Q and A with Lulabellez Creator Lindsey Renee; plus a Great Easter Giveaway
Lindsey Renee, a former Halloween costume designer turned fairy-maker extraordinaire, has developed a new product line full of glittery goodness that young girls everywhere are sure to flip for!
Lulabellez™ is a gaggle of twelve quirky, long-legged fairies from Lulaland who share their special talents and acts of kindness with the world. What Kind of Fairy is Merry Berry, Lindsey Renee’s first book just recently published by Chronicle Books, follows Merry Berry as she discovers her special talent of spreading love & joy through cupcakes. This past month, Toys’R’Us has launched the Lulabellez product line, which includes darling dress-up costumes and activity kits. They are PERFECT gifts for Easter.
Lindsey, the mastermind behind Lulabellez, happens to be a neighbor and friend, and was willing to answer some questions about how Lulabellez came to be. Pretty interesting stuff, especially for those mompreneurs who want to turn their ideas into reality!
Question & Answers with Lindsey Renee, Creator of Lulabellez:
Q: How did the idea for Lulabellez come to you?
A: It all started when I first moved to California from Adrian, Michigan in 2002 and began working as an assistant designer for a Halloween costume company. A friend saw my quirky, imperfect, long-legged cartoon characters that I used for sketching costume ideas and said, “Your drawing style would make cute cards & t-shirts.” A few years later, when I was trying to figure out my next move professionally, I remembered what my friend had said many years earlier. I knew that I had always wanted to create my own children’s property, which would include fun, inspiring, positive products for girls, so I began developing the Lulabellez characters. While creating them, I referred to my love of arts & crafts, good-deed-doers and all things sparkly for inspiration.
Q: What was your profession before starting Lulabellez?
A: I was a Halloween costume designer. I got to live Halloween everyday of the year! Looking back, I can’t believe I got paid to do it.
Q: How long has the process been from initial conceptualizing until now?
A: I’ve been working on this, at some level, my whole life, but full-force for three years.
Q: Can you tell me a little about the process of how Lulabellez came to be?
A: After I had a handful of characters, I designed and mocked up samples of everything I could think of that would make cute, appealing and positive products for young girls. Greeting cards, ornaments, costumes, plush dolls, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. that might also inspire girls to be creative, kind and imaginative. I went to a local coffee shop and started compiling a rough story line and illustrations about Merry Berry the Cupcake Fairy. I printed it out on my Epson printer and taped it into one of those blank books you can buy at the art store. I made a book jacket and voila, it looked like a real book!
Through various friends and associates with connections, I found my way to Toys‘R’Us, who loved the line and licensed it, and then to Chronicle Books, who published the first Lulabellez book, What Kind of Fairy Is Merry Berry?
Q: Is there an underlying message with the storyline of the fairies?
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A: Yes, all of the Lulabellez fairies have a special talent and they all promote small acts of kindness to help others. I feel it’s important for young girls to know that everyone has a special talent to share; sometimes we just need a little help discovering it.
Q: Do you have a favorite fairy? Come on, I know you do.
A: Oh no, that’s like picking a best friend! I love them all too much to pick one
Q: If you had to name your own special talent, what would it be?
A: Gosh, this is a tough one. . .It’s a tie between my hot glue gun and glitter-sprinkling skills. I can make anything with a hot glue gun and some glitter!
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Lulabellez Giveaway
Lulabellez products would be a perfect gift for Easter! The dress up costumes & art kits are being sold exclusively at select Toys R Us stores in the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan and also ToysRUs.com. The storybook is sold in select Toys R Us stores, Amazon.com, and Chronicle Books.com.
And for one lucky TodaysMama reader, we are giving away one complete set (see photo above), including:
- One signed copy of What Kind of Fairy is Merry Berry?
- One Lulabellez fairy costume
- One Lulabellez activity set
To enter:
- Please leave a comment explaining your daughter’s special talent.
For extra entries:
- Like Lulabellez on Facebook and leave an additional comment below telling us so.
- Follow Lulabellez on Twitter and leave an additional comment below telling us so.
Contest ends on Friday night at 11:59 pm PST. If you live locally in San Diego County, we can arrange to get the prize package to you before noon on Easter Sunday. Otherwise we will ship the package of goods to you next week (basket not included).
Be sure to check out theLulabellez website where Lindsey has FREE downloads for kid crafts, including this adorable Happy Easter banner.
Winner!
The Lullabellez giveaway winner (chosen via random.org) is Rachael Nash Wunderlich! Congratulations!
