Emily Litteral, Founder of Dandillie Offering Artist-Designed Organic Children’s Sleepwear for Babies and Young Children
By Jules Lavallee
dandillie is an art-led children’s brand that transforms original artwork by independent artists into thoughtfully made children’s sleepwear and nursery pieces. Each collection begins with real artwork, and the artist remains part of the story all the way through the finished product. Their name is sewn into the neck tag of every garment featuring their work, creating a permanent connection between the artist, the piece, and the family who brings it home.
The brand was created around the idea that some of childhood’s most worn, photographed, and eventually saved pieces should feel meaningful. dandillie focuses on small-batch production, certified organic cotton, thoughtful construction, and designs intended to feel special enough to keep rather than simply outgrow and replace. The brand is also intentionally committed to working with real artists and celebrating the human process behind their work, an idea that has become increasingly important as AI-generated imagery and mass-produced design become more common.
Behind dandillie is Emily, a mom of two and part of a military family. Building the company has happened alongside motherhood, moves, and the realities of running a small business, including a recent relocation from Virginia to the Austin, Texas area. Much of the brand has grown through direct relationships with artists, customers, boutiques, and local communities rather than following a traditional fashion path.
Today, dandillie offers artist-designed organic children’s sleepwear for babies and young children, along with nursery wall art and a growing collection of creative children’s products. At its core, the brand is about preserving the individuality of the artist, making everyday childhood pieces feel more meaningful, and creating products that families may one day associate with a particular season of their child’s life.
“Dandillie was created from a simple belief: the things that surround our children should be as thoughtful as the love that surrounds them.” Tell us about your art-led children’s brand. Why was working with artists so important to you?
When we first started looking at manufacturers and the prints that were being mass produced, nothing felt particularly special. So much of children’s clothing seemed to follow the same formula: take whatever is trending, put it on a garment, move on to the next thing. And now, of course, it’s easier than ever to prompt AI and create something instantly. There just didn’t seem to be much intention or time behind a lot of it.
I remember another moment when I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a photo of two babies wearing the exact same sleeper my daughter had. They were adorable, but I remember thinking, we could make this so much more personal.
Especially when you think about how much of early childhood is spent in pajamas. These are the clothes they sleep in, wake up in, cuddle in, eat breakfast in, and run around the house in. So much of your camera roll ends up being filled with those ordinary little moments. Why not put them in something that feels special and unique?
That became a big part of what dandillie is. We collaborate with independent artists and take artwork that began as an actual painting, drawing, cyanotype, or other handmade medium and turn it into something children can wear. We even sew the artist’s name into the neck tag of every garment featuring their work. I wanted there to be a person and a story behind the print, and for parents to know where the artwork surrounding their children actually came from.
Tell us about your artists. What values do you look for? Who are you working with?
The manual process is really important to us. I love seeing the artist’s hand in the work, whether that is watercolor, painting, cyanotype, illustration, or another interesting medium. We are always drawn to artwork that feels distinctive and has a point of view rather than something created simply because a certain motif happens to be trending.
We’ve had the opportunity to work with artists from different places and backgrounds, including Jen Sweeney, Madeline Kerrii, Jen Brandon, Jenny Kiker of Living Pattern, Julia Whitney Barnes, Anna Iwin, Eliza of The Beau Studio, and several other incredibly talented creatives.
Working with artists is honestly one of my favorite parts of the business. There is something really special about seeing a piece of artwork in its original form and then watching it become a garment that a child will sleep, play, travel, and grow in. It gives the finished product so much more meaning.
What challenges have you faced while building a successful brand?
There are definitely a lot of moving pieces when you’re building a physical-product brand, especially one where you care deeply about how things are made. Manufacturing timelines, fabric, fit, testing, inventory, freight, and quality control all have to come together before a product ever reaches a customer.
We’re also self-funded, which has made us very intentional about growth. Rather than constantly launching something new just for the sake of keeping up, we look at where the business is, what revenue we’ve generated, and what the right next step is before moving into another collection or product. Sometimes that means growing more slowly, but I think it has helped us stay thoughtful about the decisions we make and avoid creating products simply to fill a calendar.
And personally, I’ve been building dandillie while raising two young children and navigating military life and moves. We recently relocated to the Austin area, so there have certainly been seasons where business and life have both been changing at the same time. I think you learn pretty quickly how to adapt while still keeping sight of what you want the brand to become.
Take us through your sleepwear.
Our sleepwear is really the heart of the brand, and sales are fairly distributed across our artwork rather than having one print that completely dominates. I actually love that because everyone seems to connect with something different.
We currently offer sleepers for babies and two-piece sleepwear sets for toddlers and young children. They’re made from 100% certified organic cotton, which is soft and lightweight while still feeling substantial and well made. Our sleepers include details like a two-way zipper, convertible footies, fold-over mittens, and flat-lock seams.
We intentionally use organic cotton rather than synthetic fabrics or bamboo rayon. I wanted the layer closest to a child’s skin to be a natural fiber, and I also wanted something comfortable enough to wear throughout the year rather than sleepwear that only makes sense during one season.
Our pajamas are long-sleeved but lightweight enough to be worn throughout the year. We consider ourselves a slow-fashion brand, so creating a product that has to be designed, manufactured, marketed, and sold within a very short seasonal window doesn’t really fit the way we want to operate.
We would rather take our time overseeing the manufacturing process and create pieces families can keep reaching for beyond one holiday or one month of the year.
That said, we are absolutely gearing up for the holidays. For us, that looks more like making sure our inventory, displays, gifting options, and in-person events are really strong. We have lots of events coming up around the Austin area, and we’ll be sharing all of those dates on our Instagram.
What is your vision for your company in the next six months?
The next six months are really about continuing to grow dandillie thoughtfully without losing the things that make it special.
I want to continue building relationships with independent artists and introducing their work to more families, while also being thoughtful about where and how we expand the product line. We’re exploring products beyond sleepwear that still make sense within the dandillie world and give us another way to celebrate creativity and childhood.
We’re also focusing on growing our wholesale presence and getting dandillie into more independent boutiques, while continuing to build our local community here in the Austin area through markets and events.
More than anything, I want the growth to feel sustainable. We’re self-funded, so I don’t feel pressure to constantly chase the next launch or manufacture something simply because the calendar says we should. I’d rather build slowly, work with artists we truly believe in, oversee the details, and create products that feel worthy of being kept long after a child has outgrown them.
