Independent Artist Interview - With Lucy Stephens from Lucy Loves this

  • 14th June 2021

Tell us a bit about yourself and your business.

I run LucyLovesThis, a small business selling Location Letter prints that celebrate the local. These artworks are made up of intricate illustrations of landmarks, arranged to create the first letter of different areas of London and key places around the UK. 

After studying Graphic Design in Leeds I started my career as a Book Cover illustrator where I developed my own style. 10 years ago, inspired by my home and local area, I created a Brixton B which I started selling at local markets and from there the business really took off. Our products are now stocked in major high street stores including Selfridges, in many British boutiques across the country but we primarily sell online through Not on The High Street, Etsy and www.lucylovesthis.co.uk.

Our customers come back time and again to build their life’s journey with our designs. With over 200 different designs, whether they’re celebrating graduations, engagements, first homes or reminiscing about holidays and old stomping grounds, we’ve got a print to celebrate the locations which mean the most to them.

The artist Lucy Loves this holding the mug she designed  

How did you keep going and stay motivated during the Covid 19 lockdowns?

As I normally work from home, the workday didn’t change very much for me. I continued to work from my office cabin and carried on creating new designs. However, my motivation over the lockdowns definitely came from helping our customers celebrate their family and friend’s birthdays and celebrations from afar. We worked on improving our gift offering and creating lots of new designs for our Location Letter range so there were more ways for our customers to send gifts.

I wanted to create something that would help other parents keep their little people entertained, which is where the idea for the colouring in posters came from. It was wonderful to be able to offer prints and posters to keep people connected and also busy in some way!  

B for Brixton artwork  

What inspires you?

Living in London it’s so easy to be inspired by so much – exhibitions, museums, parks, architecture. The city is constantly offering inspiration for new ideas. I love to travel (when such things are allowed) and my art is inspired by the architecture, language, icons that make up towns and cities. I also love to read, and love being transported to different places through books, which was the major inspiration for our Book Quote prints. 

I’m also inspired by my fellow artists, so many other small brands inspire me every day, particularly other small businesses owned by women – their support, and inspiration is invaluable.  

 Artwork of N and Y  

What does your art mean to you?

That’s definitely a tough question, people do whole degrees and spend years working out the answer to that question! For me, art is so personal, it’s something creative that allows each person to feel and respond individually to it – therein lies the beauty! 

At LucyLovesThis, our art is about creating something that helps our customers celebrate who they are and where they're from. You really can’t put a price on memories, so to create art that reflects somebody’s personal experiences is very special. 

What materials and techniques do you predominantly use in making your designs?

All of the designs are created on an iPad Pro in the Adobe draw app, using an Apple Pencil. I love this method as it allows me to fit all the intricate details into the letters efficiently. It’s also very green as there’s no paper waste if a sketch goes wrong!

What has been your favourite artistic experience over the last 12 months?

At the start of lockdown I produced a set of Easter Colouring posters for our customers, we gave them away for free as a fun activity to help ease lockdown boredom. It was wonderful seeing all the pictures on our customers sent in of them coloured in – since then we’ve carried on creating a range of colouring in posters and we love that they help our customers children be creative. 

Women holding a bag with Lucy Love this design  

What is your favourite product you’ve had from BIDBI?

The luxury shopper bag is our ‘go to’ BIDBI product, the black gusset and handles complement our black and white design perfectly and we love how much shopping you can fit in them! 

What are your future plans?

We will continue to offer the locations our customers request as our customers are the heart of the business. We’re also looking for new and exciting ways we can help our customers celebrate the locations that matter to them.

Leeds design  

What advice would you give new artists starting out now? 

Make sure you practice a range of different methods and styles to develop your own style. Get inspiration from all around you – exhibitions, street art, nature, what you read, what you watch. Create an online space to curate your style, Instagram and Pinterest are great places to do this and allow great freedom to experiment with your aesthetic. 

Why did you choose BIDBI? 

It was really important to us to find a supplier that was able to re-produce our intricate designs to the quality that we require. BIDBI have done a wonderful job at producing bags that are true to the LucyLovesThis prints. 

I also really value BIDBI’s ethical commitments, we try to ensure that everything we put out into the world is sustainably produced. The fact the BIDBI bags are made 100% from Fairtrade and Organic cotton means that our customers can be sure the bags they are buying are both great quality and ethically produced. 

If you are interested in Lucy's work you can find her here.

Website  www.lucylovesthis.co.uk

Instagram @lucylovesthis 

Facebook LucyLovesThis

Etsy Shop Lucy Love This