08/16/2026
The faces , & the reasons, behind The Lovie Lab. 🤍🧸
We’re JoDee and Telli: best friends, moms, wives, and the two women who built The Lovie Lab completely from the ground up.
We met at a firemen’s conference in 2023 because our husbands are both members of Bayou Boeuf Volunteer Fire Department. We immediately clicked and have pretty much been inseparable ever since.
The idea for The Lovie Lab began during one of our normal weekends at our camp on Lake Verret. We were sitting around playing spades and talking about how there just weren’t enough fun experiences for children around Thibodaux. As moms ourselves, we wanted to create something our own children would be excited about and something other local families could enjoy together too.
So we grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and started brainstorming.
Within ONE WEEK, we took The Lovie Lab from an idea on paper to a real business. We officially filed on April 13th, and by April 25th, we were working our very first event at the Bayou Boeuf Fire Station ( talk about full circle lol) , where more than 30 lovies found new homes. Seeing how much the children and families loved the experience gave us the motivation to jump into this business full force.
And when we say we started from scratch, we truly mean from scratch.
There was no franchise behind us, no ready-made business model, no corporate name, and no blueprint handed to us. We funded everything from our own pockets, did our own research, created our own experience, reached out to events ourselves, and learned through PLENTY of trial and error. It has tested us more than once, but every part of The Lovie Lab was created and built by us.
Outside of The Lovie Lab, we both have very full lives. JoDee has worked full-time at Bath Fitter for three years and, until Beckett started Pre-K this week, balanced working from home full-time while also caring for him full-time. Beckett is four years old, her one and only, and her entire world. Telli owns Sweet Tee’s Treats, helps with her husband’s business, Amped Up Installations, and is a mom to Avry, who is six, and Elliana, who is three who are both the best part of every day for them.
Our children and families are our biggest “reasons.”
This business requires us to sacrifice weekends and time at home, but it also gives us the opportunity to create memories with our families that we may not have been able to otherwise. We love taking vacations together, finding new experiences, and letting our children grow up making memories alongside each other. The long days, late nights, and busy weekends help make those moments possible.
Building our name has easily been one of the hardest parts. We reach out to everyone, and yes, we get left on read more times than we can count. 😂 But JoDee always says, “You miss 100% of the chances you don’t take,” so we keep asking, keep showing up, and keep putting ourselves out there.
One of our proudest moments was nearly selling out at the Fourth of July event in St. James. Looking across the field and seeing children everywhere carrying the lovies they made with us was surreal. Even more special is hearing families say they came to an event specifically because The Lovie Lab would be there.
That feeling will never get old.
What makes our experience so special is that every child gets to stuff their own lovie by hand. There isn’t a machine doing it for them, the children are part of bringing their new friend to life. They choose it, stuff it, add its heart, and experience every part of the process together with their family. It’s personal, hands-on, and made to become a memory, not just another stuffed animal.
Every time you purchase a lovie, book a party, invite us to an event, share one of our posts, or recommend us to another family, you are directly supporting two local moms, three children, and the dream we built ourselves.
Without our community, The Lovie Lab wouldn’t exist. Your support allows us to continue doing something we genuinely love while building a future for our families.
Our dream is for The Lovie Lab to become a household name and the go-to local business for stuffed-animal experiences. We know we still have plenty of growing to do, but everything we’ve accomplished so far started with two best friends, a pen and paper, and an idea at the camp.
Thank you for believing in something we created from nothing. We promise that every lovie, every family, and every bit of support means more to us than you’ll ever know. 🤍🧸
