This week we are excited to feature Lea Lang of The Savvy Rabbit!
Meet Lea Lang of The Savvy Rabbit!
I’ve always been business oriented even as a child I kept a suitcase full of business cards and order forms I had collected. When I became a full-time mom, I felt a bit of my identity slipping away and I desperately needed something for me. I reopened The Savvy Rabbit in the spring of 2021 and I’m so glad I did. I’ve had to overcome my doubts and my natural weaknesses but understanding where I need help the most helps me to be real with myself and really push through those things. I encourage all moms with businesses to not feel guilty about your kids seeing you work hard. You are instilling a work ethic and an appreciation I’m them that is priceless.
The Savvy Rabbit is an Etsy Shop featuring flat lay styling props targeted for the niche market of wedding photographers, calligraphers, and stationers. Lea also resells unique vintage decor and housewares as a vendor in Hoco Vintage, a thrift and gift boutique located in Canal Fulton.
Interview Transcript
Introduction
Amy: Hello, Newsymom community! My name is Amy Traugh and I am a content contributor for Newsymom, the founder of Moms on a Mission, and owner of Simplify Me by AT. Moms on a Mission has teamed up with Newsymom to bring you this exciting series featuring local mom owned businesses. With me today, I have Lea lang of the Savvy Rabbit!
Lea, thank you so much for joining me today.
Lea: Hi, Amy. Thanks for having me.
Amy: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Lea: I am Leah Lang, a Northeast Ohio resident and have been for my entire life. I have two kids, Jackson and Alison, they are four and two. And, I’m just loving the mom life.
I had no idea I’d be able to be like a stay at home mom, like at all. I’m definitely kind of a workaholic, just, I love working. It’s like my hobby. So when I had the opportunity to stay home, I was like, yes, but what do I do?
The story behind The Savvy Rabbit
Amy: So, did you create the Savvy Rabbit in your spare time because you thought needed something to do now to keep busy, or how was your business born?
Lea: It was probably born because I’ve always loved being a business person. Even as a child, I’d played business like games. I collected business cards and brochures and order forms, and I had a brief case.
So out of college actually is when I started the Savvy Rabbit. It was just then an Etsy shop with vintage resale items, kind of like what you see behind me. I did that for a few years and then closed it because I just got too busy to do the sourcing and all the things, but as I became a mom, that’s when I realized I’m losing myself in the mom hood thing.
I went to school at Kent state university for marketing and entrepreneurship. Again, businesses deep rooted in me. Yes. I love doing crafts with the kids and being creative in that way, but I needed an adult creative outlet as well.
So that’s kind of where the rebirth of the Savvy Rabbit comes in and not just the reselling vintage, but what I got into, which is more focused on flat lay prop styling for wedding photographers.
Amy: Yes. Can you explain to us a little bit about what is a flat lay is for those viewers that may not know, because until I started following, I had no clue that was a thing.
Lea: Yes, it is a thing. I have a good friend, Courtney with the Canons Photography and she’s like my bestie for life kind of person. She’s a wedding photographer. I watched her do all these detailed shots with the invitation and maybe the shoes and some ribbons, and just pretty items to tell the story of those little fine details that brides pick for their wedding day.
And it doesn’t have people in it. It’s just these items. And when you lay it out flat and take a picture just straight down on it, it’s just, it’s beautiful. And it’s something that you’ll remember forever. Like, oh, that’s what my invitations look like, in a way that you don’t have to actually go out, dig out of a box to remember what your invitation was.
They can be jazzed up a little bit with some vintage props or just a ring box or a little dish. And those are the things that I source and choose to put into my Savvy Rabbit shop on Etsy.
Amy: Very good. And it does add that special little touch. It’s really cool how you bring that in and it just really completes it.
So you said you source a lot of your products. Where do you get them from? Do you shop locally or are you going to antique malls? Where do you get everything?
Lea: Anywhere I can. I do love shopping locally because antique malls in general are rooted in my husband. We would just have a date day perusing, an antique mall, but thrift stores, garage sales, wherever I can find things.
Even sometimes online on Facebook marketplace, it just depends. It takes a lot of time and sometimes a lot of miles to drive, but it’s worth it. I love it. It’s the thrill of the hunt is probably the best part of it.
Amy: Oh, definitely. As mompreneurs, we really face some unique challenges.
Challenges
What are some challenges that you’ve overcome to get to where you are?
Lea: I’d say first and foremost, losing myself as a mom. The transition into that mom world was a challenge to break out of because I turned 30 a couple years ago and I was like, what am I doing with my life? You know, you have that early midlife crisis moment.
And after realizing let’s just start this up again, let’s really focus in and hone in on it. You know, I broke through that challenge. The second challenge was recognizing my strengths and weaknesses, because it’s so easy to just have that doubt and say, all right, that’s it. I’m not doing this. I don’t like the shipping process.
I don’t like figuring this out or you get one bad review and you just get in that slump and it’s just something to overcome. When I realized, okay, I love a search, but I don’t love the posting up the actual listing in my shop. I had to say, well, listen, nobody can shop if you don’t put your listing.
So yeah, just being real with myself. Overcoming those obstacles that I personally placed on myself. It wasn’t anything physically stopping me. It’s just all in your head. A lot of the time,
Amy: Oh my gosh, I think we have all been there and I think it’s so hard to get past ourselves.
You know, you can say it all day long. You can tell your friends to do it all day long, but I think getting over it ourselves is huge and that’s something I personally struggle with too. I think for all of us imposter syndrome will kick in at at one point or another, so yeah, just reaffirming why we’re doing what we’re doing is so important.
How did you come up with the name, the savvy rabbit? What, where did that come from?
Lea: A cutesy, romantic thing. My husband calls me Bunny I call him bear so rabbit. I’m savvy and I’m really frugal and I like being creative and just so it just fit, it worked.
I don’t know. I liked it when I thought of it.
Resources
Amy: Okay. So, being a mompreneur what sort of resources can you share with other moms that have helped you?
Lea: Other than my kids’ books. I have read a couple books. Uninvited and Grace, Not Perfection. Those are good ones for anybody who’s feeling left out or even distracted by their own faults. Also dive into what your target market’s doing. Involve yourself, submerse yourself into those groups, those environments, the Facebook groups, the actual in person groups. Personally, for me, The Rising Tide, Canton Creatives, and even the Graceful Gathering are three that respond to me very well, because those are where my people are.
The Graceful Gathering is a wedding photographer conference that the Canons Photography puts on. Going to that and being around those people who are directly my target is so important. You need to communicate and be present with your customers.
Just reach out and network with each other. It’s awesome.
Amy: I think that’s key. Playing off of each other’s strengths and networking off of one another is huge. Isn’t it just empowering to be around like-minded people that get it and are in the same boat as you? Surrounding yourself with these people, for me, it just kind of reignites that fire and passion in me. And it’s just, I don’t know. It’s just the breath of fresh air, especially right now.
I posted something in the group about burnout. I think this time of the year, we all tend to get stuck in that. There are just so many things going on. We’re running a business, we’re being a mom, we’re trying to plan. There are so many things and it’s just this constant juggling act. So being around people that get it and understand what you’re doing and value what you have to offer is just absolutely awesome. It’s such a good feeling.
Lea: It does kind of reignite the passion with what you’re doing, especially because everybody’s so supportive and encouraging when you’re feeling like, I don’t know if I want to keep doing this, but then you hear all the people excited about what you’re doing.
It’s like, okay. Yeah. Keep going.
Where to find The Savvy Rabbit
Amy: Exactly. Well, Lea, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share your story with our community. So if someone wants to find more information about the Savvy Rabbit, how can they find you? Where can we shop?
Lea: I would say Instagram is a great way to see everything that’s going on and Etsy, when I take time to put them up. I will be honest though, Instagram, you get first dibs because I’m saying like, here’s the things I’m about to post. And if you snap snag it up before it hits my shop, that’s an advantage. So Instagram, it’s the_SavvyRabbit
On the Etsy shop, it’s the savvy rabbit. And my logo’s kind of like a wreath with the words in it. So it’s pretty simple. And that’s, those are the best two ways. I do have some vintage items, like what you see behind me in a local shop in Canal Fulton, it’s called HoCo Vintage.
So that is a retail shop, not focused on the flat lay but just purely vintage items. And their shop is so awesome. So many local vendors in there, plants gifts. You can find my things. They’re not necessarily the flat lays, but the other fun stuff.
Amy: Thank you everyone so much for joining us. For more information, visit newsymom.com.
Follow Along
Follow along @themomsonamission on Instagram and join the Stark County Newsymom Facebook group. Thank you everyone so much. We’ll see you next time!
Instagram: @the_savvyrabbit
Etsy Shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSavvyRabbit