You found me!

My name is Erin Villella, and I am the creator of Lucy Lou's, also known as Lucy Lou’s Lettering. I formerly worked as Old Soul, Fresh Heart, so if you've been here from the beginning, thank you so much and welcome to the latest and greatest! I love all things art and school supplies, my family & friends, Atlanta, and coffee! I am currently a middle school science teacher & love what I do daily. I have a passion for creating beautiful and meaningful things, and I would love to help you bring some of them into your home!

So what is Lucy Lou’s?

For those of you that are slightly confused, Lucy Lou's Lettering was formerly known as Old Soul, Fresh Heart. I started this blog for the heck of it, which I quickly realized was a bad idea. I was pretty much lost in the blogging world after 3 posts. I forced myself to forget about it and move on with my life...

In late March, I joined an online consignment Facebook group in Statesboro, Georgia. I was hitting the jackpot buying and selling clothes and occasionally miscellaneous things around my house when I needed some extra cash. 

One night, as I was headed into work, my friend posted a laundry sign I had made the year before when we were roommates. I really hated it when I made it, but she insisted we hang it over our laundry room to spice up our hallway. I kind of laughed when I saw her post thinking, "Who would buy that ugly sign? It looks horrible!" 

Not even 10 minutes later, she had over 10 comments bidding for the laundry sign that I regretted ever making. I was shocked as I saw the bidding getting higher as the comments continued. I saw her at work that night and we shared a laugh over how successful my scrap piece of plywood turned out to be. 

Later that night, as the comments continued to come in, I decided to take advantage of the popularity and make more signs for the people that wanted them, but did not get the original. 

I went to Lowe's, got some wood that was about the same width as the plywood (turns out I accidentally bought flooring, but you live and you learn, right?), and some stain in a spray can (again with the living and learning). 

Almost instantly, I had orders beyond the meager limits of my little laundry sign. With Mother's Day being around the corner, business was booming. Within a month I hit my 100th order and 100th follower on Instagram. 

I decided to use the Old Soul, Fresh Heart blog name for my newfound business. Throughout the summer I did random wood projects and started dabbling in calligraphy (calligraphy used loosely here). 

Naturally, I started dreaming about opening a coffee shop/gift shop where I could sell wood products, drink coffee, and have flowers around all the time. To do that, I would need a different name, something shorter and a little more catchy. I struggled to pick a name for a few months after that. 

In January of 2017, my grandfather, Grandpa Lou, passed away. I always wanted to honor him by naming something after him, and when he died I just felt like this was the time to do it. He was always so supportive of anything I picked up. I know he would be so proud to know he is a huge part of Lucy Lou's Lettering. 

The name Lucy comes from a nickname my dad gave me when I was a baby. When he would come home, even if I was out of sight, he would sing, "Lucy, I'm home!" Apparently, I would just go crazy with excitement, therefore earning my nickname, Lucy.

It only took one year to make this change, but I finally feel like this is home. Lucy Lou's is something that I can't just forget about. It represents everything I love: my family, my work, and learning new things.

Now, I offer so much more than lettering! I have wanted to bridge the gap between product and customization for a long time now, and can’t wait to continue under the Lucy Lou’s umbrella.

I hope you come to love Lucy Lou's as much as I have! And for my Old Soul, Fresh Heart lovers, get comfortable, because this time, I'm here to stay.