Lettering Works Business Journal - August in Review
~ NOW BOOKING PROJECTS FOR SEPTEMBER & BEYOND ~ If you’d like your brand to be expressed in a creative, real way to get the attention of your customers, let’s chat.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: A PLACE TO CELEBRATE WINS & REFLECT - 68TH EDITION
August’s highlights included fully restocking the Peoria Airport gift shop, visiting my brother in Denver, hosting Steph & Barbie for a visit, and collaborating with some of my favorite business friends and mentors.
New keychains at the Peoria Airport Gift Shop
Stickers at the Peoria Airport Gift Shop
Shrek at Red Rocks with my brother and his girlfriend
Drinks with friends in Denver
The Big Wins
Restocked the Peoria Airport with lots of stickers, new keychains, magnets and buttons. Fun fact: the airport gift shop in Peoria was one of my earliest wholesale/consignment clients.
Visited my brother in Denver for a week. Highlights included watching him and his girlfriend play in a volleyball tournament, going on a bike ride, a special in-person client meeting, and seeing Shrek 2 at Red Rocks as well as catching up with some old friends.
Celebrating my friend Emily at her bachelorette party
Exploring Gangnam Market in Chicago with Barbie & Steph
Steph got two of her stickers into Pixie & The Boy!
Make More Art Wooden Sign arriving at Cary Grove
Sticker for Logan Square Preservation
Your Attention is Sacred collaboration with Amelia Hruby
Custom advertisement design for my mentor, Steve
ICYMI: I am a mentor for the Adobe Creative Apprenticeship Program
Listen to my episode on the Dear Creative Mind Podcast
Talk on Passion Projects with the Society of Typographic Arts
General Updates + Accomplishments:
Submitted my work to the Bradley Alumni Art Show. Two pieces I am most excited about are my hot dog and pizza wooden signs. I also put some new signs into production that will be available for sale at Paperish Mess soon!
Collaborated with Amelia of Softer Sounds as part of her upcoming book launch, created a custom ad for my mentor Steve, put a custom sticker for Logan Square Preservation into production, consulted with a fitness studio, and designed a poster for the upcoming Marty Monologues show in Peoria.
Secretly launched a new offering for high school art departments after getting to see my latest neon sign installed in my high school’s art department. If you know a high school art teacher, feel free to pass along this link.
Was featured on the Dear Creative Mind Podcast. Pascal and I chatted about reimagining value and creating for a cause. Listen to the episode on Spotify here.
Restocked several shops including the Milwaukee Art Museum, Midwest Nice, Blvd & Branch and Hoypoloi Gallery at O’Hare, Souvenir City Chicago, Pixie & The Boy, Neighborly, and a few Rally House stores.
Shared one of my favorite passion projects, Cool Beans, with the Society of Typographic Arts during my virtual talk on passion projects. August marks 8 years since my dad’s second kidney transplant, which made the talk extra special. If you’d like me to speak to your group, send me a message.
Enjoyed Chicago by attending fun summertime events including the Broadway in Chicago concert in Millennium Park, Sabor Fest in Pilsen, the Logandale Restaurant and Bar Crawl, as well as MJ The Musical. I also visited a friend in the suburbs and celebrated another friend at her bachelorette party in Michigan City.
Hosted Barbie and Steph of Steph’s Stickers. Highlights of their visit included getting two of Steph’s Stickers into Pixie & The Boy, thrifting in the neighborhood, and exploring Gangnam Market.
Booked flights to see friends in San Francisco in November and celebrate my mom’s birthday in Florida in December. We intentionally limited travel this summer so we could soak up all the fun in Chicago, so it’s exciting to get some trips on the calendar for later this year.
August was another busy month from working on a handful of smaller projects to fulfilling wholesale orders to traveling. I enjoyed getting to do a little bit more service-based work and continued brainstorming how I’d like to evolve my offerings. I’m excited to explore advising small businesses and nonprofits on how to strategically bring art into their businesses and am now accepting clients for 1:1 consulting sessions.
In September, I’m looking forward to presenting to the Founding Females Mastermind, spending a week vacationing in Spain with Daniel, attending my friend’s wedding, and going on an art retreat in Princeton, Illinois with some friends. I am currently open to more branding, creative marketing, custom merchandise projects, as well as creative marketing consulting. Reach out if you’d like help breaking through the noise with a hand-crafted design that allows you to express yourself and your message more creatively.
Thank you for being here, for supporting me, and for following along with my entrepreneurial journey.
PS - Have a project you’d like to chat about? Send me the details now to ensure your project gets on my calendar in 2025. Bring on all the logos, branded merchandise, + brand identity projects… let’s make some beautiful + impactful things together.
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