A Chat with Laughter & Lemons

I was super honoured when one of my best pals, Lizzie Bowden, asked me if I’d like to be featured in her newsletter for Laughter & Lemons. Life coach in training extraordinaire, Lizzie is all about women, positivity and self-care, and her wonderfully researched and thought-provoking newsletters are always packed with sage advice and lots of love. If you haven’t already, I urge you to check her out.

Here’s an excerpt from her latest offering, where she asked me some questions about Leo & Luna and life in general.

Enjoy! x

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This week it's my pleasure to introduce Lauren, copywriter by day and creative celestial extraordinaire by night. Not only is she a dab hand at words but she owns a flourishing business of hand-painted prints and embroidery ready to fill your home with astronomical goodness. 

Lauren has creativity running through her veins. 

You're super creative: writer by day and painter and embroiderer by night - tell us, how did Leo and Luna come about?

I would love to say it came after years and years of honing a craft I’ve been passionate about since birth, but honestly? I ordered a Leo constellation print from a big retailer and was really disappointed when it arrived. It didn’t look anything like how I imagined; the quality was super bad, and I remember thinking “I have such a strong mental image of how I wanted it to look, I should just do it myself.” So, I bought some nice paints and brushes and created it. I really enjoyed it, so figured I’d carry on making all 12 star signs as a little side project. But then, what was I going to do with them all? So, I tried selling them and voila! The ideas snowballed after that and I couldn’t stop.

Have you always been interested in the cosmos?  

Oh, always. We get so caught up in our little bubbles down here that we forget about the hundreds of other worlds above us – ones we simply cannot dream of comprehending. The science behind it all is incredible. There’s also so many myths, legends and stories that we have been associating with the stars and their coordinates for thousands of years – I find it so magical and utterly mind-blowing.

Your gorgeous work has been super-successful so far! What's your dream for Leo and Luna? 

I think I just want it to keep growing, I want to keep connecting with people and creating artwork that makes me proud. I have no idea what the future holds, but I kind of enjoy the mystery of that. 

Who are your biggest inspirations in life? 

It’s mostly people around me who are actively being brave – those people that feel the fear and do it anyway. We spend a lot of time looking at celebs as role models, but really, we should be looking up to the friend who finally managed to cut out a toxic person or behaviour from their life. The friend who started a new venture even though it terrified them. The friend who actively stood up and fought for us or others.

How do you feel about change? 

I used to be terrified of it, but now I’m really trying to embrace and be excited by it.

When do you feel at your most powerful? 

Probably at 2am when I can’t sleep because I have an idea that just won’t quit, and I absolutely must bring it to life right that second. It’s the most exciting feeling.

And how do you recharge when you need to? 

Always a bath. Fancy bubbles, essential oils, candles, a good book. Phone in the other room. There’s few stresses that can’t be defeated by a good ol’ soak.

What was your biggest 'sliding doors' moment in life? 

Without a doubt, has to be how I met my best friend. Walking back from a uni night out about 10 years ago and this random girl comes up to me and asks if I live nearby as she desperately needed a wee. We quickly bonded over a mutual love of Doctor Who and Chinese food on the walk and as a thank you, she invited me over the next day to watch the latest episode with a takeaway. We’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since and lived together in London for a few years. She could so easily have asked someone else or I could have turned her away and our paths would never have crossed again. I can confidently say I would not be where I am today (and I wouldn’t even know you! Imagine that!) if it weren’t for that chance encounter on a rainy Southampton street at 1am.

Tell me, what's your favourite thing about living in London?

The people I’ve met here. 100%.

How do you stay motivated working from home?

Realising that I cannot do 9-5. It just doesn’t work for me and it never has really. Taking time to figure out my own routine and listen to what I actually need rather than what I think I should be doing has done me the world of good. We are not robots, we all work differently, and that is okay.

What is the best thing that's come out of lockdown for you? 

It forced me to take a serious look at my copywriting business after I had to furlough myself. I realised I hate the corporate world and needed things to shift. Now, I’m focusing on working with small businesses and start-ups and feel so much more at home.

We're educating ourselves on the incredibly important Black Lives Matter movement. What's been a helpful resource for you? 

Social media. Actively paying attention and listening to the personal stories that have come out of America and the UK over the last few weeks have been invaluable. A lot of people have a lot to say and I am going to continue to listen and learn from them.

Quick fire 

Guilty pleasure

Reruns from the 2000’s (specifically Top Chef and Desperate Housewives)

Best advice you've received

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Works for so many scenarios.

Currently reading

Just started Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (late to the party but want to see what all the fuss was about.)

Favourite beverage

 Cold pint of cider on a sunny day

What’s your star sign

Leo

Describe yourself in 3 words

 Creative, introvert, empathetic

Give your favourite small biz a shout out

@peggyandsam on Instagram

Why them?

They sell the most BEAUTIFUL stationery and phone cases. I am constantly fantasising over their notebooks.

What is your spirit animal?

A bird

 Who would play you in a film?

Emma Stone, please!

Important Announcement alert

Friends, I have made an important decision.

For a long time now I’ve been feeling like I haven’t been putting as much time and effort into Leo & Luna as it deserved. So, after much soul searching and discussions with the most supportive partner in the land, I’ve decided to take a leap of faith and drop my full time 9-5 contract down to three days a week and spend those spare two days working solely on the shop.

This all kicks off tomorrow when I’ll be figuring out exactly what I need to do to make Leo & Luna better than ever; restocking popular products, planning new ones, experimenting and coming up with new ideas – not to mention getting as much time with paintbrushes and sewing needles as possible.

I’ll also be putting more time into planning the social media side of things, so you’ll get more of an insight into processes and all the fun behind the scenes stuff I don’t normally have time to share – with a marked improvement on quality too, finger’s crossed!

I’ll be taking a little break from everything from next week as I’m off galavanting around the USA for ten days, but plan to return raring and ready to go.

So, thanks for being the most supportive bunch of stargazers there ever was. Every order, every kind comment, every like, every inquiry gave me these wonderful little bursts of confidence, pushing me a little bit further every day to be able to make this decision. I am so, so lucky to have your never-ending support.

I cannot wait to see what 2020 brings x

P.S I’ll be making the next lot of One Tree Planted donations soon, so stay tuned!

Join the newsletter!

Hi friends!

This is probably something I’m going to be more excited about than you, but I’ve just set up a mailing list! I was up until the wee hours creating the first lot of emails to send out and I am so pleased with them.

I’d like to be able to start sending out monthly newsletters, so I can give people a heads up when there’s some exciting updates, new stuff in the store and maaaaybe the odd offer code or two ;)

So if you fancy staying in the loop, please leave your details below and I PROMISE you’ll get a nice little update from me every so often. And don’t worry, I’m absolutely not here to spam your inbox and drive you crazy.

You guys (as always) are the best x

Your Star Sign Guide

Whether you want to figure out your own star sign or someone else’s, take a look at this handy guide so you can checkout the perfect painting in a flash!

ARIES: 21 March – 20 April

TAURUS: 21 April – 20 May

GEMINI: 21 May – 20 June

CANCER: 21 June – 21 July

LEO: 22 July – 22 August

VIRGO: 23 August – 21 September

LIBRA: 22 September – 21 October

SCORPIO: 22 October – 21 November

SAGITTARIUS: 22 November – 21 December

CAPRICORN: 22 December – 20 January

AQUARIUS: 21 January – 19 February

PISCES: 20 February – 20 March

Partnering with One Tree Planted

I am so excited to announce that Leo & Luna has partnered with the wonderful reforestation charity, One Tree Planted, whose mission is to reforest the planet, one tree at a time.

So, for every painting or print you buy from leoandlunaldn.com, the equivalent of $1 will be donated and a tree will be planted – a super easy way for you and I to do something positive for the environment.

Who are these guys?
One Tree Planted fund tree-plantings in North America, South America, Asia and Africa. They also aim to raise awareness about the importance of trees, offer businesses a simple sustainability solution and educate and motivate younger generations to get involved in some green-fingered goodness.

So, how does it all work?
One Tree Planted works with a network of on-the ground partners around the world to ensure that the most sensible mix of tree species are planted at the right time and in the best ways for optimal survival. Trees are planted by professionals, volunteers, or a combination of both depending on the project.

So to celebrate and kick-start donations, I’m offering 10% off everything until Friday. Simply type in code OTPSALE when you get to the checkout.

Let’s go plant some trees!

Competition: Couple's Constellation

Everyone loves a little competition, don’t they?

The other day, I decided to give away one of my most popular commissions: Couple’s Constellations.

To enter was simple. Simply follow Leo & Luna on Instagram and comment the name of the person you’d like to share the painting with on the announcement post. I was pretty balled over when almost 70 of you entered, so I popped all the names into a hat and pulled out the lovely Isi (that was an awful lot of cutting and folding, I can tell you!).

Isi chose one of her most favourite people in the universe, Beth, to be incorporated into the painting with her and I have to say, it turned out beautifully (you can see it above).

All in all, for a first competition, it was a huge success. I can’t wait to do more!

So, come on. Let’s hear from you! What prizes would you like to see up for grabs?

Welcome, stargazers

Friends!

I’ve done it. I’ve taken the plunge by finally nailing down my branding and making myself a little shop. Although it might be looking a little on the sparse side right now, I’m simply viewing it as motivation to create more artwork to fill it up with.

There is something so overwhelmingly satisfying to be cementing this as a proper “thing”. A real-life entity where I can share ideas, show you what I’ve been up to and present you celestial goodies to adorn yours (or someone else’s) walls with. I can’t just give up when things get tough, or slow, or frustrating now. Well, I guess I could, but that would be a bit of a waste at this point, eh?

So, what’s next?

It’s time to start really nailing some blood moon paintings for a commission. After initially finding it really tricky and thinking “holy shit what have I agreed to?!”, I’m starting to find my chill again, relaxing into and enjoying the process.

Here’s a couple of WIPs I made earlier:

See? Not quite 100% happy with them yet, but I’m getting there. Finding this project difficult has actually made me realise how much I love this little side hustle of mine. While working tirelessly editing a tech document today, all I could think about was a bunch of new brushes I’d gotten through the post. How my next blood moon was going to work out. What blending techniques I’d try this time round. I genuinely cannot wait to get going again.

In the meantime, I’m going to try to give you as much content as I can in this journal from now on. My plan is to use it to update you on what I’m working on, any cool space/celestial/spiritual tidbits I think readers would enjoy and resources I think would come in useful. And if there’s anything you love, hate, would like to know more about, feel free to send me a message on the contact form, or shoot me a DM on Instagram.

Until next time,

L x