Designer of Dreams |
Business Woman |
Adventurous Creative
Leanne Botha has lived most of her life at the foot of Table Mountain. She studied graphic design and art direction at the Red and Yellow School. With the dream of one day running her own business, she went on to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship at UCT.
At the ripe young age of 21, Lea was swept her off her feet by, her now husband, Ryan. Creativity is Ryan’s lifeblood and passion as much as it is for Lea, and together they spent three years gaining work experience in the design hub of London. Leanne worked for a branding agency called SEA Design as an account executive, handling clients such as EMI and Boots. Eventually the grey skies were more than both of them could handle, and home was calling. Ryan and Leanne headed back to Cape Town and started their own graphic design agency, The Fire Room. Ten years, and three children later in 2014, they launched a product range called A Love Supreme.
Having worked for years on client’s briefs, A Love Supreme was started out of a desire to create something completely of their own. Designed and manufactured in Cape Town, this innovative South African brand has a spirit of adventure and a heart of humour. A Love Supreme stands out from the crowd with fresh design details and an ingenious flair for all things imaginative. With inspired verve, this off-the-wall brand has gone from strength to strength! This amazing husband and wife team bring their hand drawn illustrations and stylised designs to life in ranges of colourful and quirky home-ware, stationery and accessories.
Embracing all things stationery, they’ve created a comprehensive collection of everything from wrapping paper, to notebooks, to laptop sleeves. They’ll also add a splash of colour to any area of your home with a huge collection of cushion covers, aprons, table cloths and pretty much anything fab and funky to fit your needs! They’ve also got accessories galore and their decorative prints make up all types of bags, pouches, purses and - who would have thought - now masks too? With summer around the corner, so don’t miss their vibrant beach range that will leave your fellow sun-bathers totally envious!
“Meet your pain and challenges with GRATITUDE through prayer. It’s the best way to maintain your joy.” - Leanne Botha
alovesupreme_creative on Instagram
LEANNE speaks to Strongest Story about why ‘easy’ is overrated, how to embrace the uphills and what really is Supreme Love…
“I’ve loved the creative journey of building a business - a brand, a beautiful product range, a close knit team, a network of fabulous suppliers, loyal customers, and systems that make it all possible. As exciting and invigorating as it’s been, it’s also been a really tough, uphill slog. There have been many times when I’ve wanted to resign! And while I long for a slow easy downhill cruise, I know that not many lessons are learned, or strong characters built, in that freewheeling space of the open road. As Brené Brown says, “Easy is overrated”. So as much as everything in me resists hardship and challenges, I remind myself that this is where the real growth happens.
A Love Supreme was inspired by the liner notes of John Coltrane’s jazz album titled “A Love Supreme”. In them, he speaks about using his gift of creating music to bring joy to others and honour God. In a similar way, my greatest challenge is an internal one. I want to live life well - to use my gifts and the privilege I have been born into, to honour God and add value to the lives of others. I don’t want to do this from a place of guilt, or needing to earn favour, but from a place of being conscious of the incredible gift of life and abundance I have been given.”
A Personal Message from Strongest Story:
I consider myself very fortunate that I get to do daily life with a whole bunch of wonderful women. I have this incredible network of #womensupportingwomen and we all provide a safety net for one another. We share everything from teaspoons of baking powder, to cocktail outfits, to endless school lifts. Leanne is one such woman in my life. So I’m one of the lucky ones who get to see just how versatile and remarkable this woman really is! Talented to the extreme, Lea uses her creative skills to successfully juggle mothering three active boys, running her business and putting time and energy into a million other people and things…And somewhere in between that she also bakes the best cakes ever!
But what amazes me most about Leanne, is that somehow, amidst her busyness, she never loses sight of her real life-mission and Supreme Love, which is loving God and loving people. Lea, Strongest Story loves you for being truly you! Although your life is full to the brim, it also reflects every colour of the rainbow and this of course always reminds us of a Supreme Love and the promise of a a really strong story!