We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leela Morimoto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Leela, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The whole reason I started my business was to design and create organizational decor. My background is in Product design, and after graduating from college I spent some time working with professional organizers. My personal life is filled with organizational projects, and it made sense to me to share my capabilities with others to help them organize their day-to-day lives as well. I launched my company about a year before the pandemic hit, and it flourished while people were at home and noticing more areas of life where the organization was helpful.

Organization is key to productivity, and an organized home means spending less time tearing areas apart looking for items. In the pantry, for example, you can easily see when you use the last item and can easily add it to your shopping list for more, instead of running to the store last minute while you’re in the midst of preparing a meal.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My background seems to have dictated what I studied in school, and eventually turned into my profession.

My parents were very nomadic, and we moved around a lot. I was always needing to make new friends, or create peace in a new area. I was an avid crafter, starting to fold origami when I was 3 years old, and then starting to make jewelry by the time I was 10 years old. In school, I was always doodling or folding paper, never able to sit still. I went into college thinking that I wanted to be an Interior Architect, creating spaces and layouts that made sense. However, once I took a furniture design class and made my furniture with my own hands, I quickly realized that I needed to be in a field where I was hands-on with the production process of what I was designing. I changed my major to Product Design, and while working after college, spent half of my time in production, and the other half streamlining the production process.

Now, my focus is in designing and making products that better the life of the user – whether it be organizational, or simply to bring joy. I saw during the pandemic that what helped me get through hard times was joy, but also systems and order.

For example, we’d been a meal-planning household already for budget reasons, but when I started sharing that information with people I knew, they said that it helped them tremendously. Organizational systems are entirely subjective, but if it worked for me, then wouldn’t it also work for someone else?

Have you ever had to pivot?

As with many other small businesses, the pandemic hit hard. My original focus was only on organizational products, but I saw the need for joy and activities while most were stuck at home. During this time, my DIY kits emerged, and have been popular ever since.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Yes! I was working as a graphic designer part-time and had been making origami jewelry and lights, but one day a light bulb lit up in my head and I decided to combine two of my passions: organizing and making. I’d been familiar with production methods from school and my jobs following college, so when I had the opportunity to get a laser cutter myself, I jumped at the chance. One product turned to two, and now I have about 200 products that I design and manufacture myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.leemodesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leemodesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeMoDesigns/
• Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/leemodesigns/

Image Credits
Katie Sox Photography