

Tori Swaim, founder of New Arrivals, applies her artful designs to bring whimsy and personality to traditional accessories for nurseries and children’s rooms. Her eye for texture and pattern give a cottage style, flea market charm to table and chairs sets, framed hanging letters and more (we’re loving her distressed wooden blocks that feature a different painted pattern for each letter). Tori tells us how a simple project for her daughter’s nursery has blossomed into a vast product line that is a celebrity go-to for outfitting the perfect nursery.
Tell us how New Arrivals came to be
New Arrivals has been a long time in the making. Since childhood I have always loved art and design and been attracted to things that had a soft and simple look from generations past. After my children were born I felt the need to find a creative outlet; a way to channel my inspiration. It started off with a simple decorative baby wipe box for my daughter’s nursery and has evolved over the past 11 years into a broad spectrum nursery decor business. Starting my own company has allowed me to spend more time with my children and to be immersed in all of the things that I love the most. My family, art, design and the creative evolution has made the journey very sweet.
How would you describe your personal style and how does it influence your designs?
I love a white color palette, and tend to prefer neutral color shades. My style is more Modern Vintage with a splash of Shabby Chic. I try to incorporate my love for floral, stripes and old distressed wood pieces into my products.
What trends are catching your eye and how will we see them incorporated in future New Arrivals products?
Although the modern look has become a popular theme for nurseries, we still have many customers who love vintage style. It is amazing how many different looks we create everyday for our customers with our custom bedding line.
Let’s get to know Tori a little better with a “quick-fire” round of questions:
- Blogs I check daily: Project Nursery and Shabby Chic
- My first job was: Movie Theatre Candy Girl
- My favorite color is: Pink!
- I cannot live without: Sweets
- My favorite guilty pleasure is: Oreos
- The best advice I ever received is: Family first (advice from my husband!)
- A cause I care deeply about is: Fighting child abuse. We support the Childhelp Organization which focuses on the prevention and treatment of child abuse.
It’s giveaway time: Like it? Win it! Tori is generously offering two lucky winners the letter blocks shown above personalized with the name of their choice. Choose from pink, blue, green or chocolate – or a mix of your favorite colors! To enter, leave a comment here or on our Facebook page telling us your favorite name and why it is so special to you. Contest ends at 6pm EDT on Friday, October 22.
Congrats to Wendy L and Charlotte S as the winners this week.