Exploring Life & Business with Lauren Hampton of Exclusively Elle Collection

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Hampton. 

Lauren, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up I always used to get so excited for a new school year because that meant I could go shopping for new stationery! I loved shopping for notebooks, pens, planners because I felt like that was the best way you could express yourself in school, those were the tools that you used every day and kept you organized and set you up for success. In High School alone I 

Once I got to college, I was still excited to buy new stationery for the semester but things changed a little, I was 10x busier and my notebooks and planners were more than just an accessory they became my life and how I stayed on top of my work school and organizations. So, I really learned to love being organized and writing literally everything down, I went through notebooks so fast and started to collect them! 

Post-college I always knew I wanted to start my own small business but wasn’t sure what, so I dug a little deep into myself and my passions. I knew I wanted my business to be something I genuinely loved and would somehow help other people. That is how the Exclusively Elle Collection was born, an inspiring, fun stationery brand that helps you stay organized and achieve your dreams. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I wish I could say everything was easy but nothing worth having in life is easy to achieve, it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. When I started my business, it was in the midst of a pandemic, a pandemic where I had lost my corporate job due to them going out of business and I had also had a newborn baby while trying to finish up grad school. I had a lot going on but I found solace in trying to launch my business it gave me new purpose. 

Although my professional background was in Advertising, I had a general idea of how I wanted to position my business and who I wanted to market to & how, but I had no idea how the production/supply side of things worked. I wasted a lot of money (I didn’t have lol) trying out different vendors, ordering bad product, troubleshooting website platforms, wasted materials, etc. But I absolutely don’t regret any of it because it created a beautiful learning experience that helped me mold my brand into what it is today. Even to this day I still run into issues and learn new things along the way but I feel like that’s a part of the business, you will make mistakes but you always come out better and on top because of them. 

My struggle has made me love my business even more and cherish my ever-evolving growth in my industry. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Exclusively Elle Collection LLC?
I am the CEO & Founder of the Exclusively Elle Collection, a stationary brand that specializes in paper products that enhance your organization while also providing custom cups & tumblers to match! Our stationary products include notebooks, notepads, sticky notes, pens, wax stamps, paper clips, and custom tumblers and coffee cups. 

We specialize in helping you stay organized, whether that is through notebooks for journaling, notepads for planning, and to-do lists, or pens that motivate you to write. I’ve always loved a good quote to help me get through the week so almost all of our products have a motivating quote or mantra to keep you motivated and achieving your dreams. We also try to make sure our products are cute, trendy, and relevant to current styles! We want you to carry your paper products proudly and show off your one-of-a-kind piece from our collection while still inspiring others. 

Brand wise I am most proud that all of my designs are made by me! Exclusively Elle Collection is all about following your dreams and writing and creating those dreams so I thought it was important that my designs reflect that in me. I love learning new ways to elevate my brand and keep it cute and custom for my girls! I also love that some of our items are customizable, I love having my name on things I think it adds the best personal touch so I made sure to incorporate that into my business so other can add that little bit of personalization to their life too! 

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Most people don’t know that I design everything you see at Exclusively Elle! By trade, I am not a graphic designer but I really wanted all of my products to be original so I learned a few things in Adobe InDesign & illustrator and design my products there. The only thing I outsource are my printers and I am actually in the process of learning how to bind and print my own notebooks to make everything on my website handmade! While this process will be more time-consuming, I honestly love it and it brings me so much happiness! 

Pricing:

• Notebooks – $20
• Notepads – $10
• Cups & Tumblers – $20
• Sticky Notes – $4
• Pens – $6

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.exclusivelyelle.com
• Instagram: @exclusivelyellecollection
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExclusivelyElleCollection/

Image Credits
Nicolas Hampton