Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabella Trichilo.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Little Tides began from a combination of my professional background as an occupational therapist and my own experience becoming a mom. After more than a decade working as an OT, I found myself looking at play, development, connection, and the everyday experiences of childhood through an entirely new lens once I had my own children.
The idea really started taking shape as our family began planning our return home to New England. We had been living in North Carolina, but with plans to return to Rhode Island and Massachusetts, I started envisioning something I felt was missing: a welcoming, community-based space where young children and their caregivers could play, explore, connect, and grow together. I wanted to take my knowledge as an OT and translate it into experiences that felt fun and approachable for families, rather than clinical.
That became Little Tides, an early childhood play and connection brand designed for little ones and those who raise them. I began developing programming for Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including sensory play, music and movement, community pop-ups, and partnerships with local organizations.
But I realized I didn’t have to wait until we moved to start building it. While we’re still in North Carolina, I’ve begun bringing Little Tides to families here through pop-ups, community events, and local partnerships. It has given me the opportunity to grow the concept, learn what families respond to, and build a real community around the brand before bringing that momentum back home with us.
What started as an idea for our next chapter in New England has grown into something much bigger. My goal is for Little Tides to be a place, wherever we are, where children are free to explore and caregivers feel supported and connected. Everything we create comes back to our tagline: For little ones and those who raise them.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road, but I think that has shaped Little Tides in a really positive way.
One of the biggest challenges has been building a business during a season of a lot of change. I’m a mom of two very young children, I work full time, and our family is preparing to relocate from North Carolina back home to New England. Little Tides was originally created with Rhode Island and Massachusetts in mind, so building relationships and planning programming there while we are still physically in North Carolina has required a lot of creativity and flexibility.
At the same time, I decided I didn’t want to wait for the “perfect” time or circumstances to begin. I started bringing Little Tides to life here in North Carolina through pop-ups and partnerships. Not everything has gone exactly as planned. Some events have had great interest, while others have had smaller turnouts than I hoped for. As a new business owner, I’ve had to learn that something not going as expected doesn’t necessarily mean the idea isn’t working. Sometimes it means changing the format, finding the right partner, adjusting how an event is marketed, or simply giving people more time to discover you.
Balancing motherhood, my career as an occupational therapist, a relocation, and growing Little Tides has probably been the greatest challenge, but it’s also a big part of why this brand matters so much to me. I’m building something for families while living the same busy, sometimes messy season of life as the caregivers I hope to serve.
I’m learning to let Little Tides grow organically, listen to what families need, and be willing to pivot. Every event, partnership, and even every challenge has helped me become clearer about what I want Little Tides to be.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Little Tides?
I’m an occupational therapist with more than 13 years of experience, with a career that has included extensive work in orthopedics and hand therapy as well as experience with children and families. Little Tides has given me the opportunity to bring that clinical knowledge together with another role that has completely changed my perspective: being a mom.
Little Tides is an early childhood play and connection brand created for children ages 1–5 and the people who raise them. I design sensory play experiences, music and movement programming, community events, pop-ups, and caregiver resources that support development through something children naturally know how to do: play.
What sets Little Tides apart is that the developmental purpose is intentionally built into the experience without making it feel clinical. A child might be scooping, pouring, climbing, dancing, creating, or exploring a sensory bin, but behind that activity are opportunities to develop fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing, regulation, confidence, social-emotional skills, and connection with their caregiver. Parents don’t need to feel like they’ve walked into a therapy session. Their child simply gets to play.
I’ve also expanded Little Tides beyond in-person programming by creating children’s books that address experiences like big feelings, sensory overwhelm, confidence, transitions, and connection in ways that are approachable for young children and their caregivers.
I’m especially proud that Little Tides is becoming more than one type of class or event. We’re building community partnerships, developing programming in both North Carolina and New England, participating in inclusive community events, and creating resources that families can take home with them.
Ultimately, I think what sets my work apart is the combination of professional expertise and lived experience. I understand child development through the eyes of an occupational therapist, but I also understand what it feels like to be the parent standing on the other side. Little Tides lives at the intersection of those two perspectives, and that’s exactly where I want it to be: for little ones and those who raise them.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think my relationship with risk has changed significantly over the past year. I used to think of risk primarily in terms of what could go wrong. Now I think much more about what I might learn from taking the chance, even if the outcome isn’t what I hoped for.
Before starting Little Tides, I took a significant financial and personal risk pursuing the acquisition of an existing children’s business. I believed deeply in the concept and invested a substantial amount of money, time, and energy into making it work. Ultimately, the opportunity did not turn out the way I had expected, and I lost a significant amount of money in the process.
It was difficult, but it also became the catalyst for Little Tides. I had a choice between allowing that experience to make me afraid to try again or taking everything I had learned and building something that was truly my own. I chose the latter.
Starting Little Tides was another risk, but this time I was building the vision from the ground up. I could create the programming, brand, partnerships, books, and experiences around what I genuinely believed families needed, while drawing on more than a decade of experience as an occupational therapist and my own perspective as a mother.
I still don’t consider myself someone who takes risks recklessly. I believe in doing the research, asking questions, and thinking through the possibilities. But I’ve also learned that there will never be a moment when every variable is known and everything feels completely safe.
One of the things I’m most proud of is that a disappointing experience didn’t become the end of my entrepreneurial story. It became the beginning of Little Tides. Sometimes the risk that doesn’t work out is the one that gives you the clarity and courage to build something better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.littletidesri.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littletidesri?stkn=Z3hxbWN3Y2kzYjho&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Le61ucRJ8/?mibextid=wwXIfr
