Lettering Works Business Journal - September in Review
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BUSINESS JOURNAL: A PLACE TO CELEBRATE WINS & REFLECT - 81ST EDITION
September’s highlights included giving a Visual Voices lecture at Bradley University, registering to attend Adobe MAX, adding new Chicago luggage tags and embroidered patches, prepping for my first Adobe Live stream, working on fun custom stickers, having my work in the Stick Together show at You Are Beautiful, and getting updated headshots and Chicago souvenir product photography.
Visual Voices Lecture at Bradley University
My first Adobe Live is coming up on October 1st (11am CT)
The Big Wins
Returned to Bradley University where I gave a Visual Voices Lecture. I shared “10 Lessons from 10 Years in Business” to a full auditorium. My lecture even got a special shoutout on the Meanwhile Back in Peoria blog.
Registered to attend Adobe MAX in Miami Beach this November. It’s such an honor to be invited to participate in the VIP Community Summit and creativity conference for a third year in a row. I also prepared for my very first Adobe Live (tune in on October 1st at 11am CT).
Flyover Chicago hosted a party to celebrate their 1 Millionth Rider (since opening in March 2024)
New Chicago Souvenirs inspired by the Obama Presidential Center
The Choose Chicago Southside Field Trip included a stop at the Obama Presidential Center Museum
New Chicago Style Hot Dog Embroidered Luggage Tags
New Chicago Skyline Iron-On Embroidered Patches
Annual Nephrologist Appointment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Meeting up with friends at ORD
Recent work for the Driehaus Museum
I was one of 60 artists in the current exhibit at YAB
My “Sweet Home Chicago” sticker at You Are Beautiful
Celebrated one million riders at Flyover Chicago at Navy Pier. I’ve been supplying souvenirs to their gift shop since they opened in March 2024. A highlight of the celebration was getting to ride the experience with Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago, who were featured in the film.
Attended the All for the Love of Chicago South Side Field Trip where I shared my souvenir Obama Center Bus and Hyde Park stickers with fellow attendees. We got to visit the Obama Presidential Center Museum, Bronzeville Winery, and the Ramova Theatre via Big Bus Tours with Choose Chicago.
Officially added Chicago Hot Dog Luggage Tags and a new Chicago Skyline embroidered patches to my souvenir lineup. I’m in the process of adding a new transit-inspired washi tape design (and restocking my two existing designs due to the overwhelmingly positive response) as well as designing a few new enamel pins.
Booked flights to Denver to visit my brother. I’m especially looking forward to this planned visit after my impromptu trip to him to help when his lung collapsed earlier this year.
Continued to work with Adobe and plan the Kernference Chicago Watch Party. Feel free to use my affiliate link if you plan to register for the Kernference.
Worked on custom designs for Choose Chicago, Live Nation Special Events (specifically I created stickers for the Aragon and House of Blues), Course Leaf, and more.
Kept up with wholesale orders including restocks for the Chicago History Museum, Good Things Vending, Paper & Pencil, Hoypoloi Gallery at O’Hare, Foursided, Neighborly, the Field Museum, and more.
Enjoyed Summertime in Chicago. I took advantage of extended Sundae Mondays at Longman & Eagle, brought my mom to see the Broadway production of Dirty Dancing, hosted friends for a Logan Square bar crawl on a Saturday, brought dinner to out-of-town friends at O’Hare Airport, did an apartment cocktail crawl with neighborhood friends, and enjoyed attending the first Armitage County Fair.
Focused on completing necessary health tasks including getting my annual bloodwork done and seeing my nephrologist (kidney specialist) as well as getting some needed dental work done. If you haven’t seen my Cool Beans project around the kidney disease I have, you can find it here.
Did a photo shoot with my favorite photographer, Sarah Waldo of Violet and Ivy Photography. Fun fact - Sarah’s done the majority of my product photography over the years. As a result, I updated photos on my website, social media, and Chicago souvenir wholesale catalog.
Shared about my recent work with the Driehaus Museum on Instagram. I created a few custom designs for them in addition to supplying them with a few Chicago items from my collection.
Made progress on my new Chicago Theatre inspired collection that I’ve been working on with the League of Chicago Theatres. A pre-order is now available!
Saw my “Sweet Home Chicago” sticker at You Are Beautiful Gallery as part of the Stick Together community exhibition, which is a collaboration with the Design Museum of Chicago. The show features the original artwork of 60 artists.
September was another packed month. Lots of fun projects that I couldn’t say no to despite wanting a bit of a lighter workload and some quality time with people I love.
In October, I’m looking forward to my first Adobe Live, celebrating my birthday, attending my 10th year college reunion, visiting my brother, and co-hosting the Chicago Kernference Watch Party with Adobe. My schedule is fairly full for the remainder of the year, so if you want to work together in 2026, please reach out. I am continuing to prioritize large wholesale orders, 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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