Lettering Works Business Journal - July in Review
~ NOW BOOKING PROJECTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2026 & 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 - 79TH EDITION
July’s highlights included seeing my work at National Geographic’s Museum of Exploration, wrapping up new branding for Paddy’s Patties, working more with Adobe, making progress on new Chicago souvenirs, seeing my Italian Beef flag at Taste of Chicago, celebrating Daniel’s birthday, and participating in the Faire Summer Market.
Paddy’s Patties Hand-Lettered Logo
Paddy’s Patties Custom Illustrations
The Big Wins
Took a trip to National Geographic’s new Museum of Exploration in Washington, D.C. to see my 25+ custom designs featured in their gift shop as stickers and enamel pins. This project has been a dream come true and getting to see everything in person after months and months of work was a true career highlight. Shoutout to Daniel for being my photographer.
Wrapped up a custom logo and branding for Paddy’s Patties. They are a food truck based in Macomb, Illinois - if you see them, be sure to try their amazing food!
I Love Chicago Italian Beef Flag Design on display at Flag Feast at the Taste of Chicago
Two new anniversary wooden signs (available for purchase)
Happy birthday to my train-loving partner, Daniel!
Summer Music Series at Kilbourn Park with friends
Set up at the Living Donor event at Rush
Adobe Creative Club lunch in Logan Square
Impromptu visit with my mom
New Chicago Style Hot Dog embroidered luggage tags are set to launch next month
Did more work with Adobe! I served as an ambassador at their Create Now event, attended an Adobe Creative Club lunch at LouLou, and worked on a project designing swag for upcoming Adobe Firefly events. I also got to meet up with Katherine Chiu from the Adobe Creative Apprenticeship program while in D.C. and connect virtually with a few designer friends.
Scheduled a Visual Voices lecture and workshop at my alma mater, Bradley University. Save the date for Thursday, September 10th at 5pm if you are in Peoria and you’d like to join.
Finalized new Chicago souvenir designs and new souvenir products. I have 10+ new sticker designs that will be available next month. I’m also working on producing a Chicago hot dog luggage tag, two styles of Chicago washi tape, and a new embroidered Chicago skyline patch.
Saw my Italian Beef flag that was part of Flag Feast at Taste of Chicago. It was such an honor to be invited as one of 26 participating artists by the Design Museum of Chicago.
Made and shared two wooden signs despite them not getting accepted into an art show as a small way of continuing to celebrate 10 years in business.
Enjoyed Summertime in Chicago! We attended multiple Summer Music Series concerts in Kilbourn Park, saw Dawes and Kaleo at the Salt Shed and Beach Bunny at the Taste of Chicago, explored the Museum of Contemporary Art, and celebrated Daniel’s birthday with friends. I also hosted my mom for an impromptu visit which included eating dinner at Lula Cafe, seeing & Juliet, attending the Kilbourn Park Art & Garden Walk, and grabbing a late lunch at Gangnam Market.
Kept up with wholesale and consignment requests including delivering custom prints to The Second City, restocking Paperish Mess, and sending an order to a new Rally House store in Gurnee Mills.
Participated in the Faire Summer Market and got 14 wholesale orders (mostly from Chicago shops). My best sellers were the Chicago Style Hot Dog sticker and postcard. I also quietly launched my Washington, D.C. sticker collection on Faire and updated my wholesale catalogs outside of Faire.
Officially committed to co-hosting Sunnyside Chats as founder and fellow-brand-designer-friend, Andi takes on a new role. If you are a small business owner or creative in Chicago looking for community, I hope you’ll join us on August 19th, September 16th, October 7th, and November 4th at Indigo & Violet Studio.
Shared my Cool Beans kidney-centric stickers with 20+ living donors at an event at Rush University Medical Center. The most popular stickers were my “One Bean Club” followed by “Living Donor” and “Kidney Strong.”
July was filled with joyful summer moments, a quick trip to see my work at National Geographic’s Museum of Exploration in Washington, D.C., and making some behind-the-scenes progress on new Chicago souvenir items.
In August, I’m looking forward to participating in the Choose Chicago partner showcase trade show, spending a long weekend at the lake, and continuing to make progress on my open projects. 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.
———————————————
Want access to the exact journal prompts that I use to write these recaps? Grab them here. Or get this monthly update straight to your inbox by joining the Lettering Works email list here.
