We recently had the chance to connect with Lihi Orbach Forney and have shared our conversation below.
Lihi Orbach, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I find lots of Joy in Nature, specifically the beach, the forest. Our world feels very messy right now, lots of instability. I tend to worry (i’m working on it :)) and being in nature is very calming, soothing and fills me up with joy and wonder.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi ! I’m Lihi Orbach Forney, the founder/ designer of LoveLeeOr – A Soul centered Jewelry line.
Every piece I design is intentional and purposeful – meant to connect you deeper to yourself.
Think of it like a tattoo. It’s there to offer a reminder, an encouragement , something that helps you stay focused on what you want and resonates with your heart.
I believe that thoughts create reality and i’m here to offer you a small tool on the journey to create yours.
I design and make everything in Los Angeles. The packaging is reusable, recyclable and compostable, because it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My maternal grandmother was a huge influence in my life. I guess she believed in me way before i believed in myself.
Out of her 4 grandchildren, i was the only girl. We had a very special bond and i could do no wrong in her eyes.
She passed away when i was 19 and she left a very big void.
As the years passed i realized that her unconditional love gave me so much confidence and strength.
I wanted to do good by her and thought to myself ‘if she could see all this potential in me…..i should believe her and prove her right’ 🙂
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering is a hard word to use but I would say that I learn a lot from things that don’t go my way or that I’m disappointed by the outcome. I find that when things happen the first thing that I ask myself is : what is the meaning behind this? What is this supposed to teach me?
These kind of questions really help me deal with the harder things in my life. I believe that there is a reason behind my struggles and i try to figure it out, like a puzzle. The things that I have learned throughout my life are many but I will say that the overall feeling is that everything is temporary, I won’t feel this way forever and when I actually dive deep into the things that are hard and go through them , there are always gifts waiting on the other side for . For me, that is the only way to deal with life – going within, dealing with the pain, learning my lessons, growing and evolving.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
I try to be as real as I can in the public eye .My brand is all about meaning and authenticity and so I try to emulate that as much as I can but of course I don’t bear it all to the public nor do I think that’s right. I keep a lot of things private and I share views that I think might be helpful or valuable to others.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
My parents always said I should do what I love. They were very supportive. It was me who started out doing what i thought i had to do and not what i wanted to do for fear that I won’t succeed and that I will be judged. I started out with a degree in business management and marketing, a pretty ‘bland’ choice. I guess I took the comfortable route in order to not feel exposed or that I’m taking too much of a risk. Going to therapy in my early 20s really changed that. It made me more secure, more grounded and with a center that I can nourish, grow and make my own. Through my degree and my career in advertising I fell in love with sound engineering and I went to New York to study that and ultimately had a 20 year career in that field. Toward the end it didn’t fill my cup like it used to and I yearned for more meaning.That’s how Loveleeor was born. As I became more and more confident within myself, I started going after what I really wanted to do, what really got me excited and what I thought I was born to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://loveleeor.com
- Instagram: @loveleeor
- Facebook: @loveleeor
Image Credits
photos by Jeff Forney
