Can you imagine what your little girl might look like as an adult?
I might be able to help!
The reason why the fashion keepsake with custom illustration is my best seller is not very shocking. It’s a pretty awesome, elegant piece of art.
The very first Pokidots keepsakes were the fashion keepsakes with custom illustrations, and almost 7 years later, they are still going strong.
In fact, the fashion keepsakes with custom illustrations are the best-sellers out of all the custom keepsakes, followed by the fashion keepsakes without custom illustration (but still, highly personalized with several girls to start from and custom skin and hair colors!)
Emilia’s custom keepsake inspired by photos of her, made with her fun winter coat. Click for more.
Chloe’s keepsake, inspired by her photos as a toddler, made with her fancy Chinese new year dress.
Let me rewind a few years for a minute: if you've hung out enough in the Pokidots sphere, you may know that this wonderful small business started back in 2016 when I created my daughters' keepsakes, now my two favorite pieces of art! I was putting away their outgrown clothes—and you should know, I'm very Marie Kondo when it comes to getting rid of stuff—but some clothes had a strong pull, I just couldn't get myself to put them in the "Donate" box!
During that time, in my side illustration world, I had been creating fashion illustrations and dressing them up with real fabric clothes, using beautiful lace and silk fabrics I had…
And then there was a spark in my brain ✨
“Of course! I should use these most special clothes to dress my illustrations, and wait—even better: Draw my girls like I imagine them as grown-ups!” I started drawing immediately (I was still working a corporate job then, and took the afternoon off that day!) and emotions were high while I was working on these. They turned out beautiful, and, more than 6 years later, I can say that my growing daughters still might look like their dreamed-up, grown-up drawings. I love this so much. It's like the past and the future connected in one piece of art.
Fast-forward to 2023, and dozens of custom illustrations later, and I'm proud to report that I've only received amazing positive feedback on these custom drawings. Somehow, they turn out to be exactly like what parents imagine their daughters to look like, and in a couple of instances, I heard comments that the drawings look like the girl's mom or dad, whom I had never seen! This gives me chills, considering that I only get inspired from photos of the girl in question.
What a beautiful (and specific!) gift it is to not only imagine how a little girl might look like when she grows up, but to also be able to draw her. The oldest girl I've drawn so far is now 10 and is actually looking more and more like her drawing! (I am definitely checking with my other clients in 10 years or so :)
The keepsakes that are made with outgrown clothes are all super special and there's always a rush of emotions when they are unwrapped. However, the custom-drawn girls awaken a deeper level of feelings: the bittersweet reminder that our little girls are growing and one day they will be independent and possibly far from us.
And extra heart flutters if the illustration ends up looking like one of the parents. Can an art piece ever be more precious?
Parents love seeing a future glimpse of their littles, even if it’s a drawing, and totally imagined.
On this keepsake (as well as the non-custom-illustration fashion keepsake), the clothing item used is still clothing on the final piece, and that gives the feeling that the recipient is still wearing her outfit.
The higher level of personalization on this keepsake gives it an extra layer of intimacy.
Sawyer’s keepsake made with her 2nd birthday outfit, and capturing her beautiful hair.
One of Madeline-Elle’s keepsakes, with custom illustration inspired by her.
Other reasons to absolutely love and unquestionably want this keepsake overlap with reasons why we love and unquestionably want all the other custom keepsake styles:
It’s a gorgeous, timeless piece of art that will be cherished for generations. Just imagine having a keepsake like this, but made with clothes your grandma wore, or a member of your family whom you love. Wouldn’t it be such a treasure?
What better way is there to use the precious clothes you keep, and enjoy them like this?
Being mindful with the art you are putting in your environment contributes to your well-being, whether you are aware of it or not!
And last but not least, I am really good at what I do and all the custom keepsakes are exquisite ;)
As a final thought, the fashion keepsake with custom illustration may be my favorite piece to make, and perhaps that’s why it ended up being the most popular, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love making all of the keepsakes SO MUCH—in fact, each and every one I ever created is my favorite one, because if it’s not, then it wouldn’t pass the QC test to be sent to my precious customer. That’s how much I love what I do.
Does it show? :)
Charlotte’s keepsake was created in honor of her great aunt, a heart-stopping, famous ballerina. Click for more.
Aurelie’s keepsake made with her favorite toddler dress and inspired by photos of her.
Before I end this praise about the custom fashion keepsakes, I wanted to mention that, of course, the custom illustration doesn’t have to be inspired from a little girl and imagined as a grown-up! The girl in question can be adult, and her illustration would be a portrait illustration. I love making these just as much and I have worked with incredibly creative people to create keepsakes tailored to their stories and memories.
The bridal keepsakes are also a branch of the fashion keepsakes with even more personalization as the dress on the keepsake is also inspired by the wedding dress of which I am using a piece. So many possibilities, and so much joy spread with these fabulous pieces.
Jocelyn’s keepsake (and her mom’s) inspired by photos of them, made with a raincoat they both wore. Click for more.
Rana’s keepsakes honoring her late mom. Illustrations were inspired by photos of her mom and made with her blouse and scarf. Click for more.
If you’re eyeing one of those, don’t wait. The sooner you get it, the sooner you start to enjoy and cherish it.
