Lettering Works Business Journal - April in Review

BusinessPersonal

Apr 30

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BUSINESS JOURNAL: A PLACE TO CELEBRATE WINS & REFLECT - 76TH EDITION

April’s highlights included celebrating 10 years in business by sending some fun happy mail, taking a quick trip to Peoria, making progress on a variety of client projects, adding and restocking some Chicago souvenirs, and debuting my new Chicago-inspired business cards.

Tenth Anniversary Happy Mail with custom embossed envelopes and custom stickers

All for the Love of Chicago Roundtable at Buddy Guy’s Legends - *photo credit: Norvells Photography*

The Big Wins

Worked on sending some happy mail to many of the people who have supported me throughout my first ten years in business. I created a collection of special anniversary prints and stickers to celebrate. I also held an Ask Me Anything session with Founding Females to celebrate 10 years in business.
Attended the All for the Love of Chicago Roundtable event, where I debuted my new Chicago Souvenir Designer businesses cards and shared about my business on stage. I also attended The Summit, a one-day conference for Chicago tourism where I made lots of new connections. In case you missed me sharing last month, here’s my refreshed Souvenirs page.

Artist talk at the Contemporary Art Center in Peoria

Lunch at One World with Marty Wombacher, the creative behind Meanwhile Back in Peoria

New thick, 2×3’’ rectangle magnets: Chicago Skyline, Chicago Pizza, Chicago Style Hot Dog, and CTA Blue Line Train

Alex Alpert at EXPO Chicago, featured artist with Lexus

Sticker designs to celebrate America’s 250th birthday - Pre-order open through May 1

Traveled to Peoria for First Friday. Highlights of the quick trip included getting lunch with Marty Wombacher and being featured on his blog, Meanwhile Back in Peoria, catching up with friends, and giving an artist talk at the Contemporary Art Center.
Restocked a handful of favorite shops including Garfield Park Conservatory, Rally House stores, Milwaukee Art Museum, Pixie and The Boy and Foursided.
Worked on multiple client projects including a custom sticker for Intuit Healing, branding for Paddy’s Patties, and a few custom designs for museum clients.
Enjoyed springtime in Chicago by attending EXPO Chicago with Meet Creatively, a coworking day with Sunnyside Chats, The Great Gatsby, and a concert at the Salt Shed. We also spent time with friends and family that were in town.
Supplied Chicago souvenirs to a conference in New Orleans that will be in Chicago next year. I also fulfilled a couple enamel pin orders for other conferences and events. Which means Chicago Pizza and Skyline enamel pins are now officially restocked with the updated packaging.
Filed my taxes and made my Q1 estimated payments. Not all parts of small business ownership are fun.
Did a pre-order for some designs inspired by America’s 250th birthday. The pre-order closes on May 1st, find them available for wholesale here.
Added four, new Chicago magnets. The Chicago Style Hot Dog, Chicago Pizza, Blue Line Train, and Skyline are now available on Faire. These will be available at the Chicago History Museum alongside their new custom magnets.

April was another full month. It’s exciting to have so many fun projects in the works. I’ve also enjoyed reconnecting with people who have impacted my business over the past ten years.

In May, I’m looking forward to sharing more of what I’ve been working on behind the scenes and taking a trip to Greece. If you want to work together in 2026, please reach out. I am continuing to prioritize wholesale, custom merchandise design, and branding.

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 2026. Bring on all the logos, branded merchandise, + brand identity projects… let’s make some beautiful + impactful things together.

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