Meet Cheri Glick of Fairytale Baby Books in West Hills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheri Glick.

Cheri, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
About seven years ago, the daughter of one of my dearest friends was getting married. I wanted to give her something unique and personal. So, I came up with the idea to write a personalized fairytale about their courtship. It was filled with royal family members and magical characters. I even burned the edges of each page and decoupaged them to give it that antique parchment look. She and her family loved it! A few years later she had her first child. Again, I wanted to do something special that they would cherish forever.

This time, I decided to do a different version of the fairytale. It would celebrate her pregnancy and birth of her princess. It brought tears her eyes. And once again, everyone went “gaga” over the book. The two books were the inspiration to create these stories for others. So, my husband and I made the decision to start the company out of our home, thinking a fairytale baby book was a keepsake that would be the most popular.

Has it been a smooth road?
I wouldn’t say it has been a smooth road, but overall not too bad. I think the biggest hurdle was trying to figure out how to keep the fairytale story extremely personal, while not making it so intricate, that it would take forever to write and illustrate.

Our early versions did not have any illustrations. I realized that this was a necessary component to keep a child engaged in the story and to take our books to the next level. So, my husband and I went through each paragraph to identify a child-friendly supporting visual image.

Coming up with the graphic design for our website wasn’t as difficult as figuring out its navigation and functionality. Since Fairytale Baby Books are filled with quite a bit of personalized information, figuring out how to collect that information in a user-friendly environment was a major challenge. It took many months, lots of trial and error, but eventually, we succeeded.

The Fairytale Baby Books concept was mine. But I could not have even imagined this undertaking without my executive assistant, who for the past 40 years has also gone by the title of “husband.” Now, I wouldn’t call this a struggle. But, as anyone who works and lives with their partner knows, some days are smooth as silk and others rough as sandpaper.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Fairytale Baby Books – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Fairytale Baby Books celebrate the pregnancy and birth of a child. From pregnancy cravings to sibling surprises, from twins to adoption, our fairytale stories become someone’s personal story.

Our books are uniquely written and charmingly illustrated tales about a royal family and their desire to have a baby prince or princess. From “Once upon a time…” to … happily ever after,” we take factual information and photo to develop a personalized storybook in fairytale form about the family and child being showcased.

Each 15-page manuscript is typeset in a beautiful Old English font surrounded by corresponding colorful artwork. Upon approval, the fairytale is printed onto antique parchment-like paper. The pages are bound in an 8” x 9” leather-look. Hardcover book featuring ornately designed borders and embossed gold glitter titles—front and back.

Fairytale Baby Books are very different than other personalized children books that are on the market. We do so much more than place the child’s name into a story. Children love to hear how they came to be. My stories will let them know where their parents lived when they got pregnant, what their mommy craved to eat, the name of the hospital they were born in, who came first to see them, and other nuggets about their birth.

Our brand is quite distinctive in that we strive to make every Fairytale Baby Books story as unique and special as the family being showcased. Inclusion of adoption, ethnicity, same sex couples, and single parents is part of the customization process.

I take pride in the fact that Fairytale Baby Books have become treasured handcrafted keepsakes that families and children will cherish forever. They truly are “Real Stories of Royal Proportions!”

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Los Angeles is an incredible city. There are so many options, and you can go anywhere from sitting in your own backyard to the theatre or a sporting event, and it has the big city feel. I also love how LA is so diverse and it brings together different backgrounds and transplants from all over the US and the world. The weather is also something that is a major plus. At any time during the year, I can go outside and enjoy the weather. I grew up in Illinois and in the dead of winter that was certainly not the case.

What I like least is the traffic congestion, and it’s not the easiest city to get around and everything is so spread out. The traffic makes it difficult to live in one neighborhood and commute to work in another if it’s in an undesirable location due to congestion.

Pricing:

• $59.95 per book (plus shipping and CA sales tax)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.FairytaleBabyBooks.com
• Instagram: #FairytaleBabyBooks
• Facebook: Fairytale Baby Books
• Twitter: @FairytaleBabyBook
• Other: ETSY – Store Name: FairytaleBabyBooks

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.