Welcome to our series spotlighting our Featured Vendors from our Vendor Guide. The guide includes carefully curated vendors from the baby and children’s industry in design, retail, special services and much more.
Give Wink is more than a store—it’s also a concept. It’s a fun and modern alternative to big box children’s stores that offers a variety of furniture, bedding, accessories, baby gear and personalized gifts. Every product is hand-selected by Francine Delarosa, a mother of four and the “mompreneur” behind this upscale boutique. She understands the challenges that families face today and makes sure that the items in Give Wink’s inventory will meet their unique needs.
Do you have a signature product or service?
Give Wink has a number of services that stretch beyond the typical services offered by high-end boutiques. Our staff is comprised of designers and experts in the juvenile industry that can outfit a nursery from top to bottom. Our free design services includes space planning; we offer white glove delivery and in-home setup; we design and manufacture custom furniture and bedding; and our job is to make it fun and easy for our clients. For those customers who want a wow factor, we can also personalize almost any item in the store at no additional cost and turn it around almost immediately.
With Miami being the gateway to the Americas, we have partnered with translators from many countries to make shopping easier for our international clients. Give Wink is also able to provide those customers with international shipping services so the items they buy arrive directly to their homes.
Finally, one of our most unique services is “The Secret Service.” For those families who do not wish to know if they are having a boy or a girl until the baby is born, they can authorize their doctors to send us a letter with the gender of their baby. The clients come into the store and make two complete selections, one for a boy and one for a girl. Their purchase is prepared, delivered and set up while they are at the hospital. The family comes home to the nursery of their dreams without having to wait until the baby is born to complete the space.
What about Give Wink makes you most proud?
There are lots of things to be proud of and to be grateful for. It hasn’t been without scrapes and bruises, but we have come a long way. Give Wink has become a household name in the Miami area, with nine employees and two (almost three) locations. I am honored and proud that expecting families come to Give Wink, even from South America, and entrust us with the design of their nurseries. When customers say, “Francine, do whatever you think…we trust you,” I know our hard work has paid off. Our customer service is our biggest advantage—clients know we go out of our way for them. We make them feel important and find solutions that meet their needs. At the end of the day, if I made a difference, if I made someone’s day better, I know it was a good day.
Where do you find your inspiration?
I find inspiration from other working moms who are juggling work and home and trying to do both successfully.
What advice do you have for parents when curating their nursery? Any nursery must-haves?
Take a step back and think short term as well as long term. For example, purchase gender-neutral furniture so if and when baby #2 comes along and is the opposite gender, you are not stuck with a hot pink crib for your son. Add color to your nursery with smaller, less expensive and easier to replace accessories such as the pillows, lamp and rug.
Gather as much information and inspiration as you can from different sources. Create an image library of items that are appealing to you so that you have a starting point when you’re ready to shop. Otherwise, it can become overwhelming. Ask family and friends who have been through this before for their opinions on different products that they own. Take every single piece of advice with a grain of salt, and don’t let others fully influence your choices. Take your lifestyle into account before making a final decision.
Before hitting the stores, sit down with your partner and make a realistic budget. At Give Wink, we make sure that our clients’ budgets are spent wisely and that they purchase items they actually need and that fit their lifestyles.
Tell us your motto.
Just do your best. I say it to my kids all the time, I say it at staff meetings, and I even have to remind myself on a daily basis. As a perfectionist, I get easily frustrated. I want my house to be perfectly neat and clean, and I want every store shelf “photo shoot ready.” I want my kids to get good grades, I want to be on time for—and actually remember—every meeting, play date and doctor’s appointment, and I want to be able to cross off all of the items on my to-do list. Since all of the above is not realistically possible, I say to myself at the end of a long day, “Did you do your best?” Was I the best mom, best wife, best daughter, best boss, best friend, just my best? The answer is not always yes, but if I did my best, I have to be okay with that.
Any advice you wish someone had given to you?
The process is sometimes more rewarding than the end result.
To learn more about Give Wink, visit their listing in our Vendor Guide.
If you are interested in applying to become a Project Nursery Vendor, please click here.