Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen and Tom Kura.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Helen studied languages and human resources in her native England and worked in administration and human resources. Tom’s a design and process guy, with a background in engineering and business management and work experience in manufacturing and management consulting.
We first met while working at the same company when Tom was on an international work assignment in England. We later married and moved to the US with stops in Chicago, Indiana and Tennessee before settling in the Boston area over a decade ago with our two kids.
Your Love In Lights began in 2015 from our desire to create and grow a business of our own. Helen had been following the popular trend in England and Europe for large illuminated letters at weddings for some time and, with the kids growing up, the time felt right.
So Tom disappeared into the basement and emerged several days (or was it weeks?) later – covered in sweat and sawdust – with LOVE, our first large marquee letter designs. The rest of the story has really been about building some great relationships – with clients, industry partners, communities, even each other!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Looking back after nearly four years of effort, the road looks a lot smoother now than it really was! With no prior background in the events industry, our first struggle was simply not knowing what we didn’t know!
Things like how the industry really worked and communicated, which were the best ways to promote and market a new business, even the lingo everyone else seemed to know and use. But, lucky for us, we also didn’t know just how welcoming, fun and collaborative the event professionals are in New England. The industry is full of driven, talented and creative people who are more than willing to help others learn and succeed alongside them.
Of course, we were also launching a business based on a product and service that few people in New England even knew existed at the time! The effort required to explain the business, help people visualize what marquee letters would look like in their event and even educate people on what to call them (other than the gigantic light up sign thingies) was significant and required a lot of faith in the concept, especially in the first few years.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a marquee letter rental company, which means we help clients make impactful visual statements and attract attention during their events. We’ve supported all kinds of events – from weddings, anniversaries and bar/bat mitzvahs to fundraisers, conventions, festivals and even one practical joke!
After beginning with a product line of large marquee letters that light up, we’re now steadily expanding the styles, sizes, and extras we have to offer, giving clients a range of choices to suit their event’s theme, time of day and budget. All of our product lines are designed and handmade by us, so each item we offer becomes part of our story and creates a personal connection with us to our clients.
People tell us we’re reliable, responsive and easy to work with – but we’re not resting on our laurels. We listen very hard to clients AND non-clients for clues about where we can improve or create something new. Today’s objection or problem can become tomorrow’s new feature or product, right?
Our clients are often working with a number of vendors and handling dozens or even hundreds of details and decisions when planning their event. With over 300 events under our belt, we’re now in a wonderful position to offer advice and recommendations alongside our products, making our clients lives easier as much as we can!
We’re very proud of the fact that we often find ourselves in the position to help other small business owners launch and promote their businesses. It feels great to give back after receiving so much help from others when we started just a few years ago.
What were you like growing up?
Helen: You’d usually find me skating at the ice rink and swooning over Donny Osmond.
Tom: I was a pretty level-headed kid who was into sports, drawing and sketching, rock and roll and figuring out how things worked. I was definitely not into Donny Osmond.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yourloveinlights.com
- Phone: 781-915-4964
- Email: helen@yourloveinlights.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourloveinlights/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourloveinlights/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/YourLoveInLight
Image Credit:
Lynne Reznick Photography, Black Thumb Studio, Benoit and MacCarthy Photography, Picture This! Event Photography, Allegro Photography
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