Our Story

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They are only kids once, let them dress like it. 

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To say that I was born to be in the fashion and design world is an understatement. It is in my blood, my DNA, my soul. It is as much who I am as what I do… and it is that part of me that is my pride, pleasure, and passion to share with the world. Let me explain…

Fashion has been a part of my life long before I even knew what fashion was. As young as I can remember, dressing up in my mom’s clothes was more fun than wearing mine. Fashion magazines were my comic books and clothes were my crayons. Brands interested me, trends intrigued me, and vintage fascinated me.

Fortunately, my family understood this obsession as they, too, were connected to fashion in one way or another. My grandmother was a talented dressmaker and passed those skills to my mom. They both had the gift of being able to see a dress in their heads, then make it. When she was a teenager, my mom was already making her own clothes so she could wear exactly what she wanted. In my youth, she would take me to the fabric stores so I could look through pattern books and fabrics. I loved when she would make us matching skirts for the holidays, and even then, I dreamed of someday making dresses of my own designs.

Clothing wasn’t just their passion as it was becoming mine; it was their livelihood. Before I was born, both of my parents were department store buyers. My mom had to leave when they got married, but aesthetics remained a part of her and when I was six, she started earning an additional degree in interior design at UCLA. I still remember her commuting across the city for four years and staying up late to finish projects. They seemed so hard, but she was so good at them. When I was ten, she graduated and started working for another designer, but eventually opened her own design firm.

Around the time I was born, my dad turned down a promotion that would have moved us to New York, and instead became a partner in a clothing manufacturing business. The factory was on the 1^st floor of the FW Braun Building in downtown Los Angeles, and most of their line was sewn there. The whole process fascinated me. The 2^nd floor was the design room, filled with huge tables, countless bolts of fabrics, and tons of trims, and that was my favorite place to help out. It was there I learned to sew on a button… and I was forever hooked. The offices were on six, but I was happy to stay on two and run errands, especially when my dad would buy me a candy bar at the little shop in the lobby.

When time came for college, my dad would not allow me to attend a fashion school, despite his knowing it was my passion. He insisted I attend a traditional school and obtain the business education he never had. I agreed and chose Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. I felt I needed experiences outside of Los Angeles, and the education and life lessons I enjoyed there were unforgettable, nonetheless I could not wait to get back to LA after graduation.

Upon my return to the west coast, I went to work for the family clothing business. My first role was in production, then order processing, then design meetings with our largest accounts. This variety afforded me exposure to all sides of the business. The work was not always exciting, but it was an invaluable opportunity to learn all sides of the clothing business and to this day I am grateful for that on-the-job training. Eventually I moved to design and stayed there for a few years while my husband built his startup technology business, but much of what I know of the behind-the-scenes side of the clothing business today stems from what I learned then.

I loved the business and enjoyed what I was doing, but it wasn’t enough. It was time to pursue my own dreams, so I went to my dad with an idea and he encouraged me to run with it. I wanted to make luxury baby blankets. I know, that would have been your first guess… right? I’d never done kids designs, never made blankets or sweaters, and never imported anything in my life, but I saw an opportunity. When I was pregnant, I had struggled to find nursery bedding that suited me. What I wanted, specifically high-end, Cashmere, super comfortable and well-made, just didn’t seem to exist, so I decided to make it. All around me (Los Angeles, remember), celebrities were having babies, so I knew there was a market for what I had in mind.

I began to design and manufacture 100% Cashmere baby blankets. My company, Lucky Jade, is named after my daughter, Cameron Jade. She is now nearly 18 and as she has grown up, so has the company named for her. We have grown from blankets to entire collection lines, expanded from coveralls to dresses to hats, broadened from just for babies to include girls, and more growth is planned. I went from being scared to make my first garment to confident in my fashion future when my clothes appeared on the cover of People magazine on Brad Pitt’s first baby, and I received a personal thank you note from Courteney Cox, the first big celebrity mom.

Our lotus flower logo was inspired by a jade necklace I received as my first Mother’s Day present, and the name itself was intentionally not a “children’s” name because I always knew that my company would be more than just children’s. Every day, I get out of bed loving what I do. The process of creating something in my head then seeing it become reality… just like my grandmother and my mom used to do… is invigorating and empowering. The process of making something come to life makes me immensely proud, and extremely happy.

Personally, my happiness is in my home - my husband and my family. I’m always decorating and rearranging things… surrounding myself with things I love. Things that matter. It isn’t about cost, origin or value. What matters is what has meaning.

Professionally, Lucky Jade is my “other” child. It is the opportunity to do what I love, what I’m good at, what I was born to do… and share it with the world. To continually bring you my version of fashion, comfort, quality, style, and warmth. Clothing for babies and kids that will make moms happy too. With more to come.

So, I invite moms everywhere to share this journey. Subscribe to our newsletter and join the Lucky Jade family. I can’t wait to see where we go next. Can you?

 

Leslie Pitts
Designer/Founder