionally cannot. So I have to be smart about what I am capable of doing.I’m the type to put my ALL into something. I either do it all the way right, or do not do it at all. It’s why I’ve let go of some of the projects I started when I was in Los Angeles. But after getting pregnant I knew I just couldn’t focus on them like I had wanted to, so I decided to check out.
Back in September of last year, I was playing around with the idea of a baby boutique. I have a beautiful baby boy that I love dressing up and shopping for. I used to be addicted to shopping for myself back in the day, and now I can’t remember the last time I bought something for me. It’s always for either my hubby, or the kiddos. I tend to shop for Gio often since he’s always outgrowing his clothes. I realize that to find cute baby boy clothing you have to really look. Sure there is the usual Babies R Us, H&M, Zara etc. And I shop there all the time. But so does every other mom. So if you want something unique for your child, you’ve got to search up and down on either Etsy, or Instagram shops. I used to do that whenever I nursed him and had spare time. So I thought about the possibility of opening an online store for children of both sexes, that would include unique clothing you don’t normally see in stores today.
My goal is to carry limited numbers of each piece to maintain the exclusive aspect of it. I’d rather a ton of models and designs in small quantities so that when parents shop for their kids, they won’t see everyone else wearing the same things. So this was back in September. I even thought of the name. I registered a domain and got a hold of all social media pages. I did a bit of research, although not much. This was right before I found out I was pregnant again. Then BAM! Pregnancy test confirmed I was indeed pregnant. So this took me by surprise. I stopped thinking of the boutique and started wondering about life with another baby around. I traveled with my husband to London and Albania. I spent time with family. And then in January, after I settled into this “I’m having another baby” mentality I got on the boutique idea once again. But this time I was definitely serious about it.
Ok enough blabbing…now let’s get to what you really want to read about! Where to begin if you want to start an online store? Like you, I searched online to see if someone had blogged about it. People have, but the information they provide is very general. I was looking for more detailed information. So then I went into books. I read a few and while some of them were useful, most were not really what I was looking for. So I’ll just give you the short version of everything I found and what I did for my own store.
1. BRAINSTORM!
First you have to just sit or lay around and think! Think about what you want to do. Think about your online business and which direction you want to go. Here are some questions to think about:
- Are you planning on doing this full time or in addition to another job you currently have?
- Are you going to hire help or is it going to be just you managing it all?
- What is your starting budget?
- What is your product? What do you want to sell?
- Do you have good networking skills? Are you involved socially with people can help you market and spread the word? Or do you need to start from scratch and learn about paid advertising?
- What is the age group of people you are going to sell to?
- Do you plan on creating an easy and fast setup kind of store or do you want to do a higher end, fully branded boutique?
Once you answer these questions, you will have an idea at least of where you are headed. In my case I picked children clothing because I am passionate about it. I am involved daily with it when it comes to my son’s wardrobe and I have an eye for style and fashion so that’s what drove me. I recommend finding a niche that isn’t so available or “common”. There are plenty of children boutiques, esp on Etsy and Instagram. So I understand that I have quite a bit of competition. But I also believe in providing something that is different from the rest. In my case, I plan on bringing designers from Europe that are not so easy to find in other parts of the world. Based on my research, a lot of the children clothing stores out there carry mainly Chinese products, which by the way are GREAT and very affordable. But my goal is to bring some of the other ones. Yes they will not be as affordable as the rest, but they will be unique; they will be different, and of amazing quality. So my choice is to cater to moms that value that. That’s it. I don’t plan on clothing every child out there. I just plan on making happy those few parents that do decide to dress their children the way I would dress mine.
Now in my case, I have dedicated a good amount of resources to be able to do this. To provide great quality means you have to spend the money for it. Not to mention all the costs included with traveling to find these brands, importing them, paying the duties and taxes on each, shipping etc. So before I chose to do this, I knew it was going to take a pretty penny. However, you do not need a big budget to get an online store started. You can start with pretty much anything, just know that it will limit some of the things you want to do. But that’s ok. It can be done! You may not be able to start with a large inventory for example, but maybe a smaller one. That’s ok! What’s important is that you are starting it! It will grow. Slowly but surely!


Egreis Gjergjani

Egreis Gjergjani - Maternity Pictures - Behind the scenes

It’s that time again! And hopefully the last time haha. As much as we love children, I think we will stop after this beautiful little boy. We will have a complete family of 7 then so it’s perfect for me.
Last time I did only one maternity shoot with Lori Dorman Photography in Los Angeles. I found them online, by searching up and down on the internet. We decided to fly there and get it done because I believed they were the best. And it turns out I was right! I was so so so happy with how everything turned out! If you missed it, I made a blog post a while ago about it and I posted all the pictures :) Check it out! (I will right after this just to take a walk down the memory lane even though it was only just a year and a half ago).
Egreis Gjergjani maternity
My First Pregnancy Shoot
This time, since it is going to be my last pregnancy (at least that’s the plan for now) I wanted to go all out. I go all out anyway, it’s just my nature. But I really wanted to make sure I felt happy and satisfied with it so that one day when I look back I have no regrets or wishful thinking. I’ve come to a point in life where I honestly just want to be happy. I chase happiness with all my might. And I push the same for my whole family. You only live once! DO IT! You want fancy photos when you’re pregnant? DO IT! Want to cut your hair short as heck? CHOP IT ALL OFF! Who cares if it’s not what people want or like? At the end of the day we honestly get just this one chance to experience life. And I want to live every moment of it. So yes I like going all out! I get crap for it all the time, but mainly by people I don’t even know exist. My family and friends understand and love it. If anything, my husband was just telling me the other day that one of the things he’s learned from me is to just let things go and enjoy life! That, and to be positive. I’m always telling him to look at the glass half full and never half empty. Anyways, my point is I had planned on doing an over the top shoot(s) for this last time!
Shot by Chris - behind the scenes at Lori Dorman
Shot by Chris – behind the scenes at Lori Dorman
Since I loved my pictures with Chris (the photographer that shot me at Lori Dorman Photography) I knew I definitely wanted to do it with them again. As you guys know, I chopped my hair off a week ago. I’ve never had a short hair cut like this before. Well…I have, but when I was 4, back in Albania, where parents literally take you to the neighbor who’s scissor happy and loves cutting hair like Dora the Explorer. FML. I was so traumatized with those pictures of me that I was convinced me with short hair is just a NO NO. But then I said….why not? I’ll give it a try! It’s just hair! If it doesn’t look good, oh well. It’ll grow out. So I’m glad I did it because I love it. It’s sooo easy to maintain. But my fear was that because I just cut it and am so not used to it (let alone the fact that there isn’t much styling you could do to it), my pictures were not going to look as cute as last time. Another fear I had (ok perhaps not really a “fear” but just something I was nervous about) was that this shoot would be too similar to the last. I loved my last shoot! I just wanted something just as beautiful but different. I didn’t want a repeat of last time. I expressed this to Lori and her team and she reassured me that would not be the case! They had different ideas for me this time around!

Egreis Gjergjani Maternity Egreis Gjergjani MaternityOur shoot was this past Thursday. Started at noon and ended at 5.30. Swear, by the time I was done, I couldn’t even smile anymore. My entire face was hurting hahahha. But we did it ALL! I was shot by 4 different photographers who each specialize in different kind of shots. They were so so so sweet and I felt so comfortable. My two boys were the only men in there. We had food for days which definitely helped my pregnant butt :) And we shot in literally every possible corner of the house and outside, in a total of 8-9 outfits. Some of them I had brought with me, but the rest were all part of Lori Dorman’s wardrobe. That makes it a huge plus when you shoot with someone. The headache of trying to find outfits is the worst! And this time I was definitely not as prepared as last time. I showed up with maybe 3 of my own dresses and that’s about it. Last time I came with a whole suitcase LOL. (i’m nuts i know).

Egreis Gjergjani Maternity

Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
I’m posting some pictures of behind the scenes. I keep seeing pictures Lori posts on her Instagram page every day and they’re just teasing me to death. I’m soooo impatient when it comes to pictures. I’m the friend that wants to see your phone the second you’re done taking a picture of us. And then I zoom in, check out filters, you name it. I’m annoying it’s basically what I’m trying to say. And Lori knows this all too well from last time so she’s been great at sending me shots here and there to calm my butt down!
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity

Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
The next day I had scheduled another maternity shoot, but this time with Von Jackson. He mainly works with models who are skinny, dope and just beautiful. I don’t know what I was thinking! I wanted a sexy/edgy/black and white type of shoot. I’ve done the vintage, angelic, soft colors type of pictures. But I wanted some of those cool black and white, serious face kind of shots. Just something to treasure in the future..you know..when you get old as hell and no one believes you were good looking LOL. This actually happens with my grandma all the time. She stays showing us pictures of her in her 20s. ahahhahaha well apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.


So this shoot….well, let’s just say I have a whole new respect for these models out there. It is WORK! I’m not used to this whole make sexy faces type of shoot. My friend Jasmine as well as my hubby and son were there too. Jasmine was trying to tell me how to arch my back, and do this, lift that, look this way. I was just dying on the inside. Do you know how much it hurts to arch your damn back for minutes at a time? Well, for me it was painful. I said screw it. Told the photographer just make the best of this lol cuz I’m not about to break a leg or hurt my back trying to look like I have a smaller waist and bigger butt. It is what it is! In the end, I think I will love them just the way they are!
So that’s it as far as shoots go. As much fun as I had, I can honestly say I was exhausted. I am so thankful for my husband who watched Gio the whole time and was such a great sport. He definitely loved the second shoot. It was kind of funny to watch him actually. I’m going to blow a few up for him (if they turn out the way I picture them in my head haha) and make him a collage/album for him to have.
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
The coolest part of the trip for me was the 4D ultrasound we had at Sweet Pea 4D BabyWe got to look at our baby in all different angles and I know most moms say this, but I swear he looked just like Gio did when we did his 3D ultrasound. The lips, the eyes, the nose…omg! Now watch him come out totally different hahahha. But I have the two pictures side by side in my room now and they look identical! This will be so cool to see when he does come out! The other super amazing thing we got to do, which I wish I knew about when I was pregnant with Gio, is record his heartbeat into a heart shaped little monitor which then gets inserted into a push plush toy and whenever you press it, it goes off and you can hear your baby’s heartbeat! Who comes up with these things?! But thank you for doing so! Cuz I absolutely LOVE IT! Gio was walking around and playing with it the entire time at the office. I got a video of him and his happy self!

I loved my entire experience with Sweet Pea 4D Baby! They were so nice! The office was super cozy and so perfectly decorated! I felt like I was inside a nursery. Matter of fact, I think I’m going to do one of the walls for Gio’s room all stripes like they had theirs. It looked great! They have a few different packages you could choose from and some of them include even a cute little onesie! I decided to get a gift card for $100 and let them award it to the randomly chosen one out of all people that book within a week from when I went there! So if you are in LA and you want to have a cool ultrasound experience and come home with a memory to treasure forever, check them out and maybe you’ll get $100 off :)
Egreis Gjergjani 4D UltrasoundI love visiting Los Angeles. I lived there for a while and have so many friends that still reside there. I would love to see them all but I can only stay for just a few short days. With a baby it’s just not easy anymore. Let alone this big ol’ belly of mine. We went to some of my favorite spots to eat like the Farmer’s Market (mainly the French Crepe spot), the Great Greek restaurant on Ventura, the Americana, etc. Gio had a fun night/playdate with his bff, Niko. He’s 6 months older than Gio, but they get along and understand each other so well! The craziest part of it was watching Gio reach out and give Niko hugs! He’s never ever done that! Jeremy and I were looking at each other all shocked! It was the most adorable thing ever!!!! They’ve hung out before, but they were both too young to understand what was going on. This time it was perfect.




Gio and Niko
I do miss LA weather! I mean where else are you going to find that kind of warm weather mid February?! It’s gorgeous! I took Gio to the Americana and watched him and daddy play all over the grass area. He had so much fun, it made my heart grow. Then we headed back home. And I can’t tell you how much I missed home. This always happens to me no matter where we travel to or for how long. Every time I step in the house I just feel so good! Nothing like home. We had a blast and we loved every minute of it! We accomplished what we wanted and we are happy to see those that we spent time with. But nothing beats being home! Gio is back to climbing up and down the couches and tearing all the drawers up, hubby is in his boxers making me grilled cheese sandwiches, and I’m bra-less! AMEN!
So that’s it for this trip. I think in total we took over 6000 pictures with Lori alone. Then Von, I think it was another 1000 or so….soooooo it’s going to take some time to go through all of these and pick and edit the best ones. But I will share them with you as soon as I get them! I left most of the dresses that I bought for the shoot with Lori so that other moms can use them if they want similar shoot like mine. The only one I did keep is the Michael Costello beige dress. One of my bonus daughters loves it so I plan on saving it for her. I will tag all the stores and designers I got my stuff from when I post the final pictures <3 I do want to say a big Thank You to Hayo, my make up artist and hair stylist for always making me feel pretty! You rock my love!
Here is a sneak peak of what’s to come (Lori sent me these today hehe):
Egreis Gjergjani MaternityEgreis Gjergjani MaternityEgreis Gjergjani MaternityEgreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani MaternityEgreis Gjergjani MaternityEgreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
Egreis Gjergjani Maternity
Love,
Egreis Gjergjani

Friday, October 3, 2014

Egreis Gjergjani Skin Routine - TheStilettoMeUp - StilettoMeUp

Tonight I’d like to share with you my daily skin routine and all the products I use.
IMG_4759I’ve been pretty lucky with my skin, I must admit. I never really went through the adolescent phase of breaking out everywhere. I had minimal breakouts on my forehead when I was in High School but nothing too bad. I never used any products then. It just went away on its own.
In college I had pretty good skin I’d say. My number one secret then was always washing my make off before going to bed. I know that’s so cliche but it truly works. I know what it’s like to come home late, after a long night out, and wanting to literally just throw your clothes on the floor and pass out. Been there, done that too. Trust! But just think about a healthy, radiant and glowy looking skin next time you want to hit the pillows with a face full of make up.
Now, don’t get me wrong, to this day I have some of those lazy nights. So I’m guilty too. But overall, I am pretty good about it. Plus, the feeling of waking up and feeling your face clean and soft, is amazingggg! I love it! So give it a try and see if your skin doesn’t get smoother just from that.
IMG_4767It is worth 2 minutes of your time. And if you are THAT lazy that you just can’t get yourself to do it, invest in some wipes that you can use to remove your make up. They don’t clean that thoroughly but it’s still much better than keeping it all on there. I use Laura Mercier “flawless skin” makeup remover. It is water based, oil free and it takes my make up off like magic, esp the eyes since I like using mascara and waterproof eyeliner. It’s seriously magic! It is a bit pricey, so as an alternative choice I’d recommend finding anything that is water based. It’s much easier on your skin, and overall better for you. Also, it doesn’t leave that greasy, oily feeling on your skin.
A few years ago I stopped using the nuva ring (birth control). I had used it for a few months I think and I didn’t like the way it was making me feel. So I got off it. Within a month my face broke out in tinyyyy little bumps on my forehead and my jaw line. WTH?! It was soooo bad I didn’t know what to do. My hormones eventually leveled out and my body got used to not taking the birth control as a daily intake. Thankfully, they went away and no scars were left behind. Well, a few did but they are very tiny and you  can’t see them. Stilesson of the day is be careful and consult your doctor before you use any kind of birth control.
Ok now on to the good stuff….how I take care of my skin day to day!
In the morning, I like to take a small face towel and soak it in hot water. Then I wipe my face with the towel and just leave it on a bit. The heat from the towel helps my pores open up. It also helps me wake up nicely, without having to splash my face with a lot of water first thing in the morning.
Next step, I wash my face with Laura Mercier “flawless skin” One Step Cleanser- Oil free foaming. It’s amazing! It feels like soft bubbles on your fingertips and it goes on your skin so smoothly. It is a great cleanser and it foams up well without being too harsh on your skin. I only need to use it once, two pumps, and that’s all I need for my entire face. As an alternative I also use Dove soap or any beauty soap. Some say it’s too harsh for your skin and don’t recommend it but honestly I haven’t had any damage or negative side effects from it. I like a good, deep cleanse and it gives me just that.
After I rinse, I then use two drops of Laura Mercier “flawless skin” One Step Cleanser, which is similar to the foaming one, but this one doesn’t lather. It is silky smooth and I use it as a last step to make sure I clean all the dirt, oil, black heads, white heads, whatever the heck is on there. Because it doesn’t bubble up it’s very easy on the eyes and it doesn’t burn. That’s my pet peeve. I hate foam in my eyes and how red they look after. So this is perfect to prevent that.
IMG_4763I wipe it all off using my hot face towel again. Then I apply my day time moisturizer. Depends on which one I am feeling like using at the time. But it’s between Laura Mercier “flawless skin” day lotion SPF 15 or Estee Lauder “Nutritious” day creme. The first one is much lighter on, and it’s perfect to even mix with your foundation. The Estee Lauder however is a bit thicker, hence a creme, but it is very rich in vitamins and whenever I use it I can feel the difference a few hours later. I don’t like to wear it if I’m going to wear make up and run around for a while or all day. But if you are at home on the weekends, or just relaxing some days, it’s a great creme for your face.
IMG_4764At night is when I usually take my shower. I repeat same steps as above as far as the makeup remover and both cleansers go. Night time is when your skin replenishes and regenerates itself. It’s very important that you put a great creme on that your skin will soak the entire night. It’s repair time! You have at least 6 hours to let your skin not only breathe but improve. Use it as best as you can! I like to first apply Estee Lauder “Advanced Night Repair” which is a serum used right before your moisturizer. It prepares and repairs the skin before the creme goes on. You only need two drops of it, rub it all over, and then apply the creme.
IMG_4611For the creme, I use Estee Lauder “Nutritious” Night creme. Looks exactly like the day one, but it’s for night. You can tell when you use it that it’s a lot richer and thicker and it’s made to basically let it sink in your skin overnight.
And to finish it all off, I like to use Smith’s Strawberry lip balm before I head to bed. It makes my lips really soft and I love how they feel when I first wake up (I get chapped lips a lot).
So that’s my daily routine! If you do try it, please keep in mind that you need to keep the same routine for at least 4-6 weeks if you want to see a change and fully evaluate.
Remember, always wash your make up off!
Egreis Gjergjani


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Recent pictures of Egreis Gjergjani












xo,
Egreis Gjergjani

Egreis Gjergjani - Closet Cleaning - Free Giveaway to Instagram fans

A few weeks ago I was in my closet and I realized I had entirely too much in there. A lot of the clothes I had not worn in ages; some of them no longer fit (either too small or too big); and honestly there was little room to add anything new.
After having Gio, I don’t get a chance to get dressed up as much as I used to when I lived in LA and went to work daily. I don’t go out at night much other than every now and then with my husband or our friends, and the only other chances I get to get dressed is when we travel, which I have to admit is quite often. So I started thinking…why am I holding on to all of this? I had dresses that were “hoochie” lol from my single days; some outfits that as lovely as they would look on a young, beautiful girl, they just wouldn’t really suit me right now. So I decided to give it away.
In the past, I have given away things I own to Goodwill. It was easy. I just put it all in a bag, drive to the spot and drop it off. No need to do any work. But this time, I knew that it would mean a lot more if I sent it to women that would not only love it, but it would be completely free and the size would fit perfectly.
So I posted something on my instagram page and got a huge response. I decided to pick 16 people at first, and then ended up sending an extra 5 packages to a few more people. (I normally don’t give shoes up because I’m a big collector, but this time I gave away 24 pairs, 2 of which were Christian Louboutin, some Sergio Rossi, Casadei and lower end designers as well).
I have to say that it feels AMAZING to be able to do this. You don’t have to have a lot to be able to make someone else’s day. The smallest thing can sometimes mean the world to someone else. So I recommend you try it. It will honestly make you feel amazing. Giving is for you, not for the ones on the receiving end.
Thank you to the amazing ladies who sent me pictures of wearing the items as well as the thank you notes I received. I truly appreciate it!
Egreis Gjergjani

Monday, July 21, 2014

Egreis Gjergjani - Gio's nursery - pictures and details

I posted pictures of Gio’s nursery a few months ago and I got great feedback on it. I am glad because I put so much effort into it so it’s nice to see others liking it as well. A few people felt it was a bit “boring” or not as “exciting or colorful” but in my opinion, and we are all different, a baby’s nursery should be calm and peaceful.
Egreis and Gio
Yes, it’s important to stimulate their brain with different colors, objects, fabrics, etc, but that’s what toys are for; that’s why you read them books, and buy them all kinds of toys they end up not even using but going for your pots instead. A room on the other hand is a place for them to feel peaceful, calm, relaxed. So in my opinion, Gio’s room is exactly what I wanted for him and he seems to love it there.
Sure I have set up a section for him to play in there. I throw a bunch of colorful toys on the floor and he loves to grab them and play right before bed time. His bathroom is also a very colorful one, full of exciting toys and pictures on the wall.
Gio and Grandma
So let me give you a run down of everything that is in his room and where I purchased it:
All of Gio’s furniture in his nursery is from Restoration Hardware. That includes the crib, the armoire, the gliding chair, the dresser with the changing table top, the bookcase, the floor lamp, the thin bookshelf up against the wall, the mirror, picture frames, curtains and rug. Basically every single thing I got is from that store. I even got his bedding from there as well.
Gio
His crib mattress is from BeautyRest which I purchased at Toys R Us. They are on sale now!
One of the questions I get asked the most is about the wallpaper. I picked it from Sherwin Williams. The code of the wallpaper is SW1AC8002. It has a pearl finish to it so when the light hits it, it has a shiny look. I LOVE it. I wish I could keep it forever but once he gets older i will have to redesign it all to fit his taste. But for now he will have to deal with mommy’s taste haha.
Gio
Both royal crowns are from Restoration Hardware as well. They look extremely heavy but they are not. Well, the one that goes over his crib is not heavy at all. The other one is. I placed the heavy one over his armoire. We do not live near earthquakes, although they can happen everywhere, and I had it professionally installed. Once he is active enough to move around his crib, I will most likely take the crib curtains off so he doesn’t pull on them.
GIo's nursery
The picture frames are all from Restoration Hardware as well. The antique looking white ones were a must for me. They just add character to the entire room. The smaller pewter ones that go on each side of the crib also add a lot of style to it however if I could do it again I would buy them elsewhere as they were way too pricey from Restoration Hardware. I don’t know why I did it. But if you are planning to design a nursery soon trust me and go somewhere else. You will save at least $300.
Daddy and Gio
Same thing goes for the rug as well. I should have gotten it elsewhere. I wouldn’t have found the exact print as the one I got, but I would have saved a lot. I think I was in a rush to finish it all because I felt badly that at the other house we had, we didn’t build a nursery for him since we knew we were going to move shortly after he was born. Once we moved I wanted to hurry and finish the room for him. It was in fact the first room we finished. His brother’s was the second, then the kiddos. My hubby and I actually slept on a mattress on the floor for a while until our master bedroom furniture finally got delivered.
Gio's nursery
The elephant floor pillow as well as the lamb chair were both from Restoration Hardware too. Poshtots had some great ones as well but they just went out of business. But I would say to keep looking on amazon and other places because they have so many out now.
gio nursery
The pictures I’m posting here are from when I was putting the room together at first. So you will notice the bathroom looks empty and in some of the pictures, the photos are missing from the picture frames. I have since fixed that :)
GIo's tent
I ended up ordering a Tee Pee for Gio to use whenever it’s play time. I don’t think he has a clue how to use or what it’s for, but I just love the look of it. We ordered ours from Tiny Teepee on Instagram. Check her profile here. She custom made this one with Gio’s name on it. I even got to pick the material, pattern, color, size, etc. Courtney was AMAZING to work with so I highly recommend her. I loved ours so much I ordered a second one for my bonus son who’s 9 years old.
Gio and grandma
The theme for this room was a royal one. At least that’s what I was shooting for. I really like the way it turned out. For my next baby, hopefully I am blessed enough to have another one, I want to do something different but still try to incorporate the same furniture so I don’t waste these. It’s an investment in my opinion which is why we decided to go for really high quality furniture.
If you want to see what Gio’s bathroom looks like, check out Egreis Gjergjani Baby Bathroom Essentials.
Hope this helps,
Egreis Gjergjani