Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to JONELLE LOVE. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, JONELLE thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Thank you so much for having me! Like many creators, I stumbled onto content creation unintentionally during the pandemic — I was stuck at home with my family with nothing to do but get on each others nerves and notice all the little things that bothered me about our house because it was either A) a waste of space, or B) inefficient for our busy family. So I decided to fix them! I started posting all of my “quarantine projects” on my Instagram and Facebook. My family and friends made it very clear they loved my DIY content…(noticeably more than anything else I was posting!), so I leaned into it!
Fast forward a year into quarantine…like many couples, Dante and I decided that growing our family during the peak of a global pandemic was just the best idea since sliced bread (it was either make a baby or just bicker until the pandemic was over!). Little did we know, getting pregnant at the near-geriatric age of 34 was not in (cue Drake’s voice) “God’s plan” as we had hoped. We had four miscarriages over the span of 16 months. Add on the isolation of the pandemic and a totally different world as we knew it, all of which caused me to spiral into severe depression that totally rocked my world.
So what did I do? I bought a bunch of power tools and some ridiculously inflated wood, and started building stuff! I turned something that I enjoyed doing as a hobby into something pivotal in my healing. Building, creating, and problem-solving was so cathartic at a time when I felt like I had lost all control in every aspect of my life.
To answer your question — my living room fireplace is the most meaningful project in my home. It got me through some of my darkest times. It was actually the project that helped me decide to become an official “creator”. I built that fireplace from scratch without a clue on what I was doing. I took my time. I allowed myself to get lost in the project. I made myself feel all the feelings. I processed. I grieved. I figured it out. The fireplace is one of the first features you see when you walk inside our home. For my friends and followers who don’t know my story, when they walk in, they see a beautiful fireplace centered in the living room where our family gathers. When I see it, I see the pain and emotions I worked through while building it. But, I also see it as a reminder that no matter how big of a “fireplace” that life throws at me, I can tackle the task head on and get through it because I am stronger than I think.
Want to know the irony in all of this? I’ve spent the last year or so building all these amazing pieces from scratch — an electric fireplace, a 12-foot hall tree/drop zone, a work table named, “Big Bertha” with a drop down miter station…but the one thing I wanted to create…I couldn’t. Silver lining? During my time of processing my grief, I discovered a fire in my soul for DIY, which has now become a major part of my life. And the best part is that I get to empower and inspire others along the way. This makes my heart so full.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
ABOUT ME
I’m Jonelle Love, Creator behind @jonellelovesdiy! Yes, my last name is really LOVE, and yes, I really “LOVE” DIY! (Who caught the double entendre?) I am a believer, a mother, a wife, a fur mom, a full-time medical sales professional who travels quite a bit for my “big girl job”, AND a DIY content creator! That makes me tired just saying that…my life is one huge juggling act! When I’m not on the road engaging with physicians, you can usually find me in my garage covered in sawdust or paint…sometimes both! I live in San Antonio, Texas with my lucky husband of 14 years, Dante, our daughter, Danae (13 — send help!), our son, Daylen (10), and our crazy Yorkie, Thor (2). I call Thor my favorite child because he’s the only one who listens to me in the house. The kids don’t fight it because they know I’m right.
I grew up a Navy brat born in Japan, but I was raised in San Diego, California, where I met Dante. After retiring from professional baseball with the Oakland A’s minor league team, Dante joined the Air Force and we moved from Cali, to Texas, to Florida, then overseas to Guam, only to find ourselves right back in Texas. Somehow I went from beaches, to more beaches, to a tropical island…and your girl still can’t swim!
One of the first things I share when I meet new people — I love me some Jesus!…buuut my dad was in the Navy and I grew up with two older brothers, so I was basically doomed with the literal mouth of a sailor. We are all a work in progress, right?
HOW I GOT INTO THE DIY/CONTENT CREATION INDUSTRY
Backstory: I’ve always been handy since I was little. My grandfather was a carpenter, so I grew up hanging out in the backyard with him while he would build all the things. I fell in love with the smell of lumber at a very young age! I vividly remember dumping out his homemade toolbox, counting, and reorganizing all of his hardware. He was an old-school carpenter and did not have power tools back then, but I was always surrounded by his projects and tools. Growing up, I was also known as a serial furniture rearranger! As early as middle school, I started rearranging my room around and explained to my mom that it made the room “feel better”.
While Dante was in the Air Force, we moved around quite a bit. We spent years renting, as we did not want to buy a home until we were ready to fully settle into civilian life. I would hang pictures on the wall, put up curtains, rearrange some furniture, but I was limited to only renter-friendly projects. We bought our first home in 2019 in San Antonio, TX, but we did not have the money to hire contractors to do all of the upgrades I had in mind. This is when I started tapping into my creative builder side!
Again, the pandemic magnified all of the inefficient spaces in our home that we were previously too busy to address. Being stuck at the house really allowed me the time to improve the inefficiencies and to increase the functionality of our house for our family. I started documenting the before and afters, sharing some of my processes in between (mainly of me figuring it out on the fly). The projects got bigger and bigger, and before I knew it, I was a DIY + design content creator!
THE TYPE OF CREATIVE WORK I PROVIDE
I love to focus my content on beginner and budget-friendly DIYs. Who doesn’t love a good designer dupe?! I always encourage my followers that if I can do this, they can too! I realize my definition of “beginner” might be different than others, but we are all on our own learning journey, and I am a firm believer that sometimes, you just have to pick up the tools and go for it!
THE PROBLEMS I SOLVE FOR MY AUDIENCE
Another focus I have is maximizing spaces and tailoring them to what is most efficient and functional for a household. Whether that is turning a coat closet into a shoe closet because your active family has a lot of shoes, or building a 12’ hall tree in your entryway because you need a functional drop zone for all the sports balls, hats, scarves, etc., or if you need simple organization solutions…I’m your girl!
WHAT SETS ME APART
What you see is what you get with me. I am an open book. Yes, I can be pretty bubbly most of the time, but I am definitely someone who wears her heart on her sleeve. So I will also hop on my stories and tell my followers when I am struggling or having a rough day. I also have zero poker face (I actually don’t even know how to play poker, so it’d be easier to just give you all my money and skip all the drama). I think often with social media, people feel the need to be picture-perfect and only capture what will get them the most likes. I love to be transparent with my followers, and I always get a good response appreciating the transparency and real-life look at my life behind the scenes of all my reel reveals and family life.
SOMETHING I’M MOST PROUD OF
When I started my official creator account in January of 2022, I primarily used it to showcase my self-taught DIY projects. I never imagined I would have the impact that I do for so many people I’ve never even met in person before. My heart is so full reading all the messages I receive from followers (both women AND men!) sharing how I’ve inspired them to finally start that project they’ve been putting off, or how they’re finally going out and buying their first power tool and just going for it!
I laugh when Dante’s buddies tell him that I make them look bad to their wives and my videos make them feel like they need to get off the couch and go pick up a tool and start building something! Anything!
THE MAIN THING I WANT MY AUDIENCE TO KNOW ABOUT ME AND MY WORK
I pour my heart and soul into my account. Being a mama, a wife, managing a full-time career with travel AND content creation (not to mention actually doing the projects to create the content!), is not always easy. Seriously. I’m in a constant state of tired! But receiving messages or pictures of projects inspired by my work makes it totally worth it. Being a female DIYer in a predominantly male-dominated industry is so empowering. Knowing that I have created a space where I can inspire others — females, minorities, beginners, those who are down and out — that no matter your circumstances, what you look like, or your credentials, you can build and create a home you love too.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I started my official creator page in January of 2022. I had no idea that DIY content creation was even a thing. I was never one to care about the amount of followers a person had, especially not for myself. I had a few reels go viral back to back and my account hit a trajectory I couldn’t even fathom…I hit 100K just one day shy of my 1-year creator anniversary. While this was a major unexpected milestone that I was extremely proud of, I had to remind myself WHY I was doing this…because it wasn’t to gain a bunch of followers…I started my account as a creative and emotional outlet for myself, with the hope to inspire others to create a home they love.
Here are FIVE key nuggets I’ve learned over the last year of content creation:
1. Be authentic. Be YOU. — It’s easy to play the comparison game on social media. After all, everyone is only posting the best version of themselves. You don’t always have to follow the latest trends and change your style if the wind blows a different way. If you like faux beams, put up some beams. If you want to turn a hall closet into a shoe closet because that’s what makes sense for your family, DO IT! At the end of the day, it is your home, so you should do what feels good and makes sense to you. Don’t try to fit someone else’s mold. Stay true to what makes you uniquely YOU. You will build a community that appreciates you for who you are and what you bring to the table.
2. Be (sustainably) consistent — Pick a schedule that is sustainable and commit to it. Ask yourself, “Can I stick to this schedule for the next year?” I posted a reel every day for 30 days and experienced a serious case of self-inflicted burnout. I started to hate content creation and all the projects. I had to remind myself that I would do these projects if no one was watching, but I record and post to inspire others that they can do it too. I now post 3 days a week on M/W/F. It’s more manageable, but even then, sometimes it’s still a lot! Remember — its ok to take a break!
3. Stop focusing on going viral — Instead, focus on creating meaningful content for the followers you do have…those are your people. Take care of them.
4. Don’t take it personal — If people unfollow you, don’t take it personal. Your content probably wasn’t for them, which means they weren’t engaging with you, which you don’t want for your analytics anyway! Also, social media can be an ugly place sometimes. It can be pretty vulnerable for Creators to put our “work” out there; most of which, is in our own personal homes. You will be amazed at how many people are out there who don’t pay your mortgage, yet have a lot to say about your home! Thank them for their engagement, or hit them with a “totally” and move on.
5. Give yourself grace — Probably the most important nugget of advice I can share! The beauty about DIY is that you can pretty much guarantee a project is going to throw a curveball at you…BUT…growth happens in discomfort. If you make a mistake, don’t quit. Give yourself grace. Make adjustments. Try again. Then celebrate when you get through it because you’re a beast! You got this!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Social media, if used properly, can be the best place to meet like-minded individuals who share the same love and passion in your niche. I’ve built some of the best relationships with other creators because we just get each other. We speak the same language. We share the same frustrations. We motivate and uplift one another. When I started my creator journey last year, I was blessed to connect with other creators who were so happy to help guide me, give me direction, or connect me with other amazing creators and even share their brand contacts to help me succeed. I take every opportunity to reciprocate and pay the same love, support, and guidance forward to other creators and inquisitive followers who are just starting out on their DIY or content creation journey. There is room for all of us at the table and I am so grateful to be part of my community of creators supporting one another.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonellelovesdiy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonelle.love/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonellelove/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jonellelovesdiy