Meet Mariah Brancheau | Artist & Business Owner

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

Hi Mariah, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Hi friend! My name is Mariah Brancheau and I am the owner, artist, and art educator behind Lovely Little Lettering Co, my art brand that celebrates the lovely things in life through beautiful words, vibrant colors, and blooming florals.

I am located in Alpena, Michigan, the town I grew up in and am proud to call still call home. Recently, I celebrated five years of running Lovely Little Lettering Co. It’s hard to believe that something I birthed out of a love for creativity and community at fifteen years old has grown to something so special.

At my core, I have always been a creative with a passion for beautiful art and words. Growing up, I was involved in every form of art I could get my hands on: dance, theater, painting, sculpting, writing, drawing. If it was artsy or colorful or messy, it filled my heart with a desire for more of it.

I was blessed to be able to be homeschooled from pre-k through high school graduation. Being homeschooled gave me the opportunity to learn at my own accelerated pace and offered me time to study and explore the things that I loved, including art. After my regular science projects and history papers and math tests were finished, I poured myself into my different artistic outlets.

Although I have always loved any type of art, I fell in love specifically with painting and hand lettering at the age of thirteen and just two years later realized I wanted something more: to be able to share the beautiful things I saw in my mind and in my sketchbook with others. The idea for LLLCo. began in a business and marketing class where, while the other students created mock business ideas, I realized my idea could be something more. I created a Facebook page for my art in September 2019 and haven’t looked back since.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I began my business by selling hand painted watercolor pieces to my mom’s facebook friends. She would drive me around town to hand-deliver any orders I had received. I would do a happy dance anytime someone commented that they’d like to buy a painting I had made, and things just grew organically from there. I had more inspiration, more product ideas, and more opportunities to chase after. I began doing arts and craft shows, where I discovered my love for meeting customers and selling my work in person. I knew from the very beginning that my purpose and hope for all of my work was to inspire others to create, to realize there is wonderful joy ahead, and to remember that they are loved. Whether I am lettering scripture verses or silly puns and painting flowers or disco balls, my purpose has always stayed the same. Something I never could have expected was the outpouring of love and support I have received from my community. Business owners and the surrounding community took a chance on me and helped me soar. I began to be commissioned for murals, chalkboard designs, window paintings, and more. The beautiful thing about each opportunity was that it always seemed to lead to another: another chance to prove myself as a young woman in business, another chance to leave my mark, another chance to make a new friend, or put a smile on someone’s face. I continued doing in-person art shows and selling through social media until, in summer 2023, I received a grant from The Sunset Project, a local organization dedicated to supporting young creatives and mental health. The Sunset Project team fully designed and funded a professional website for me to share and sell my art through. Now, a year later, I have been able to ship my products to new friends across the United States, and I still do a happy dance every time I get an order.

One of the projects I am most proud of, and something that is at the core of my business, is the phrase You Are Art. It began like all my best projects: in my sketchbook. The words had been rolling around in my head and I began to letter it on my page and draw flowers around it. I knew that through the act of creating I was making art, but was I myself a piece of art? The words became a reminder that we are all beautifully and wonderfully made and that we are all a masterpiece, created with a purpose. The doodles turned into a painting that became a design that is still to this day my most popular sticker design and is featured in several other products. I also was able to paint the You Are Art design in a new way on a mural in Downtown Alpena as a reminder to all who see it that they are a priceless work of art.

So much has changed but my inspiration and purpose has always stayed the same. What started as watercolor paintings for Facebook friends has expanded today to product lines including stickers, cards, art prints, accessories, and more. What began in sketchbooks has turned into products and window paintings and murals. What began on social media has turned into friendships and an unbelievable community filled with love and support. Five years ago, fifteen year old Mariah never could have imagined what my business would become. Today, at twenty years old, I am humbled and grateful to every person who has invested in me, believed in me, and taken a chance on me. I have nothing but hope and joy as I look to what the next five years, and beyond, will bring.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Summer is always my favorite season and Alpena is just bursting with life and color in the summertime! There’s always so many fun festivals and live music and activities in the summer. I love giving any visiting friends a walking tour of the murals and artwork around town and in the galleries at Art in the Loft and Thunder Bay Arts Gallery. We’d probably stop for breakfast and coffee at Cabin Creek Coffee and hit the farmers market and all the cute shops downtown, like Local Basketcase or Rusty Petunias. I love spending summer afternoons at the beach, enjoying the sun and water. Dinner would be a picnic at the beach or a local restaurant like Red Brick or Mangos. I’d finish the day with a game of tennis or a bike ride at sunset or listening to one of the live concerts in the park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There will never be enough time in the world to thank all the people who have supported me, guided me, and lifted me up in my journey as an artist. My family has supported my business every step of the way and I wouldn’t be who I am today without them. My mom inspires me and all my best ideas come from her. She guides me in the financial side of my business that my artist brain can’t wrap around and talks through my dreams with me until they become reality. My entrepreneurial and dreamer spirit comes from my dad, and he helps build displays and tears down every art show with me. My four brothers mostly put up with my getting paint on absolutely everything and I can always count on them to cheer me on. My best friend Beka has supported and encouraged me every step of the way as my business has grown from the ground up and I know she’ll always be as equally excited as I am over each new opportunity. To every person and business owner and organization that has taken a chance on me: thank you will never be enough. I am so incredibly blessed and I am who I am today because of the love and generosity of all the people around me. I hope that through my art, I am able to give back even a fraction of the love and joy that my community has given to me.

Website: https://lovelylittleletteringco.com

Instagram: @lovelylittleletteringco

Facebook: Lovely Little Lettering Co.

Image Credits
Therese Shaw
Noah Gibson @noah.jpeg.photography
Personal photos