Little Sits

Your littles can sit pretty in Little Sits chairs! Dallas-based company Little Sits crafts custom, heirloom chairs for children, designed to be passed down through the generations. Founded just this past June by experienced interior designers Muffin Lemak and Susan Palma (also known as The Design Girls), Little Sits is a brand WHERE THE GENERATIONS MEET™ for Lolli and me (and Liza, too!). Muffin and Susan were kind enough to share with us about why they started Little Sits and to give us the details on how to order a chair, perfect as a Christmas gift from Grandma, or to complete your children’s rooms or downstairs décor! Read on to learn more about these special chairs for boys and girls (and even pets!):

Photo via Little Sits

How did Little Sits begin? How did you two meet, and how did you come up with the idea?

We’ve been decorators forever in Dallas; we’re known as the Design Girls. We’ve worked together for 22 years, everyday, so we’re really more like sisters now.

People kept coming up to us and they wanted something special to give as a gift, something that would last longer than clothing. And they were also saying, “We don’t want Little Tykes chairs in our living room.” So, we came up with Little Sits. These are Louis XVI chairs and something you would be proud to have in your living room. The chairs are heirloom, and can be handed down throughout the generations.

What types of chairs do you offer?

We offer a chair with arms, and we have a new chair that’s coming out that’s armless that we’re calling “the cocktail chair,” because so many of our friends have them in their living rooms.

The chairs are made in Italy and then we upholster them and paint them here. The options are gold, off-white, and natural. Of course, we can do anything, but those are our basic colors that we list on the website.

We’ll customize the chairs however you want. Our classic chair that we offer is in check or stripe with a monogram, and leopard is another option. Everything else is custom. And we can use whatever fabric you want.

On every chair we put a plaque with the child’s name and their birthdate engraved (but you can put anything on the plaque!).

Photos via Little Sits

Who is a perfect giver / recipient for a Little Sits chair?

Our main customers are grandparents. But grandparents, godparents…You can put anything on the plaque! Girls will have baby showers and give a chair as a group gift.

The other thing we can do that’s so darling is grandparent chairs, with the grandparents’ monogram on the back in a big giant monogram. And on the grandparent chair we have engraved plaques on the bottom with all the grandchildren’s names and their birthdays, so it makes it kind of like a charm bracelet. That’s been really well received. Then, a grandparent wouldn’t need eight chairs in their living room for each child, but they could have one chair with plaques on it of all their grandkids.

We’re also doing chairs for people’s pets – we just sent two away for people’s pets! And we made one with a plaque for Princess Charlotte. That’s a little wishful thinking!

How did you choose your chair maker in Italy?

We researched all over. We looked for chairs in China, Indonesia, all these different places, but they were all so shoddily made, that we decide on this one in Italy. It is a little bit more expensive, but in our eyes, makes way more sense because they’re so sturdy. Our husbands can even sit in them. They’re really, really, really sturdy – like you can throw them down the steps.

Photos via Little Sits

Tell us about your fabric options!

We offer checked or striped fabrics with a monogram, as well as a leopard fabric option. Right now we’re also doing Scalamandré Tiger Velvet on some of the chairs. Everything else is custom.

All the fabrics are treated with stain treatment and all kinds of things like that so it’s pretty impervious to kids.

What have you learned starting this business?

When we started, we thought, “Oh, we’ll just go online.” But we couldn’t really go online until we refined our products. And the other thing we thought was, “Oh, we can just go get fabrics,” but it’s not that easy. We had a hard time finding the colors we like. So, we had to go through talking to a lot of different fabric manufacturers, and had them coming to us, until we could find the perfect fabrics that would look darling on children’s chairs.

And also, as we got initial orders, we didn’t realize that “Oh, we have to send these to people too!” We discovered all these details that we didn’t foresee, but now we’ve got it refined, and we’re ready to go.

Photo via Little Sits

What is something unexpected that you’ve learned along the way?

We launched in Dallas at Stanley Korshak, and we had too many choices. We had about 40 chairs made in all these great fabrics, like Scalamandré and Quadrille, but only one check and one stripe. Well that’s what the customers wanted. They didn’t want any of the ones that were ready-made. Everyone wanted them custom. So when we start the website it’s going to be check, stripe, in every color, with the monogram. And that’s the way we’re going.

What styles do you each individually bring to the team?

Muffin is a fashionista, a trendsetter. If she wears something to the design center, the next day everyone is wearing it. I (Susan) am more classic. I keep us from doing everything in leopard, and Muffin keeps us from doing everything in neutrals.

Photo via Little Sits

How do you order a chair and how long does it take to arrive?

Chairs take 4-5 weeks to arrive. You can order a chair by visiting a Little Sits pop-up or emailing [email protected]. You cannot currently order through the website.

What else do you want people to know about Little Sits?

The details on this are the same as an armchair in somebody’s living room. It’s the same amount of work and the same amount of expertise to make it as anything else in the living room. So it’s truly an heirloom piece. And that’s been really good because people really want something that they can keep in the family.

You can find Little Sits on Instagram @littlesits. To order a chair, email Muffin and Susan directly at [email protected].

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