Julie Loven (left) Creates “Christmas Yarn Art” on Daytime Spaces, WJHL-TV
Meet The Effortless Girl By Karen Rieley
O
ne of the High Country’s own, Julie Loven, also known as The Effortless Girl, knows something that many of us are coming to embrace this year. Crafting, creativity, growing and building the things you and your family need contribute to well-being. Especially this year, with all its uncertainties and in the midst of a pandemic, Loven’s simple lifestyle tips and ideas, which focus on cost consciousness, are bringing joy into viewers’ lives by making the place where they are spending so much of their time—their homes— beautiful. “I focus on projects that use what you have on hand and that cost $30 or less to make,” Loven said. “Search closets or your yard; go to the discount stores to see what’s available. I encourage viewers to not let the intricate, expensive projects they often see in magazines intimidate them. I design projects that anybody can do.” Some of her projects are original; some are her adaptations of projects that others have done. For example, when she saw a pumpkin decoration that cost $54.99, she found a way to redesign and produce her own pumpkin decoration for $6. “I use a lot of spray paint,” Loven said with a laugh. Loven is at heart a hometown girl. She grew up in Pineola, an unincorporated community in Avery County, NC, with a three-mile radius from the intersection of U.S. Route 221 and NC 181. Her three
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siblings and she learned from their mother how to be resourceful and creative. “Living in a small, remote area meant we didn’t have access to lots of stores from which we could buy ready-made things, so we made and grew things from scratch,” Loven remembers. Making their own products extends to the Loven family business as well. After graduating from college, Julie returned to Pineola to work with her father, Bobby Loven, and still does bookkeeping and payroll for Loven Casting & Construction Company. The business is an outgrowth of a sawmill business that her grandfather, Carey Loven Sr., began in 1938. The Effortless Girl began as a hobby that Loven started sharing in a blog about seven years ago. “I wanted to find a way to share recipes and ideas of weekend projects,” said Loven. Then, in 2014, a television news director for WCCB Charlotte saw her post on how to make a dining room table centerpiece with pinecones, sticks and pine boughs and asked her to appear on the station’s Thanksgiving Day show. The show was so well received that she was invited back to appear on the station’s Christmas show and then the New Year’s Day, Valentine’s, and St. Patrick’s Day shows. The station hired Loven as DIY and lifestyle expert on WCCB Rising. What started as a personal blog had matured into The Effortless Girl.
Loven now appears every other Thursday on Good Day Charlotte and about every other week on Daytime TriCities and QC Life. During this time of COVID-19, she designs projects on the weekend and then presents them via Zoom during the week, all the while still working in the family business. The future looks bright for The Effortless Girl. Loven is working with a media coach and looks forward to working with a publicist, both of who will help her move into bigger markets with larger audiences. Still, what matters most to Loven are the affirmations that she is helping to brighten others’ lives. She loves receiving photos and comments from viewers and readers who share their own results from following her DIY projects. “I try to focus on the benefit of my work to my followers by sharing the things I would like to see in my own home,” she said. “DIY is a good outlet for families, especially now, and I’ve focused on adding kid-friendly projects to help parents with at-home kids. “For many of us who grew up and live in the High Country, DIY is a lifestyle rather than just a hobby,” said Loven. “This isn’t what I do; it’s who I am. I’m fortunate to live in a place that appreciates and celebrates self-sufficiency.” Learn more about The Effortless Girl and some projects you can do at www.effortlessgirl.com.
