Lettering Works Business Journal - February in Review
2020 is still going pretty slow over here. In all honesty, February has been the slowest month I’ve had in business since January 2017. Business ownership and freelance design naturally has its ebbs and flows but starting 2020 off so slow wasn’t what I expected with all my big goals and momentum.
I’m continuing to make a point of reflecting weekly and monthly. This second edition of the monthly business journal blog post is a celebration of the small wins and a space of reflection on this business journey with you all.
Seeing my postcard in the Field Museum Store at O’Hare Airport for the first time.
The Big Wins
I saw my postcard in the airport for the first time! The Field Museum has two stores in the airport in addition to their gift shop at the museum. They currently have Lettering Works postcards as we wait to hear about a new timeline for the enamel pins due to production delays.
I talked about the importance of passion projects on the Women in Design series with Chykalophia and it launched this month. Listen to the interview here.
My podcast interview with People of Peoria launched. I shared my experiences with starting a business in Peoria, information on the arts community, some of my favorite projects, and more. Listen to the podcast here.
General Updates:
I spoke at the Business of Art Conference in Peoria. This year, I presented on branding and pitching your artwork via email. I’ve presented at the conference for the past four years and always love the resources made available for local artists to turn their
I did a photoshoot with Sarah Waldo of Violet and Ivy Photography. While in Peoria for the conference, I helped art direct our photoshoot that captured the newly launched Plant Collection and other recent Lettering Works products.
I ordered new business cards. And spent time doing some maintenance work on my business to best prepare for the year.
I delivered products to two new retail locations. Lettering Works merchandise is now stocked at both Local Goods Chicago and Little Broken Things.
I attended First Round in Portland. There were so many inspiring speakers who shared their first-round branding presentations and insights to their agencies’ branding processes. I also enjoyed exploring Portland and even made a special mini series of designs inspired by the Rose City.
I recorded an episode on the She Makes Chicago podcast and was interviewed by the LoganSquarist. I enjoyed sharing my experiences working in Chicago and how I leverage my own creative projects and intentional strategy to drive my business forward. More details on both of these coming soon.
I launched a new collection of plant-inspired stickers. If you missed the launch, you can check it out here.
I worked on couple small illustration projects. Client work was once again less than usual, but I had a couple fun projects to work on between the work I did ON my business.
I poured ALL of my downtime into a new passion project. Cool Beans will launch March 1st in honor of Kidney Disease Awareness Month. I’m beyond excited to share this - Sunday can’t come fast enough.
I scheduled a Branding Workshop and a Lettering Workshop. The Branding 101 Workshop will take place on Monday, March 16th at Ampersand Cowork in Logan Square. The Lettering Basics Workshop will take place on Thursday, April 2nd at Neighborly in Wicker Park.
Two things I am looking forward to most in March are launching Cool Beans and being involved in the spring AIGA Mentor Program.
As always, I am looking for new and exciting opportunities in the Peoria and Chicago areas and beyond. If you or someone you know would like to work on a project with me, send me a message via the website contact form.
