When Darci Pinello took the role of preschool room mom at St. Mary’s shortly before the pandemic, she was put in charge of making child projects by hand. After hand tracing 60 feathers, she thought there must be an easier way.
Pinello quickly realized there was a solution. She bought a Cricut machine and taught herself how to use it by watching YouTube videos. By the next class party, each child had their own personalized bags. Pinello loved it and spent the following months practicing making stuff for family and friends.
Not too long after she started doing it as a hobby she “had booked [her] first in-person event at our restaurant.”
“The customer was looking for a personalized favor with our restaurant logo on it. I told her that I actually could help her plan her party from start to finish in addition to creating and providing her with such goods.
Fifty cups later, her small business “Tutti Tufano” was born. Today, her business is behind the sweat suits and uniforms of many Scouts sports teams.
The name Tutti Tufano stemmed from her family’s restaurant, ‘Tufanos’ where she grew up working and hanging out.
“I wanted to keep Tufano’s as the main business and make this ‘side business’ under that umbrella. So I came up with Tutti Tufano. Because in italian, “Tutti” means everything. So to me it meant, all things Tufano’s and then some,” Pinello said.
Pinello was always surrounded by entrepreneurship. She grew up waitressing at her family’s restaurant in Chicago, which her great grandmother opened in 1930. She still works there today as the events and catering manager.
“I’ve always had a creative side and Tutti has been an outlet for me to explore and flourish,” Pinello said.
Pinello has also had the opportunity to work with one of the best party planners in the area, elliestyled.
“I have learned so much from font choices, to spacing, to designing by working with her. I have done a lot of her signage projects for her events. Sometimes it’s vinyl on a backdrop, to vinyl on acrylic to fabric menus and welcome signs. Other times, it could be designing all the paper goods for the party,” Pinello said.
Tutti makes everything from custom t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, signage, and even personalized patches and presses them onto hats. It has been the face of some Scouts uniforms/gear such as the girls tennis, boys basketball, girls lacrosse, girls soccer, field hockey and badminton.
Tutti has had pop up events in Lululemon stores throughout the Chicagoland area and some Wisconsin stores as well.
“It’s pretty amazing to see your logo in a Lululemon store,” Pinello said.
“I love being a student and through this business journey, I am continually learning and growing my skills. I’m not a person who says she can do it all. But whatever I do, I definitely give it my all and am a perfectionist,” Pinello said.
