Hello 2020!
I thought I'd use the New Year to reintroduce myself to you all!
I have a confession. My name isn't Lola. But we'll get onto that bombshell later.
My name is Luby, I'm 35 and I have an addiction to buying Disney merch. That's the first step, isn't it?! 😂
I'm a real Princess with my collection of animal helpers. My five rats are right next to my work desk (Rex, Citrix, Princess, Jasper and Piglet) My lovebird Rocco is currently at my mum's until we have a house because he has a Very Big Mouth for such a small bird... Unfortunately, we lost my boy Archie Baby, a westie last year but he needs a mention because he loved helping at work. The being dressed up part? Not so much.
I love all things Disney, especially Stitch and Rapunzel. (Obvs, if you follow me on Instagram)
I also absolutely love Harry Potter and Supernatural. I'm a big book reader, I love escaping into a different world. I am a huge lover of birds and foxes too!
If you want a more detailed view into L&L and how I got started, read below!
I live in Cannock, Staffordshire with my boyfriend running L&L. I also live at my mum's in a little village in Nottinghamshire for 2 days a week to work at the Tutu Factory.
I create all my ears from my desk in the corner of the living room (glamorous or what?!) My stockroom is a Very Big Cupboard and my packaging station is my beautiful coffee table!
It all began with the Tutu Factory.
My mum decided to start her own business as she had been struggling to work after a few operations and illnesses. So she decided to work for herself. Generations of our families have been seamstresses and I grew up around all the fabrics and ribbons.
I'd just finished University with a fashion and textiles degree that had killed my love for design so I'd gone back into fashion retail. After a few years I had to finish work through ill health.
I'd been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia when I was 16, most likely as a result of several operations since birth. I'd been born with a deformed foot and doctors had said I would never walk. Thankfully, my consultant threw out the rule book and after learning to walk once, with a cast on my leg and again without I grew up relatively normal.
So after a really bad Fibro Flare up of two years, a lot of time which was in bed too exhausted and in pain to do much of anything I gradually began to be able to help out with the Tutu Factory again.
Gradually I recovered from my flare up and begin to live life again! I still have days or weeks where I struggle but I now know when I need to have a break so I don't end up like that again.
I'd already been making Minnie Ears and veils through the Tutu Factory for a year or two before I branched out on my own so I could work from home when I wasn't working at the Tutu Factory.
I'd always been scared to take the first step to do it and I hadn't even decided on a name for it. Unfortunately, we discovered my grandmother had terminal cancer in December of 2015. It's at these times that you realise how truly short life is. There's never going to be a 'right time' and you're never going to feel 'ready' to go for it.
It was during a conversation with one of the doctors at the hospital, she was still chatting and joking away and she had to say her full name and I'd completely forgotten her middle name was Lola. It was that moment that I created 'Luby&Lola' Unfortunately, I never got to tell her about it all because she declined very quickly and we said goodbye to her just before Christmas.
So, yeah I'm not Lola. I'm sorry!
I created the name 'Lola Hancock' firstly as nod towards my grandmother and my grandfather.
Lola, my dad's mum's middle name who I spoke about earlier. And Hancock, is my mother's maiden name, after my grandad who I lost just over 9 years ago now and one of my favourite people. (They both really loved flowers and gardening too so it's nice that my floral ears are the most popoular. I think they'd approve of those choices.)
It was also so I could separate the two companies. I'm Luby at the Tutu Factory and Lola at L&L. They do cross over sometimes and I do get the 'Hi Luby, I just spoke to Lola and she said such and such'
Don't worry though, I don't even get called by my Real Name of Louise by hardly anyone and I quite like being called Lola!
If you got this far down... well done! Thanks for taking the time to read through of that 😂
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