I’m a working dad who’s helping Kerri and Lucas, the Twinklestar owners, to manage some of Twinklestar’s online presence.  I figured I’d start out by sharing some of my initial impressions of Kerri, the Mompreneur behind TwinkleStar, and Lucas, her partner in TS management and marriage.

Why Twinklestar?  My wife originally told me about this place.  Warm, inviting, and absolutely “fabulous” clothes and shoes for babies.  I’m not much of a fashionista, so I have to admit I put off visiting for a little while.  And though I still couldn’t tell you much about the fashions, when I finally did stop in (Twinkle Star is right around the corner from our house in Porter Square)  I’ll admit I did get a good vibe.  The feeling is bright but somehow mellow.  I think that feeling is reflected in the owners – both Lucas and Kerri are intense, focused, and passionate about their store.  Yet they are at the same time relaxed – somehow they get it.  For all of the prep work that goes into getting a store up and running, and all of the time that it takes to keep it running smoothly, they seem to still never forget that customers come first.  Each and every customer that comes in is greeted personally.  Not in a coldly efficient, “Hello and welcome to Twinklestar!” way, but rather in a way that genuinely suits each visitor.

Speaking of prep work, the single most amazing thing I’ve learned since I began working with Lucas and Kerri was that they opened this store the same week that their daughter Ella (3^rd of 3) was born.   I can relate, and yet somehow can’t believe that they pulled this off.  My own 2^nd child was born the same month, and my wife and I struggled to run a household with an 8 year old and a new born.  Yet here are Kerri and Lucas, not only running a house with 3 kids, but also OPENING A STORE, and working, themselves, 12 hour days 7 days a week to keep it running.  How do they do it?  I have no idea. But somehow they do.  Everytime I walk in, there they are.  Lucas downstairs printing up invoices.  Kerri behind the counter.  Or Lucas behind the counter, and Kerri by the rack of outerwear helping a  customer.  And Ella either in Kerri’s arms, Lucas’s arms, in the exersaucer, or asleep in her omnipresent micralite stroller.  They are sometimes a little frazzled to be sure, but never overwhelmed.  They keep talking about some hired help who will be starting soon, but I’ve yet to see anyone but them in there.

So they’ve clearly got the passion to succeed.  And their Facebook fans (350 and counting) and twitter followers (100 and counting) seem to be pulling for their success.  But is managing an online presence, running a weekly sing along, opening a store, staffing it 12 hours a day 7 days a week enough?  No.  Kerri’s new project is a Grand Opening / Spring Fling (she sheepishly admit that they didn’t have one the week that Ella was born – as if we could blame her).   We’ll be planning over the next few weeks for that, with hope of having something for Twinklestar customer^{s in April}.  Stay tuned, we’ve got some “celebrity” visits and giveaways planned for our Spring Fling, and we’ll be Tweeting, Facebooking and blogging the news soon.