Published by Lulu + Belle
Published by Lulu + Belle
So we ran a competition in January where you had the chance to win a piece of inspirational jewellery with your personal word for 2020 stamped on one of our personalised necklaces. We simply asked you to tell us what your 'intentional word' is for 2020 and why you chose it. We were overwhelmed with hundreds of entries and really moved by the stories you told us, the challenges you have faced and the hope you have for the year ahead ! We wanted to share some of your inspiring words and stories for 2020 !
So many of us set new year's resolutions in early January and then struggle to stick to them. We love the idea of choosing an 'intentional word' instead as something to guide us and as a reminder of what's important to us and what to focus on for the year ahead. We regularly get orders for a customised necklace with an inspiring quote or meaningful word stamped on it. Whether they are given as a gift or kept as a meaningful reminder, we love the idea that this is a type of 'mantra necklace' that will be worn for daily inspiration.
We got so many beautiful entries in this competition where you not only shared your words with us but also your heartfelt stories. Ruth who is a talented illustrator and our customer service and shipping angel on the Lulu + Belle team, creating a special illustration of your words for 2020.
So what where you top words for this year ?
Believe
BELIEVE was the word that came up most often as your intentional word for the year ahead. With this word you told us stories of mortgage applications and believing that you would find your dream home this year. You told us of fertility treatments and believing that this was the year you would start a family and you told us stories of starting businesses and needing a reminder to believe in yourself every day this year. The word believe was important to some of you facing health challenges, some of you were even facing cancer and were using this word as a touchstone on the road to recovery in the year ahead. So many of you chose the word 'believe' as your intentional word for 2020 that you have inspired us to create a unique 'believe necklace' this year because the word is so important to so many of you ! Watch this space.
Love
LOVE was a word that came up again and again as important to you this year. Some of you choose Love and some of you choose GRA. We love the simplicity of it and the many different ways that you told us Love is important to you. You told us that 'love' was your word this year because you wanted to focus on 'self-love' and to slow down and take better care of yourself. Some of you simply wanted to be reminded of how blessed you felt to be surrounded by family. Some of you wanted to be reminded to 'do what I love' and to use the word 'love' to help inspire you to change your work situation. For one person they wanted a reminder this year to 'put more love out into the world'.
Breathe
We were surprised by this one... the word 'breathe' is one of your top intentional words this year. It was the same message again and again - most of you wanted a reminder to slow down and to focus on the here and now and 'not to get caught up in things that don't matter'. We love your idea for a 'breathe necklace' and think this would be the perfect piece of affirmation jewellery given how mad busy life can get. We will be getting on thinking caps on about this one !
Family
For so many of you, FAMILY is your word for 2020. Your told us stories of new babies on the way this year (yeah!!!) and of how blessed you feel to have the love and support of your family. You also told us stories of loss, of Mums, Dad's, sons and daughters who had passed away last year and how this had brought the importance of family into focus for you even more.
We were so moved by how personal and honest your stories were and so inspired by how important family is to so many of you.
Our competition winner chose the word STRENGTH and this is her reason for choosing it as her intentional word :
My word is STRENGTH. My family has had the toughest year of our lives and yet together we have come through so much. Our lovely Mum, who is the centre of our lives has show us what strength really and truly is and I will never hear the word without thinking of her.
— Competition Winner
Unplug
Sometimes running a business can feel like you are always on ! We love what we do but haven't quite figured out this work/life balance thing yet. This year one of our words is 'unplug' as a reminder to sometimes leave the phone at home... to meet friends more often, enjoy more beach walks, hiking and holidays. We need this time out to come back at it fresher and more creative.
Explore
Making jewellery is a creative business and we want to continue to explore new themes, new techniques and new jewellery collections this year.
Growth
We want to continue to grow creatively and to grow our team in 2020.
You can create your own piece of inspirational jewellery by having your intentional word stamped on one of our disc pendants. Or make the perfect best friend necklace by stamping one of our necklaces with a word of strength or motivation. Necklaces that are perfect for embedding your word or mantra are our personalised necklace with initials, stamped edge personalised necklace, gold or silver midi name necklace + heart or gold or silver personalised necklace with double disc and birthstone.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
If you are a future bride - congratulations on your big day ! At Lulu + Belle we know how important the small details are and we are here to help with your wedding day jewellery. The right jewellery can add a touch of elegance and sophistication to your wedding outfit, while also serving as a cherished keepsake of your big day. For the bride, selecting the perfect jewellery is key to completing your bridal look. Your jewellery should complement your wedding gown and other accessories, while also reflecting your personal style.
Come behind the scenes with us as we give you a look inside the process of hand-making your orders, what's important to us at Lulu + Belle and the values behind what to we do and how we do it. Our hand-made ethos is important to us and we are constantly striving to do our best to balance what's best for our customers, our makers and our planet.
We are absolutely thrilled to have been nominated for the Irish Country Magazine's Irish Made Awards this year. This year their are 12 categories and Lulu + Belle is a finalist to win the jewellery category, along with one overall winner who will be announced at a special awards ceremony at the Morrisson Hotel in October. The overall winner will receive a prize worth €20,000 - and each category winner will be featured in Irish Country Magazine in the run up to Christmas this year.