We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Landers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

The heartbreaking loss of my baby at 15 weeks gave me almost immediate inspiration. I wanted to be able to give support and hope to those going through miscarriage and also open up the conversation surrounding miscarriage, still birth and loss.

While honoring my baby, I have made it my mission to bring “Joy Bomb” care packages to women in the hospital going through a miscarriage. Women who suffer a loss need something beautiful, magical and filled with love so they feel supported during some of their darkest days. We lived the trauma first hand when we lost our baby at 15 weeks, and we soon realized how essential something like this is for moms and families. After all, you don’t get to leave the hospital with your baby.

Creating the different items for the gift packages offered me hope and healing immediately after our loss. I always needed art in my life but especially after my miscarriage. Creating the Joy bombs and items inside (bracelets, candles, rainbow makers, wishing jars) gave me something positive to pour my energy into. Starting off, I was funding all the items for the bags, so I decided to do a one for one model for my handmade gemstone bracelets. Any time a bracelet was purchased, one would be donated. The project became mutually beneficial

I have even started a group with a friend who has had numerous miscarriages called Mommas of Angels. Once a month, women who have lost babies get together to share, chat and heal while creating items for the joy bombs. Most of us have never met before, but we are all a part of this club that nobody wants to be a part of, but we understand each other so completely- it makes all of us feel less alone in our grief.

Ultimately, A Little Something. A Lot of Love is about healing. It’s healing for me to create the items and Joy Bombs and to get to go to the hospital to drop off our donations in honor of my baby, its healing for those receiving the bags, its healing for those helping to put the bags together and even healing for those supporting the cause by buying a bracelet or donating items for the care packages.

I hope to leave a legacy of love from our loss, to give hope in the middle of heartache and to create a space for healing.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

The loss of our baby inspired action for me and that action was art. I literally woke up the day after I got home from the hospital just knowing that I was meant to make Joy Bombs and the items inside. It is my passion. I LOVE doing this work. It hasn’t ever stopped being fun and it’s never been about making money- its only about making a difference in the lives of those suffering a loss.

The products I make inspire hope. Every time a bracelet is purchased, one is donated to a Joy Bomb that is given to a woman going through miscarriage in the hospital.

I have many different bracelet designs and all contain genuine healing gemstones with different properties based on the crystals they contain. I have a 7 stone chakra bracelet, a trying to conceive bracelet, a bracelet that promotes peace and calming, one for the first day of school. I found that creating the different bracelet designs and getting to make them during my down time allowed me to pour my energy into something productive.

I firmly believe in never sacrificing the quality of beads and materials for my bracelets, so I am willing to pay more for better stones. The quality of materials set my bracelets apart from others. They feel incredibly sturdy in your hand and look different than other bracelets you see with interesting and artistic color combinations. Customers love to stack my different bracelets to make unique combinations.

I lived in Nashville for 15 years which I believe had a large impact on my creativity. It’s a very artistic and eclectic city and my bracelets reflect that. Many of them are bold statement pieces with a unique combination of colors and styles.

Each of my items has a magical and whimsical component aimed at promoting positivity. There are rainbow makers, wishing jars, candles with hidden beach glass which helps promote the idea that broken is beautiful and sometimes unexpected treasures do exist.

I believe people want to help and fully support the values behind this business. They aren’t just buying a bracelet, they are contributing first hand to a Joy Bomb and supporting a woman when she needs it most. They are donating hope.

So many things collide in this business and the whole time it has felt “meant to be” and despite being a lot of work, all of it has come together so organically and rapidly. It is artistic, healing, something deeply personal, and feels more like a calling than work.

It sparks joy while filling a very important need. It is about more than a beautiful, whimsical, magical product, it’s a way for people to give back to others and for those who have been through a similar difficult life situation to feel seen and supported.

Many women go through miscarriage and loss and chances are you know someone who has been through it if you have not. People often don’t know what to do to support another during this time, and A Little Something gives them a tangible way to help and support someone. (Joy Bomb care packages are available for purchase and I ship them nationwide).

I needed art, and I always have. After my loss, I needed it more than ever before to help me heal. I am passionate about helping moms, and I also wanted to create something lasting and beautiful to honor my baby while helping other moms honor theirs.

I want to contribute to our society by leaving something beautiful and lasting, while leaving a legacy for my baby and supporting moms and women going through miscarriage and still birth. Hopefully, I can be an example of hope to others by promoting optimism in the face of adversity. Maybe seeing someone go through miscarriage will make them realize they can make it through as well.

I hope that I can have a hand in opening up a valuable conversation surrounding loss. It’s hard to talk about, it’s not beautiful to talk about, so I’m trying to be a person out there discussing my emotions and some of the hard stuff so people can feel comfortable doing so too, and feel less alone in their healing journey.

From the products I make, to the emotions I wish to promote, hope is intricately woven into every aspect of my business. If you have hope, you can get through anything. I want people to love my company and mission as much as they love my products.

Brief synopsis of A Little Something. A Lot of Love.

After Emily Landers had a miscarriage in December of 2020, she immediately channeled her loss into joy. She created A Little Something. A Lot of Love with a mission of bringing hope and support to women during miscarriage, still birth and pregnancy loss.

She handcrafts “Joy Bomb” care packages filled with items Landers makes, local items and a hand written note from Emily. Emily then donates the Joy Bombs to hospitals around the Milwaukee area. Nurses can give the Joy Bombs to their patients before they are discharged.

To date, Emily has donated hundreds of “Joy Bomb” care packages to labor and delivery floors of local Milwaukee Hospitals.

Landers wanted to personally create the different items in the care packages because creating art was healing for her as she worked through her grief and sadness. In addition to the Joy Bombs themselves, all the individual items contained in the Joy Bombs can be purchased through Landers’ website. The star of her items has to be her dynamic and beautiful gemstone bracelets. They are always buy one donate one to the Joy Bomb care packages. The funds she raises through product sales help pay for her main mission— to supply hospitals with joy bombs to give to people who have a pregnancy loss.

Landers is often surprised that she has become outspoken about her miscarriage, but she hopes that in doing so, other women will feel less alone and able to share their story. She’s created space for an important conversation around miscarriage.

A Little Something. A Lot of Love is dedicated to bringing a whole lot of love to others on their darkest days while honoring the memory of her baby.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many incredible local spots in the Milwaukee area. Many of them I am just now rediscovering as we recently moved back after living in Nashville, TN for 15 years. It has been so much fun to rediscover the city as an adult.

I was born and raised in Mequon, WI, a northern suburb of Milwaukee.

I would definitely have to take my friend to the Mequon public market where we could sample an array of locally owned restaurants and shop at my very favorite- La Terre. We would definitely spend a day hunting for beach glass down at Lake Michigan followed by custard at Kopps- where we could sample the very best ice cream and burgers in town.

We would have to drive downtown and hit the lakefront. Hopefully Summerfest would be going on and we could listen to some amazing live music with a craft beer in hand right on Lake Michigan.

I’d love to show them the Bay View neighborhood which is an artsy and eclectic neighborhood with some of the greatest local business and restaurants.

One day would absolutely be spent in Cedarburg, WI. It’s a step back in time and what you think of when you think of “small town America.” Adorable local businesses line the Main Street. There are great coffee shops, Frannie’s Market (the greatest little gift shop) and there’s even a movie theater with just one theater, and a gem shop where you can find the most beautiful crystals and gems.

We would for sure do a Fish Fry on a Friday, spend good quality time outside likely having a bonfire and pick fresh raspberries at peak ripeness right in the back yard.

We would have to drive up to Door County, which isn’t too far so they could see the gorgeous lake, sample some amazing food and get to see the sun set right over the lake.

Wisconsin has so much to offer and I would love to show them that even thought it isn’t a huge city, there’s so much fun stuff to do and so much to see.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A huge part of the success of A Little Something. A Lot of Love is because of the incredible support and donations from local businesses around town for our Joy Bomb drops. I may be helping women after loss, but at the same time, local creatives and businesses owners are helping and supporting me in my efforts to bring Joy Bombs to the hospitals. In the process, they are helping me heal from my tragic loss by remining hopeful and optimistic.

Meg Hopkins, Owner of La Terre Market here in Milwaukee, WI reached out almost immediately after she heard about what I was doing. I’ve always loved her store and admired her aesthetic, so to have someone I so look up to reach out to me in the very beginning, couldn’t have meant more. Not only does she donate flower vouchers to every single Joy Bomb, she has so generously let me into her gorgeous store to Pop Up with my bracelets and other handmade items. Some of my favorite days are spent in her store telling customers about my bracelets and products and about my mission of bringing Joy Bombs to the hospital for woman going through miscarriage.

Every hospital donation looks a little different because of the varied items that have been donated. I always hoped that other people and businesses would be inspired to contribute, but I never imagined how quickly other businesses would help. (Such businesses include Nourish Natural Products, Wild & Precious Boutique, Cloud Nine Soap Co., Emm West, MKE Clay Creations, M. Sheahan Studio, Camino Woodshop, True Mamas, Wallitcreations, Love Your Face Skincare, Hanny Lou Designs, Babbling Babes.)

I’ve had people from across the country reach out to me offering up small paintings, lip masks…there are a couple local business that contribute to every Joy Bomb- a local florist donates flower vouchers, another local gift shop gives mugs. I’ve had numerous artisans donate earrings, necklace charms, bath soaks, essential oil roller blends and hand painted coasters. The connections I have made are the most beautiful part of all of this. Many of these people have become great friends and oftentimes those who contribute have a personal connection to miscarriage.

Many of my friends are people I have met because of A Little Something, and I now have an incredible community of local creatives that I wouldn’t have known before my loss. It is karma in action. I’m giving, but I’m receiving so much in return and I am so grateful.

Website: https://www.alittlesomethingalotoflove.com

Instagram: @alittlesomethingalotoflove

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