Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Jerrain.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m not really sure how to begin the story of Lovinity without being too dramatic but one thing that is for sure is that every single life lesson has brought me to this point. I was once told that if I kept living my life with my heart on my sleeve that it would ultimately be my downfall because it’s seen as a weakness rather than a strength. For a while there, I believed that tale – because it sure felt like unfortunate circumstances would just keep knocking me down, left and right. I actually ended up trying to commit suicide because I just felt so alone, hopeless, and my self-worth was non-existent. I just wanted to live in a world full of kindness and love, which seemed so rare. It turned out I was WAY wrong. What I failed to mention was that I found out I was pregnant right after surviving my attempt. My daughter gave me the fight for life, I needed to be the hero I never had for her. It was a very rough road of self-love and self-discovery. During this ongoing process, I completely changed my perspective starting from within. Yes, there are bad people, bad days, bad this and that but once I stopped letting those circumstances dictate and took my power back – I was stronger for them, those lessons. I learned that I no longer wanted to sit in the darkness but rather embrace the light and become the change I wished to see in this world. Lovinity took a bit of time to manifest. I knew I wanted to contribute to others being happy and full of love, so I continued down my acting path and behind the camera working on sets thinking that was how I’d get through to humanity. I wanted to make movies to cause folks to smile and laugh uncontrollably or feel a certain way. I even wanted to write my story to help others fight their fight. Movies impacted my life in such a way that I literally dreamed the dream since I was a young girl. It turns out, for now – that would have to wait. I thought on it for a long while, how could I possibly share the love I have within me, to help others be better, not feel alone and be happy? Positive affirmations! That is what helped me after all. The name Lovinity came to me during one of my long drives after work from North Country back to East. It was a big A-HA moment. Lovinity means infinite love – all I ever wanted to do was share this since day one – my mission was to make this world better in any which way I could contribute. The words that we choose to speak of become our reality – it all starts within. There is so much I wanted to do but the beginning plan was to make jewelry with affirmations, which slowly manifested into what it is today with other sorts of craft making, and a fiancé who helped turned it all into a reality. It’s pretty remarkable. I’m happy to have been given a second chance, and to have the support team I have every single day. I’m rich in love and just to share what’s on my heart.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road less traveled is one full of a lot of gravel – it wasn’t an easy ride. Some of the gnarly hurdles that I had to overcome we’re mostly financial. I was a single mom at the beginning of this journey. It took me 2 years with just the thought of wanting to do this and saving up as many pennies as I could afford, buying one thing at a time. There were times where I wanted to give up, lots of tears and frustrations when the money I had been saving had to go towards something that was a necessity. But anything worth having is worth fighting for. I believed in this vision of mine so much that I couldn’t possibly give up now – all of this was for a reason so I knew as long as I kept doing the work and learning more that eventually preparation would meet opportunity and it would get off the ground in some way.
Fortunately, love actually found me along the way and I met my fiancé Thomas in April 2016. It was truly love at first sight for us the moment I walked through the door and we laid eyes on each other. It was magical. Thomas from day one stood by my side and supported these dreams of mine that he could tell I so badly wanted to make come true. He helped me officially launch Lovinity. He’s the reason I get to talk about this today.
Though, there are still constant struggles upon us. For one, all of this comes out of our pocket while trying to turn this into a business with a steady flow of income. To top it off we have a blended family of 6 kiddos that need to be supported. We are a bunch! Second, the plan has been to donate a portion of every sale to a charity that is beyond deserving and supports our message of love and change but because we need every penny we have unfortunately not be able to make this happen yet. Trying to get it together enough to where we can give back, thats what it’s about. Plus, I have a lot more planned so giving up is not an option even if I still have my moments of wanting to give up – Thomas and I are in it together and I couldn’t ask for anything more. Plus, my mother and his grandma believe in us and what we’re trying to do that they support us when they can with materials to help push us in the right direction and get new ideas complete.
I’m hopeful. I know in my bones that our hard work and message will be recognized and we will get to create and collaborate with so many people that we are meant to share the love with.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Lovinity story. Tell us more about the business.
Lovinity started with the idea of recognizing that our words our powerful beyond measure. Our words become real. Lovinity means, infinite love. We wanted to put those ideas onto things…
Over at Lovinity, we as a company make a little bit of home decor, wood decor and canvas pieces. Personalized non glitter and glitter drink ware. Jewelry, accessories and more. Everything is customizable! All of our pieces are made with love. Honestly, I think that’s what sets us aside. You can tell through the quality that we put out that we truly care about what we do. We treat others how we want to be treated. We are so blessed and grateful for every opportunity that comes our way.
Behind the scenes:
Thomas assembles the wood in the sizes and looks that I need for orders or pieces we want to create to showcase our work at fairs and on social media; I design and do the rest. We like to maintain the mentality of keeping our minds wide open because if someone asks us if we can make something but we have yet to try, we will figure out the rest to make their vision come to life.
Though our work has steered a bit away from my initial idea of making jewelry so that we can be reminded wherever we may be of how powerful our words truly are, our words become our reality, we must choose all of the good ones. I have designed other decor pieces of positive sayings and affirmations. We will eventually be making fitness and every day attire too. I feel with his Navy background and my ‘little bit of everything’ background, all while being parents – the sky is just the limit.
I’m most proud of everything. All of it is so special to me. I’m proud for not giving up on myself and turning my mentality around when I needed to the most. I remember when I was at the County Clerk’s Office getting my business name, my daughter losing her tooth while we waited to be seen. She’s gotten to witness all of these pivotal moments. I proud of my fiancé. I love that we’re showing our family what it means to truly do what you love and not give up – regardless. The whole point of this was to put more love into the world and that’s exactly what we’re getting to do. This is just the beginning, my hopes and goals for Lovinity, is to expand and make things for movie and other sets, businesses and more. To start a non-profit of our own one day, in some way and help others around the globe. To write a script that will feed the soul of encouragement, empowerment, self-worth and the change within ourselves to make this world a better place for not only us but our children, etc.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Good luck or bad luck – it’s all perspective. There have been many ups and downs and wonders if this will really go anywhere and hopefully the direction we desire. We’ve put so much into where we’re at now – sweat and blood goes into every ounce of this. We are the folks that can make stuff – it’s fun and a great creative outlet.
This has made my relationship with Thomas stronger. It’s taught me how to really try and work on not getting frustrated and full of anxiety and stress when things get bumpy because there will always be moments. It’s all about perspective! He has taught me that everything is fixable as long as we keep a level head.
We were even featured on a FOX morning news segment – how cool is that!
This has made my relationship with my daughter fun because she has been loving all of the things we are making. I hope that I inspire her daily through my actions. My relationship with my mom and I has become strong once more too.
It’s been an adventure building a relationship with my soon to be step kids as well. I think they’ve been enjoying watching the process from start to finish. They even get inspired themselves and get involved. All of the girls do! Our son, though he’s not even one year old yet, I’m excited to see what he will pick up on as he grows and develops too.
Over all, I love everything that has come of it. It’s a big ball of hopes and dreams that have turned into a reality and more.
Contact Info:
- Address: Santee, CA
- Website: www.Lovinity.Etsy.com
- Email: IAmLovinity@gmail.com
- Instagram: @IAmLovinity
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/IAmLovinity
Image Credit:
Photo credit: cell phones.
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