November’s highlights included becoming a certified ACDBE/DBE business, creating a new passion project around mental health, taking a trip to Peoria, and putting new stickers into production for the Field Museum.

If you’re new here, welcome to my business journal. This twenty-third edition of the monthly business journal blog post celebrates the wins and serves as a space of reflection of this business journey, which has been such an important practice for me since January 2020.

The Big Wins

• Lettering Works, LLC received notice of certification as an ACDBE/DBE business in the City of Chicago! This is huge because I submitted the application back in June, so it’s been quite the journey to get here! It’s exciting that all the hard work paid off.

• I created a new passion project around mental health! The Mental Health Matters collection will be launching officially in December. Head on over to Instagram to provide input on which of the 20 designs should be turned into stickers.

• New stickers are headed to the Field Museum and will be available in store so soon. The Field Museum’s gift shop will have five of our most popular Chicago designs - I Heart Chicago, Chicago Pizza, Chicago Hot Dog, Chicago Heart, and Chicago Skyline - as well as five custom designs - Fighting Elephants, Sue Skull, Hall of China Lion, Field Museum Building, and Science is For Everyone.

• I celebrated 14 years post spinal-fusion surgery. The 11.5 hour spinal surgery that corrected my scoliosis occurred exactly half my lifetime ago. You can read my reflections from this unique anniversary via both my Instagram post and LinkedIn post (they are different).

General Updates:

• I read ten books: American Dirt, People we Meet on Vacation, The Vanishing Half, Yes Please, The 5 Love Languages, The Year of Less, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Blackout, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Rich Dad Poor Dad.

• Lettering Works was included in The Nora Project’s 2021 Gifts that Give Back Guide. Check it out here to see how you can both save and give back with your purchase from Lettering Works this holiday season.

• The design and biking communities mourned the loss of Adé Hogue. Daniel and I attended both the Ghost Bike Vigil at the scene of the fatal crash as well as the Celebration of Life event, which featured beautiful tributes from friends and family members. Adé was truly one of the most talented lettering artists and community builders. Amid the tragedy, it was heartwarming to see so many people come together.

• Big Picture Peoria hosted a community dedication for the “Hello Peoria” mural located in downtown Peoria on Adams St. near Pecan St. The “Hello Peoria” lettering was licensed from Lettering Works back in fall 2018 and served as the starting point of what has become Peoria’s largest mural. Learn more about the story behind Hello Peoria here.

• I kicked off two new branding projects. One is for a favorite client who is making big moves in the new year and another is for one of my earliest business-owner friends in Chicago who is investing in growing her impact with a cause near to her heart.

• I traveled to Peoria to attend the Peoria Symphony Orchestra’s HerStory: A Musical Tribute to Betty Friedan. Highlights of the weekend trip included meeting the talented people behind the symphony production at an afterparty, trying Up Beet Jams vegan food, hanging out with friends, and picking up some great art at the yART sale. Project 1612 raised over $2,250 from the art sale.

• We visited Daniel’s family in St. Louis. Highlights of the trip included cozy Amtrak train rides, a smoked turkey, and seeing his brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and nephews for the first time since 2019.

• Lettering Works opted-out of a traditional Small Business Saturday sale. Instead we opted for promoting other small businesses on social media and sharing our Shop Local Chicago designs and story templates (find via Shop Local Chi story highlight). We enjoyed a day of shopping local ourselves in Andersonville, which included brunch at Big Jones.

In December, I am most looking forward to finishing out the year strong and lining up some exciting projects for 2022. Get in touch soon if you’d like to secure your spot on our calendar.

Thank you for being here, for supporting me, and for following along with this beautiful journey entrepreneurship has taken me on.

PS - Have a project you’d like to chat about? Book your 2021 or 2022 project before the year ends and save with our end-of-the-year specials. Bring on all the logos, branded merchandise, and brand identity projects… let’s make some beautiful and impactful things together.

PPS - Know someone who could be a good fit for Lettering Works’ wholesale products? There’s a special offer now through the end of the year for anyone joining Faire to shop wholesale: $200 off and 1 year of free shipping! Using my direct link: letteringworks.faire.com gets you this offer and saves me the standard commission on orders through the platform.