Lettering Works Business Journal - February in Review
~ NOW BOOKING PROJECTS FOR MARCH & BEYOND ~ If you are interested in working together, I’d be happy to start the conversation and share more about how I can help you with your branding, design, and custom merchandise needs.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: A PLACE TO CELEBRATE WINS & REFLECT - 62ND EDITION
February’s highlights included spending a week in Mexico, making it into an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, collaborating with local businesses, and wrapping up my first two branding projects of the year.
Photo from our art walking tour in Oaxaca, Mexico
Photo from our excursion to Hierve el Agua
Moments from the Omarcito’s episode of Triple D
Behind-the-scenes photo from the filming of the Omarcito’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives episode (from back in November 2024)
The Big Wins
Spent a week in Mexico exploring Mexico City and Oaxaca. Highlights of Mexico City included lots of walking and enjoying some of our favorite food and drinks, as well as exploring the Biblioteca Vasconcelos and taking in incredible views of the Pallacio de Bellas Artes. Highlights in Oaxaca included an art walking tour, cooking class complete with a trip to a local market for ingredients, a day trip to Hierve El Agua which included a stops at a local textile factory and mezcal factory, a bike tour, and lots of delicious food and drinks. Check out the blog post recap here.
Omarcito’s was on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and I made it into the episode! The episode featuring my favorite Chicago restaurant aired on Friday, February 21st. To celebrate, I created a new fish jibarito sticker.
Sex and the City inspired stickers created in collaboration with Vintage Frills
Mini vintage and thrift-inspired sticker collection - available for wholesale ordering via Faire
Chef Max of Pierogi Papi excited to receive the “Pretty Girls Eat Pierogi” stickers at Consignment Lounge
New branding for Pierogi Papi
New Fish Jibarito sticker for Omarcito’s
The Sound Collective Concert on February 8th at Montrose Salon, featuring Daniel on bass
General Updates + Accomplishments:
Created three Sex and the City inspired stickers and a mini collection of vintage and thrift themed stickers as part of a collaboration with Vintage Frills. Read more in my blog post interview with owner Jennifer Kelly here.
Delivered branding to Pierogi Papi as part of a passion project I never launched. Getting paid in pierogi is a first for me and I’m very excited to see how Max uses his new branding to level up in business after being named “Best New Pop Up” by Chicago Reader.
Went on my first “Take Chelsie to Lunch” session of the year at Lula Cafe with Rachel of Nature’s Trace. I also had a 1:1 consulting session with Cristina Kramp as part of my Artist Trade Program.
Was accepted into Next Level Exchange’s mentor program for a second time. This is their 22nd cohort of matching small business owners with helpful mentors.
Delivered a new logo for Westwind Strategies. It was fun to wrap up this branding project ahead of schedule.
Updated my branding proposal, 2025 work samples, and wholesale catalog. I focused on some intentional outreach and connection, as I’ve been looking for my next exciting projects and opportunities.
Enjoyed connecting with creatives in Chicago by attending Sunnyside Chats, Personal Project Creative Coworking, and Daniel’s first full-set concert with the Chicago Sound Collective at Montrose Saloon.
Invited by Adobe to return as a panelist and portfolio reviewer for their upcoming Creative Retreat in Chicago. Adobe’s Creative Retreat is a two-day event designed exclusively for the new generation of graphic designers. I was also asked to be a panelist for an upcoming event at Columbia College.
February often drags on in Chicago with typical freezing weather. Escaping to the warmth of Mexico and working on some fun projects and collaborations really helped make what is often a dreary winter month more bearable. Watching Omarcito’s on Triple D (and seeing ourselves in the episode) was truly a bright spot, especially since we’ve been waiting for it to air since filming back in November.
In March, I’m excited to revisit some personal sketches that got neglected in February as well as host Steph and Barbie of Steph’s Stickers for a weekend. Reach out if you’d like to work together, I am continuing to prioritize new branding and logo projects as well as custom merchandise and wholesale. I am continuing to accept requests via my Artist Trade Program on a rolling basis.
Photo at Hierve el Agua
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 2025. Bring on all the logos, branded merchandise, + brand identity projects… let’s make some beautiful + impactful things together.
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