Today we’d like to introduce you to Marley Lovelace.
Marley, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always been a deep feeler. Even as a kid, I noticed subtle shifts in people, energy, tone, and the things that weren’t always seen or said out loud. I didn’t have language for it then, but looking back, I can see how much of my life was planting seeds that have been guiding me all along.
As an adolescent, I became interested in meditation, Tarot, spirituality, and the idea that there may be more to life than what we can immediately see or make sense of. I was also deeply interested in people and emotional development, and over time that grew into my strong interest in psychology and healing.
Another huge part of my life growing up was music. I was a performing musician until the pandemic, and when that part of my life suddenly stopped, like it did for so many people, I was given a lot of unexpected space and time to reflect. I started asking myself where my priorities were, what truly mattered to me, and what I wanted my life to look like moving forward.
I’m also a mother, and my partner is a first responder, so family life has always required a certain amount of flexibility and presence. Between motherhood, his unpredictable work schedule, and all the changes that came during the pandemic, I started looking at my life so differently. Eventually, things began lining up in a way that felt like I was being called back toward parts of myself I had known for a very long time.
In 2021, during a major transition for our family, my intuition resurfaced strongly. A series of experiences surrounding the home we were preparing to move into, including a presence I sensed there that was later confirmed through a conversation I had with the previous tenant, pushed me to stop dismissing my sensitivity and what I was sensing and begin taking it seriously. Not long after that I began working with a spiritual mentor who told me, “If you are a Sensitive, you must be disciplined.” That has stayed with me.
It helped me understand that sensitivity was not something I needed to fear or shut down. It was something I needed to approach with grounding, boundaries, and responsibility.
After years of privately working on myself, meeting myself emotionally in ways that felt like unraveling, I was actually able to re-meet my Self. I studied, meditated, connected with energy that felt so familiar and right, but most importantly I reconnected with my Higher Power. I call my higher power God. Sometime after that, I was ready to go public with offering my intuitive insights to others. In that period of time was the beginning of Lovelace & Light, a playful take on Love & Light, but even that has become a more grounding interpretation in what that actually means for me. Love & Light goes beyond just peace and love and trying to constantly remain high vibrational. It also means being honest about the heavier and very real emotions we all experience and have to work through.
I went on to become a Certified Reiki Master Practitioner and professional Intuitive Tarot Reader. My work centers around creating a grounding space where people can slow down, reconnect with themselves, feel empowered through their heavier seasons, and feel supported without judgment.
Over time, that work grew and eventually led me into my own space in Ventura. From there, LL Intention began to take shape.
LL Intention really came from a much longer conversation between my partner and me. For years, we had talked about wanting to do something that could support people and causes we care about in a lasting way. We didn’t want it to be a one time fundraiser or a flash in the pan situation. We wanted to build something that could continue giving back as it grew.
We also know so many incredibly talented and hardworking creative people, all living very different lives. Some are stay-at-home parents. Some work full time. Some are first responders or have schedules that can change without much notice. And these days, sharing your art and creations often means taking on a second job just to sell it. Social media, content creation, markets, shipping, promotion and everything else. That all can become exhausting, and it often leads to burnout and starts taking the joy out of creating in the first place.
That is a big part of what I am working toward with LL Intention.
We are creating a space where makers can share their work without having to carry every part of the selling process themselves. We help with the presentation, customer side, and daily tasks of business logistics so they can keep more of their energy for creating.
At the same time, a portion of what LL Intention earns from each sale is intended to support humanitarian and ocean related causes. That piece is very important to us because it brings together two things we care deeply about: supporting individual people and contributing to something larger than ourselves.
LL Intention is still very much in its building phase, and I’m being intentional about that. We have soft launched with wholesale items from small businesses and creatives, along with Featuring a few close creative individuals, so I have been able to put into practice and understand how everything works, make sure the systems are solid, and know that the people who trust me with their work are being taken care of properly before I open the doors to even more Featured Makers.
This has already stretched me in ways I never expected. I’ve had to learn new skills, make decisions I never imagined myself making, and step into parts of myself that used to feel intimidating. It has been challenging and fun, and I really love that I’m actively taking steps and learning how to meet my own dreams instead of just imagining them.
When I look back now, so much of my life feels connected to this path. My sensitivity as a child, my interest in spirituality and meditation as a teenager, my love of psychology, my years in music, motherhood, the life my partner and I have built, and the changes that came during the pandemic all seem to have been leading me here.
We’re still building. But for the first time, I feel like I’m part of building something that brings together so many parts of who I have always been.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and including me in this series. It gave me such a cool opportunity to see how far I’ve come and also reignite my excitement for where I’m still going.
Blessings!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh, this road has definitely had some texture to it!
A lot of the challenges have been internal as much as practical. It took time learning to trust myself, trust my intuition, and allow myself to not only take my own work, but also myself seriously. I think for a long time I questioned whether I was “ready enough” or established enough to really step into what I felt called to do.
There have also been the very real challenges of balancing family life, motherhood, and my partner’s unpredictable schedule as a first responder. Building businesses around real life means plans and priorities sometimes have to change and shift. You learn very quickly how to be flexible and often because you don’t have a choice. There are so many different moving pieces, and often trying to get one thing done often leads to needing other things to complete it. Getting a business off the ground has often felt like a game of Whack A Mole.
More on the business side, a lot of this has been learning as I go. I didn’t come into LL Intention with a background in retail, consignment, inventory systems, shipping, vendor relationships, or all of the behind-the-scenes pieces that go into running a shop. I’ve had to teach myself a lot, make mistakes, seek advice, adjust, and keep going.
One of the biggest challenges has actually been making sure I don’t rush what we’re building. I care a lot about the people whose work we feature, and I want to make sure I understand the systems and responsibilities before opening the doors wider. And I have found that often means moving slower than my excitement wants me to.
And honestly, there are still moments where I question myself. But I know doubt is there in efforts to protect me, but it doesn’t always mean stop. It’s usually just asking me to slow down, get grounded, learn what I need to learn, and keep moving forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I own and operate two businesses, Lovelace & Light and LL Intention, but if I were to choose one to share more about today, it would be LL Intention.
LL Intention is a small Ventura based boutique that I’m still very much building and figuring out as I go.
We carry a mix of things we genuinely like and feel connected to, along with work and creations from small businesses, vendors, and Featured Makers. So far we have books written and curated by local authors and publishers, paintings and prints by local artists, reflection and oracle decks, crystals, hand poured candles, handmade pieces, and other little finds that feel meaningful or even just fun. Soon, we will be inviting more Featured Makers offering upcycled fashion, photography, jewelry, accessories, and so much more.
I think one of the things that matters most to me is that it doesn’t feel like I’m just filling shelves for the sake of having more stuff. I like knowing where things came from, who made them, and why I wanted them in the shop in the first place.
Giving back is also a really important part of LL Intention. Right now, we’re setting aside a portion of what we earn from each sale to eventually present to two organizations we feel strongly about, one focused on humanitarian support and the other on ocean related causes.
We haven’t publicly named them yet because I want to make sure we have their permission before featuring their organizations on our website. Once we’re able to do that, I really can’t wait to share more about who they are and the work they’re doing.
My partner and I had talked for years about wanting to create something that could contribute in an ongoing way, so being able to build that intention into LL Intention from the beginning means a lot to us.
The Featured Maker side is probably the part I’m most excited about. I know how exhausting it can be for creative people to constantly promote themselves, make content, deal with customers, ship things, do markets, show up and be present in all the life to be lived inbetween, and still somehow have energy left to actually create. I’m hoping LL Intention can become a place that helps carry some of that load.
I’m being really intentional about growing that part as slowly as it’s needing to be because I want to make sure we are fully prepared, making sure that the people who trust me with their work are being taken care of.
Honestly, I think the thing I’m most proud of right now is just seeing it become real. It started as something my partner and I talked about for years, and now there are actual makers, actual customers, and systems we’re learning and setting in place. I have grown right alongside this project and my kids get to see that, too. Our kids often comment on how proud for me they are. That is such a cool feeling, and I hope they know they can have that same pride in themselves and in the things that call to them throughout their lives.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Get ready for a long list, because there are honestly so many people I would give credit to, and they’ve supported very different parts of my journey. Some helped me trust myself and find my footing in the work that eventually became Lovelace & Light, while others have inspired and supported me as I’ve stepped further into entrepreneurship and begun building LL Intention.
My partner is the first person I’d love to mention. We’ve been together for 17 years, and he has supported so many different chapters and versions of me throughout that time. He has believed in me through pivots, new ideas, uncertainty, and all the moments where I wasn’t fully sure what I was doing yet. Having that kind of genuine and steady support has meant everything.
My children deserve credit too. They have grown alongside so many versions of me and have had a front-row seat to all of the changes and new beginnings. They have been patient with the time and energy it takes to build something, and they are also some of my sweetest cheerleaders. Hearing them tell me they’re proud of me means more than I can explain. I hope that by watching continuously learning and growing through things, that they grow up knowing they have permission to do the same with their own lives.
My parents, Nicholas Deitch and Diana Salas-Deitch, have also been incredibly encouraging. My dad has been one of my biggest advisers when it comes to the business side of things. He helped found and run Mainstreet Architects & Planners for decades, and later in life went on to write and publish his own novel. My mom has returned to painting and has also created illustrations for other authors. Watching both of them continue creating and exploring new parts of themselves has shown me that we never really have to stop evolving or give ourselves an expiration date on trying something new.
My sister, Berkeley Kleckner, will absolutely be mentioned here as well. She has loved me, supported my businesses, and cheered me on through so many different chapters of my life. I’m really grateful for the love and support she’s given me over the years.
There were also several people who helped me build confidence in my Lovelace & Light business.
Brock Travis, a longtime family friend and spiritual mentor, was there for me during a period when I was really struggling to understand and accept my sensitivity. He taught me a lot about boundaries and grounding, two things I hadn’t had much of in my life up until then. His guidance helped me feel empowered by what I was experiencing instead of afraid of it.
Kelle Evans, owner of The Healing Portal, also played a huge role in my development. I originally knew her simply as a customer in her shop, and after only a handful of interactions, she approached me because she said she saw something in me. What began as filling in for an employee eventually became working there regularly. And soon after was given the opportunity to become one of the rotating Intuitive Readers. She also trained and attuned me through my Reiki levels. Eventually, I rented my own space within her shop and made the transition from employee to tenant, friend, and owner of my own business.
Alma Lozano, owner of De La Luna Soul, I met during that chapter, and she has became such a close friend. She is an incredibly gifted Reader and Healer, and she has offered me so much love and support in reconnecting with my confidence and trusting what I’m capable of.
Matt Jimenez, who works as Intuitive Matt, was the Reader in the space before me at The Healing Portal. I had received a very meaningful reading from him myself, and when he was ready to leave and expand his practice and into his own space, he encouraged me to step into the open position of being a Reader. His confidence in me helped me have more confidence in myself.
Tracy Wallace is a talented Numerologist who came into my life at exactly the right time. Her reading of my numbers was like a mirror being held up to me, shining light on parts of myself I had forgotten about and bringing my attention back to qualities and passions I wasn’t giving enough energy to. It helped me recognize patterns in myself that made many of the things I felt called toward make more sense.
Natalia Alexi was the very first Psychic Reader I ever saw, and I’ve been fortunate enough to stay in touch with her online over the years. During my reading with her, I felt deeply seen at a time when I was still questioning so much of what I was experiencing. She helped me trust my own intuitive development and reminded me of a connection with Tarot that had been part of me long before I ever considered doing this professionally. She has also been such a sweet witness and cheerleader to everything I’ve built since then.
I’ve also had a lot of inspiration and support from friends who are building their own businesses and creative work too.
My friend and hairstylist, Katelyn Curtis, owns Alchemy Beauty Company. I’ve known her for over a decade and watched her grow from renting a chair at the JCPenney salon to owning and running a salon of her own. Her dedication and work ethic have been such an inspiration, and she has also been a supportive friend and sounding board while I’ve navigated building my own businesses.
Faith Reimers, owner of Wildland Fire Wife, is another friend who understands a very specific part of my life. She is also a full-time mom, a business owner, and the spouse of a first responder. She is an incredibly talented seamstress who upcycles clothing, and I’ll soon be bringing some of her work into LL Intention. She has been such a source of emotional support because there are parts of this balancing act we understand without needing much explanation.
Yael Bouzaglo, creator of Evida Co., is another person who inspires me. She creates beautiful nature-inspired jewelry and also works as a photographer. I’ve watched her balance school, two businesses, creativity, and still make time for beautiful adventures and really living life. She’s shown me a lot of love and support through my own journey, and I’m really excited to bring some of her creations into LL Intention too.
And beyond the people I can name individually, I really want to thank all of my friends and family who have seen me through so many different chapters of my life.
It takes a lot to step away from a path you’ve lived on for a long time and move toward something completely different, especially when that change can challenge the way people have always known or understood you. The people who have watched me evolve, shift direction, become different versions of myself, and still stood beside me and took me seriously through all of it mean more to me than I can really say.
To everyone who has supported me, believed in me, and stayed with me through all the different versions of myself, I love and appreciate you more than you know.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://llintention.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ll.intention/
- Other: https://www.lovelaceandlight.com/
