Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristal Hollingsworth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kristal, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

In 2015, I found myself overwhelmed by social anxiety and the chaos of raising 4-year-old triplets. Every day felt like a whirlwind, and the thought of venturing out alone with my boys was paralyzing. But something had to change. So, I made a small, courageous decision: I would create monthly adventures to push myself out of my comfort zone.

At first, the outings were simple and close to home—a trip to the park or the library. Month by month, I stretched a little further, gaining confidence with every step. Eventually, I could navigate outings with my triplets solo. With my husband’s demanding Monday-to-Friday job, that meant I was often on my own. These small adventures became our lifeline, especially during the pandemic years when life felt uncertain.

By 2018, my husband and I decided to take a bold step: instead of giving traditional Christmas gifts, we’d give our family the gift of a year of adventures. Not only did this eliminate the inevitable clutter (remember, everything is times three!), but it also brought us something much more valuable: joy, connection, and unforgettable memories.

I leaned into the idea wholeheartedly, planning experiences tailored to love languages, bucket lists, and even special one-on-one “singleton dates” with each child. The process became so fulfilling that friends began to notice and ask how I did it. How did I come up with ideas? How did I keep everything organized? Inspired by their curiosity, I created my very first planner: The Adventure Planner, a guide to planning monthly experience gifts.

When it came time to name the planner, I thought back to that bittersweet season of my life—so bright with happy moments but also tinged with stress and challenges. The lemon, with its cheerful color yet sour taste, felt like the perfect symbol. I called it the Happy Lemon Planner and poured my heart into helping others create meaningful adventures for their families.

Fast forward to 2020 and the world came to a standstill. Like so many, I sought an outlet for the swirling emotions of the pandemic. Thankfully, I had been practicing hand lettering as a hobby for years, dreaming of one day turning it into something more. During those quiet, uncertain months, I spent countless hours drawing and refining my craft. Slowly, I began sharing videos of my lettering online.

The response was incredible. Friends commissioned me for everything from hand-lettered signage for brick-and-mortar stores to website designs. One dear friend even had two of my quotes tattooed on her arm—a gesture that left me speechless.

With their encouragement, I decided to take a leap and build a website for my lettering work. Staying true to the lemon theme that had carried me through so much, I named it Lemon Lettering. It became a space to share not just my art but also the stories and meaning behind it.

What started as a way to manage anxiety and connect with my boys has blossomed into a passion-filled journey of creativity, resilience, and spreading joy—one adventure and one letter at a time.

Kristal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For most of my life, I’ve been a stay-at-home mom to five kids (now 25, 23, and 13-year-old triplets). Life was busy, messy, and full of love—but not always overflowing with extra cash.

When my oldest was in junior high, she had an incredible opportunity to take a two-week trip to London. But with newborn triplets and mounting medical bills, it felt impossible. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she deserved this experience. So, I decided to hustle.

I got creative with what I had. Armed with wood blocks, Mod Podge, and e-cards, I crafted handmade décor and hit every craft fair and market in town. For an entire year, I worked tirelessly until I saved enough to send her on that once-in-a-lifetime trip.

After she left for London, I realized something: I didn’t want to stop. I loved the creative process, the challenge of learning new skills, and the satisfaction of making something with my hands. I bought a Cricut machine and dove headfirst into the world of crafting.

When Yeti tumblers became the must-have item, I saw an opportunity to stand out. I turned off my Cricut, taught myself how to powder coat, and cobbled together a DIY setup: a toaster oven turned sideways, a trash bag taped to a box fan, and a $20 powder gun. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked. Eventually, I upgraded to a double oven and a custom paint booth. For years, I powder-coated tumblers and took pride in mastering a skill not many women knew. Even now, it’s my secret weapon for thoughtful, personalized gifts.

From there, I dabbled in sublimation, teaching myself how to design, print, and press. Around the same time, Rachel Hollis’s “Girl, Wash Your Face” era inspired a wave of Southern women (myself included) to dream bigger and scale their creative businesses. I attended every course, read every book, and joined a vibrant community of talented women.

That’s when I took a leap and sent a DM to a stranger—a hand-lettering artist whose work I admired. My pitch? Let’s create a monthly subscription box featuring her lettering on sublimated, curated items. To my surprise, she said yes.

The idea took off. We built a business together, and I even got invited to Canada to speak and showcase our boxes at a women’s conference. Everything was growing rapidly—until 2020 hit.

When the pandemic shut everything down, our subscription boxes—a luxury item—were among the first things people cut from their budgets. Our business came to a screeching halt. At the same time, my husband was working as an essential worker, and I was homeschooling three fourth graders. Survival mode became the new normal.

To keep ourselves busy, my boys and I started creating a weekly neighborhood newspaper. We poured our energy into writing, drawing, and designing sections based on what we learned during virtual school. Every week, we’d deliver the papers around the neighborhood.

During that time, I found solace in hand lettering. What started as a creative outlet became my mindfulness practice. The rhythm of drawing letters quieted my mind and helped me stay grounded in an uncertain world.

I never stopped. Five years later, hand lettering is still my favorite skill. It’s more than a hobby—it’s my way of turning the chaos of life into something beautiful.

Looking back on my journey, I see a common thread: every business, every project, has been about making tangible moments memorable. Whether it was sending my daughter to London, creating meaningful gifts, or simply writing the words that carried me through hard times, it’s always been about capturing the magic in the everyday.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being a creative isn’t just dreaming up ideas—it’s bringing them to life in a way that helps others. There’s something magical about taking a spark of inspiration, working it through my hands, and transforming it into a tangible tool that makes someone’s life easier, brighter, or more meaningful.

Whether it’s crafting something useful, beautiful, or just plain fun, the real joy comes from knowing that what started as an idea in my mind is now out in the world, making a difference. For me, that’s the heart of creativity: turning imagination into impact.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

For someone who doesn’t live in the world of creativity, my journey might seem a little perplexing—or even impossible to relate to. To the non-creative, it’s hard to explain the constant pull of inspiration or the endless cycle of trial and error that comes with bringing ideas to life.

They might not understand how I can spend hours lost in a swirl of colors, shapes, and possibilities, or why I’m willing to start over again and again until I get it just right. To them, it might seem impractical or even exhausting.

But for me, it’s the only way I know how to exist. Creativity isn’t just a process—it’s how I process the world. It’s how I turn chaos into beauty, thoughts into tools, and dreams into reality. And while my path might not look linear or logical from the outside, every twist and turn is part of a story I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Being a creative means living in a space where ideas have no limits, and while that might be hard for some to understand, for me, it’s where life feels most alive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lemonlettering.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristal.hollingsworth.5/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kristalkidd
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lemonlettering?_t=8cwb7qJegBe&_r=1