Christian Solorzano [00:05]

Hello, you're listening to Underscore, a podcast by the Chicago Graphic Design Club dedicated to bringing you conversations with Chicago's creative leaders. On this podcast, we'll explore the craft, theory, and practice of graphic design, plus discuss bold ideas that push the boundaries of what's possible and ways in which we can create a more thoughtful and inclusive community. To learn more about us, Visit our website at www.chicagographicdesign.club or find us on social media. Special thanks to the Chicago band 80 Slang for our theme music. Well, welcome everyone.

Today I am your host, Christian Solorzano, and I'm going to be speaking with Chelsie Tamms, founder of Lettering Works, a design studio and creative academy. In 2016, Chelsie graduated from Bradley University with a degree in graphic design and Spanish, and that's when she started Lettering Works, her business. Previously from Peoria, Illinois, Chelsie now calls Chicago her home. Today she helps businesses reach their potential through branding and marketing services. And she also helps artists through mentoring and coaching build their dream businesses.

And I actually just learned that Chelsie, when she was young, she was already thinking about the business of design and actually had a small design service where she actually painted girls' nails and designed them. So welcome, Chelsie. Very happy to have you here on our 3rd episode. And I guess before we get started, I'm just very curious to just hear about your upbringing and sort of the things that led you to what you're doing today.

Chelsie Tamms [02:00]

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me, Christian. Super excited to be here and chat with you. And I love that you mentioned painting nails because that was definitely something early on that looking back now, I can see that I had an entrepreneurial bug and interest in design and creativity and making it my career at an early age.

So I would say in general, Grew up in the suburbs, always loved art, always loved taking art classes outside of school, anything I could get my hands on in terms of drawing and lettering. When I was pretty young, I had the best handwriting in maybe like first or second grade, so it doesn't seem too far-fetched that I'm now a lettering artist and get paid to draw letters and illustrations for a living.

And really just enjoyed art to a degree that when it came time to figure out what type of thing I wanted to do as a career, that seemed like such a natural choice, almost to the degree that I was trying to figure something else out of like, what career am I supposed to have? Because it would be too easy if it was art, since I've always loved that.

So I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and really have been one of those rare cases that has just loved art and graphic design since I learned of it, since like age 16, but kind of predating that, just art in general my whole life. And that's what I'm doing now. So it's just been that path and always been kind of the same thing.

And really glad that I had different creative outlets and was able to just go for it and continue to make art my full-time living.

Christian Solorzano [03:33]

And what was that first introduction to graphic design like? Did you— did you take a course? I believe I read that somewhere, is that you took a graphic design course?

Chelsie Tamms [03:44]

Yeah. Yeah. So I got my start in graphic design in high school. I was really lucky that our high school program had a couple different graphic design classes that kind of went in a track from like Graphics 1 was my first introduction. And it was really basic information in terms of Adobe Illustrator, some Photoshop, just like how to design a poster, a t-shirt, things like that. So that was the very first introduction.

And that's actually where lettering as a sort of design form came in for me as well. And that was actually because I did not understand Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, any of the computer and technology was a little bit beyond, I mean, as it is for anyone beyond the skillset that I had, but I had really clear vision of what I wanted a lot of the designs to look like.

So I would just grab a piece of paper or a sketchbook and I would draw it out in pencil and pen and scan it in and just kind of like paste the whole design onto a poster, or sometimes it would be elements. So that's really how I got started in lettering as well. So they like happened at the same time. And it's funny to think back and know that I was doing lettering because I didn't understand graphic design all the way or the tools.

But then after a while. Of course, I figured out the design tools, the programs, and so I was probably a senior in high school and was like, cool, I don't need to do this lettering anymore. And a couple of my high school art teachers were like, lettering is your thing, keep doing that. You're good at it. That's what's different about how you approach this. Keep running with it. So that's kind of where it all started.

And I also, as part of that introduction to graphic design, my senior year in high school, there was a class called Senior Design Studio, and I basically got to be my own mini agency, like agency of one. Anyone in the school, whether it was an organization, a teacher, a club, just anything, could come to us and request posters or request t-shirts.

And so we had to like put on our like freelance hat before I even knew that that's what that was and go meet with them as if it were a real client meeting and take their feedback, their ideas, and then create it into a design. And I was honestly obsessed with that class. And I think one of the semesters I created something like 75 different designs or projects. So I like was eating, sleeping, and breathing graphic design.

Even one of my semesters senior year, I skipped study hall and lunch to just be in more art classes. So of course I still usually ate, but was so immersed in just graphic design and art in general and like tied the two together as much as possible.

Christian Solorzano [06:18]

That's awesome. And at the time, was there anything in particular that in design that was catching your attention? For instance, for me, I remember album covers to be like the thing that used to like really inspire me and anything music related. For you, did you have any sort of like inspiration? Was it anything there?

Chelsie Tamms [06:39]

Yeah, I think I was inspired by— that was kind of the first wave of lettering artists becoming popular.

So like Jessica Hische was kind of like emerging, and so I feel like in a weird way I missed the boat of like the really popular lettering artists who are kind of— not to say lettering is new by any means at that point, but it was kind of reemerging as this new creative technology fusion that it wasn't all just done by hand, but it was done by hand and intentionally digitized.

So I kind of felt like the wave of that was happening right as I like independently and separate from that found out that lettering was really exciting and fun for me. So I found a lot of inspiration from just seeing that it was happening out in the real world, like real clients were starting to get traction with that. So I think that was a huge source of inspiration, just watching that like grow in popularity.

And it's interesting to think from now as well, lettering is so common and popular. So I feel like I've been one of the people that, even though I was kind of too young to have like a business and be part of that first wave or that big wave in the kind of mid— like maybe around like 2010 was when that was kind of happening.

So just thinking about that and how much inspiration that provided, but then also finding a lot of inspiration from just anything and everything around me. So I think similar, like music posters or just any kind of posters and any kind of printed material out and about, looking at it and saying, can I design that better? Can I design that differently? How do you design that as is? How do I recreate that?

So just kind of a whole combination of all of the print and tangible things around me were definitely inspiring.

Christian Solorzano [08:18]

Yeah, interesting. And I like the fact that you were doing freelance work before you probably even knew that the term freelance existed. And I think it's always super fascinating when we do stuff that we don't necessarily know what it's called, but you're just doing it. I remember when I was younger, I had a fascination with being a detective, so I designed a business card as like, this is my service card for a detective.

And I didn't know that I was doing design, but I just enjoyed the process of like designing this card so much. And it wasn't until later that I realized, that what I liked about being a detective was not so much like the profession, but like just the fact that you design a business card for yourself. At least that's how I thought of it. So yeah, it's always interesting to just hear those stories.

Chelsie Tamms [09:08]

Yeah, I love that. I think that definitely resonates with me of just thinking back and seeing the patterns of like Oh, even for my senior portfolio show in high school, I made like a fictitious brand that sold soap in the form of cupcakes and popsicles. And so I like actually made the soaps and sold them and made a brand for it and made posters for it and packaging.

And that, of course, I knew a little bit more at that time because I had some graphic design experience, but I didn't realize that like this was branding and this could be my business and career just like 5 years later.

Christian Solorzano [09:47]

Yeah, and then, so you go to school, so you graduate in 2016 with a degree in graphic design and Spanish. What was some of the inspiration for just adding Spanish as an addition to graphic design? Is there any overlap between those 2 in your work now?

Chelsie Tamms [10:04]

Yeah, I love that question because I admittedly feel like I'm not that great at Spanish, but I loved studying it. So it brought about a lot of great things from the lens of just communication in general. And one of my favorite things I did in college was studying abroad in Granada and navigating a different country when you know a decent amount about the language.

I mean, I was in a degree program for Spanish, so I had some good insights and like base knowledge, but there's still a lot of things that exist in that space that you don't necessarily understand or you're working to understand. So I think it had a huge impact on just thinking about communication, whether you know the language, whether maybe you don't know any of it, and figuring out like how do you navigate these spaces.

Like design is more than just the font you pick and the words you choose and all of these different elements that we think of in terms of elements and principles, but also like where the sign's placed, how far away different things are, like the experience design. So I think I pull a lot of those experiences in from the Spanish into graphic design, because graphic design and lettering and branding and all these art things are definitely core to what I'm most passionate about.

But it was just really fun to learn about Spanish. And I feel like I always planned to like minor in it. And then it kind of fell into place just to get a double major because I had studied abroad, because the first class I took there was easier than I expected, and I enjoyed it more. So it just felt natural to kind of fall into that. But I really think it comes down to the communication piece.

And just thinking about that sometimes allows me to step out of just the focused, how we get into designing something, and kind of one-track mind, and then back up and say, what if I didn't know English? Would it— what would this poster communicate? And sometimes it's just having that extra lens of the colors say something different than the words. Maybe they should match a little bit better. If they match, then somebody who can't read this can also get the same feeling or vibe from the poster.

So things like that. And I think that's really where Spanish still comes into play, of it's fun. I also get a lot of inspiration from traveling, so I try to make it back to Spain anytime that I can.

Christian Solorzano [12:17]

Nice, I like that. I definitely think that, yeah, just understanding like a different language somewhat just encourages you to like consider different, yeah, different ways to design. Even when I look at stop signs, like when I go to Mexico and I see a stop sign, it doesn't it doesn't say stop, it says alto.

And, you have a stop sign and you're used to seeing the S be the first, the first letter of the word, and then all of a sudden now it's an a, and it just— the composition looks differently just because it's in a different language. It's interesting. So then, so you graduate in 2016, and then that's also the same— at the same time that you've— that you founded Lettering Works. What was that process like?

At what point do you Do you make the conscious choice to say, you know what, I'm gonna just do my thing and that's that?

Chelsie Tamms [13:10]

Yeah, so it was a little bit decided for me by way of feeling like I wanted to do more with being on campus. So I had studied graphic design, studied Spanish, actually got a minor in marketing as well. So I was just kind of all over the place and then started learning about entrepreneurship in general. There was a whole department and program for it at the school.

Of course, I didn't really have any more time in the day to get another minor or major, so that wasn't really a consideration. But it was just, how can I learn with all of these different resources here? I felt a little bit of burnout in terms of graphic design, of like, I know I want to do this, but it's not— I'm not learning the way I want.

Or just something was a little bit off in terms of like this, I just want to skip ahead to like owning a business or working at an agency. Like the school part. I've always really enjoyed school, but it felt like not as fun as I had hoped, or not as challenging as I had hoped, just different things. So I kind of fell into the entrepreneurship department in terms of their extracurricular type things.

So they had a student scholarship— well, actually, there was a student scholarship expo that I participated in also outside of my direct program, and then a student entrepreneurship competition. So I participated in both of those my senior year, and I ended up winning a total of just over $11,000 in different prize money, the bulk of it being $10,000 from the Student Entrepreneurship Competition.

And that really made the decision, I guess I can try this whole business thing right out of school because I have someone else's money to— as a runway to figure this out. So I will say I had a really specific goal of moving to Chicago, working at a large agency. That had been my goal since mid-high school. So I think I did all of the things that would have helped me achieve that.

Ultimately, I never worked in a large agency downtown, but I think I got the experience and I did the necessary things that in theory that should have worked out. And then the opportunity came up for me to just do my own thing, and it made sense to just go for it.

The way the prize money worked, it was either $10,000 if you actually start your business, and you had to jump through a couple hoops of meeting to actually establish your business, or you would get $1,000 in prize money you could use for anything. So there was a huge incentive there to just go for it. And then I only interviewed for maybe one job and they ended up putting a freeze on hiring.

So that kind of also made the decision too of, I guess I don't need to have a job and do this on the side, but I'm just going to go all the way in. And the other really key piece there was being in Peoria in central Illinois. It's of course much cheaper to live than Chicago. So I think that really helped contribute to that decision of My rent was like $300 a month.

I shared a house with a couple roommates, tons of space, and like just the general cost of living super low. So I had saved up enough money to pay for about a year of rent, and that gave me this gap year, so to speak, that turned into— I like to describe it as like 50% trying to be an artist, trying to figure out what I wanted to make, and 50% like actually developing a business, because I didn't really have experience with business previous to that.

So it was a lot of, here you are, what are you going to do today? How are you going to build this? Even to what you were saying before, Christian, like a business card's an exciting first thing. So I know how to do that, so I've got that. But now where do I go? Who do I talk to? How do I get my first clients?

And for me, the process was really just I'm going to create some art and put it out there and hopefully attract the right people. And that's kind of been my method ever since.

Christian Solorzano [16:49]

Interesting. So you get— I'm just trying to think, so you get these $10,000 and what do you do with them? What are some of the things that one does when they're starting off a business? Just curious about that.

Chelsie Tamms [17:02]

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's such a great question. Yeah, I didn't know where to start. And part of the catch too was I didn't end up getting the money right away. So kind of what happened was in order to be in the competition, I had to write out all of these financial plans, these projections, My dad helped me with all of that because he's much better with numbers than I am.

And so I had this whole plan of like, I'm going to buy a new computer, I'm going to buy a subscription to a website, I'm going to buy these different things that I know I'll need, and then have some marketing expenses, have some like advertising, have some supply expenses, things like that. And how I ended up actually spending the money was becoming a member at a coworking space. The Nest Coworking in Peoria.

That was, I guess you could say, a big expense just in terms of like I was a member for a really long time there, so it was a consistent expense. But really, I kind of just started doing a little by little, and most of the judges of the different competitions were my first clients. They were the first people who heard me talk about here's what I love doing, and then it kind of connections formed from there. So that was kind of the start.

I didn't because there was a delay in like actually getting the funding. I realized. Supplies and things that I had were all I really needed to get started. So I didn't really buy a lot. And I kind of adopted this mentality of like keeping a good chunk of like that buffer money in the bank just to have as a fallback.

If like I don't get projects, if I need more money for myself or whatever else, or if there's an opportunity to attend a conference or to pitch to someone and you need to buy some samples or things like that, I had that buffer there. And then one of my other early expenses was just creating some stickers for Peoria. So buying, I bought entirely too many the first time because once again I didn't know exactly what I was doing.

I didn't know how many stickers you should buy. So there was— I bought, I remember very specifically, I bought magnets and stickers of an I Heart Peoria, Illinois design and then also of my logo, which has since been updated, and then a little ice cream cone I drew. And the ice cream cone lasted for entirely too long. I think I just finally like sold out of the like 300 that I bought. Like 6 years ago, just recently. So lessons learned there for sure.

But you just kind of go with it. You try something new every day. You figure out little by little what the right things are to do. And for me, it was a lot of you just sit down and create. I actually had an artist residency at one of the warehouse art studios in Peoria as well. So that was a really great opportunity to get to sit down and like kind of put the art hat on and be like, what art do you want to make?

What designs do you want to see in the community? And in the world. And those were the pieces that kind of— I was able to create them proactively and put them in front of some people, and those people were like, oh, I really like that, I want that for me, or I want that for my business or our organization. So it was a lot of that.

It was a lot of, well, if nothing else, what is your ideal thing you want to be doing as your job? Let's start there. Let's start by drawing, and then we'll figure out who needs to see this drawing to hire you to make another drawing.

Christian Solorzano [20:12]

Interesting. And I see that. Did you have any— did you have any— because to me it seems like just very natural progression to go from school to like running your own business. But did you ever run into any sort of like doubt or like, did you deal with that? And if so, how do you— I don't know, how do you get through that if you're, starting this thing from scratch and you're, doing it for the first time? What were some of those obstacles?

Chelsie Tamms [20:41]

Yeah, imposter syndrome being one that I think every creative person can relate to. And if they can't, they're denying it because it's just part of the creative process, I think, is not being sure of it. And when you put so much heart and passion into your work, it means you're going to have some doubts or you're putting yourself out there. So if anyone says something negative, then that really can affect you, and I think to a degree should affect you.

That's human and normal that it bothers you or that it— you react to it. So that's just something I think to think about and acknowledge that like everyone experiences that.

So for me, some of the biggest challenges were just figuring out like where to go, who to talk to, how to present myself, how to build up that confidence before I had any experience, because it's a lot harder to do that when you don't actually have clients or things you can point to say this went well, let's do it again, but you're starting kind of from scratch.

So for me, what it looks like was create personal projects, create personal work so the work can kind of speak for itself, and then you can follow up with comments. But it's not you just showing up and saying I want to be a graphic designer.

It's more I'm going to show you how I'm a graphic designer and how I'm a Peoria artist and how I'm established here by all of these personal projects, but that holds, I think, a lot more weight than just projects that don't exist yet or that are ideas or ones that you're forced to do that don't reflect your personality. So I think that's been my key of like overcoming some of that challenge.

Some of that imposter syndrome has been like, just make the work and just make yourself share the work and you're gonna feel it, but just keep pushing forward.

Christian Solorzano [22:22]

And looking back, so from 2016 to now, 2022, it's been 6 years. What are some of the if you look back, how— what are some of the biggest differences or like some of the biggest lessons that you've, that you've learned? And yeah, just how does your practice today look different from 6 years ago?

Chelsie Tamms [22:44]

Yeah, I think the best way I can answer that is just this approach of fewer, better things. So when you start in a business, you kind of have to try a lot of different things. You have to bend over backwards a little bit more for clients to kind of prove yourself, to figure out what you're willing to do, what you're not willing to do.

And now I'm a lot more focused and confident in certain aspects that really just make me more comfortable in saying, no, I'm not going to do this project because it has a lot of red flags or you have a lot of unrealistic expectations. And I think it takes having some of those terrible experiences to get to the other side and realize, you know what, actually this isn't okay.

And I think there's been a huge movement that's happened in the past 6 years that the customer is not always right or the client's not always right. And I think that gives independent creative people like myself freedom and permission to push back a little bit or to say no. There's times, and I think even in the agency setting this can sometimes still exist, where you just have to do what the client wants to a degree that makes you kind of cringe or uncomfortable.

So this kind of challenges that, and I think that's how I've changed the most over the past 6 years, is just becoming more assertive in I'm not going to do that, and I'm going to do what works for me in a way that works for me. And the goal is, of course, to make something for the client if there is a client that's very fulfilling and satisfying for them. It meets their goals and objectives.

But there's a lot of projects that just— it doesn't mean that it's a bad project. It's just a bad project for me.

And I'm not the right person for them. So I think that's the big lesson. And then in regards to that fewer, better things concept in another lens, it's also just cutting off the smaller projects that aren't worth the time and energy, the ones that have the tightest budget but the highest demands. And they are so draining and really like kind of break your creative spirit. I've had that happen a handful of times. I think most people have.

It's hard to identify the red flags in the moment and push the project in a different direction or give it to someone else. But when you're in it, it's a tough thing to navigate and to bounce back from.

And I think the more we can kind of cut off or like trim the fat, so to speak, of like the business and like what's not profitable, what's not working, what's not fulfilling, and what's not fulfilling, not just from a financial sense, but also from a what makes me feel good. Did I make a lot of money, but I feel terrible afterwards because that was so hectic and stressful?

Or do I maybe not make as much money in this project, but I feel so incredibly fulfilled because it's for such a great cause and I care about it so much and all of those great things. So I think that's something to weigh as well. So fewer, better things doesn't just mean fewer, better, high-paid projects. It also means just better quality and what works for me at that time. And that's changed a bit over the course of the past 6 years as well. Okay.

Christian Solorzano [25:40]

And do you have any— do you have any story or 2 to share just regarding a situation where you've noticed a lot of red flags and just curious to see just what you did to overcome those?

Chelsie Tamms [25:51]

Yeah. So 2 stories. The first was like an early project I did in Chicago, and I feel like the way you don't see red flags is you make excuses for little things that could be big things. So it was a meeting that I had, and they were— they wouldn't tell me their budget. They kind of got me on the spot to say like, oh, actually we only have $500 for this logo.

And I was really conflicted because one, I don't think that's a great rate for a logo. Especially because, of course, it was like rather quick turnaround, whatnot. But really it was just like the manipulativeness of like, I brought you here to try to convince you to take this money. And for me, the other side of that story, and I think this is one we— a lot of us can relate to, is that I didn't really have any new clients yet in Chicago.

So I kind of had this clean slate and like this open schedule. So I was like, you know what, I guess I'll take this because I don't have anything else. Yet other than some personal projects. So anything's better than nothing, or like, maybe this will be a foot in the door. And I think those are the red flags when you're like, maybe this will be something that like, it isn't explicitly that thing yet.

That's a speculation you're making that might be very generous, one that's not really there. And they were just such a rough client for me and they didn't appreciate my process, which everyone else I had worked with to that point loved the process. It was streamlined, clean, easy. All of those good things. And I just kind of suffered through that project. I didn't really have the confidence to end it other than just finishing it.

And that's what comes to mind in terms of like that early on wish I would have just stopped it, which I mean, honestly, I would have refunded the money and just been like, I need this to end. But I didn't do that. I like definitely suffered through it and got to a point where they wanted to change the deadline mid-project. And we're like, actually, we need this today. We're going to finish this today. I'm like, that's not what we agreed to.

So just those are red flags, like telling you how to do your job, telling me what font to use, and telling me that the ones I was picking were useless. Just like really rude things to say, saying they didn't like any of that. So I think that one, I suffered through it. And obviously even retelling it, just feel frustrated that I let myself do that. But I say that with one other story that's a more recent example. I— the solution is firing the client.

I think, in short, is when you see something like that happening where you just feel completely disrespected, not appreciated, etc., it is figuring out how to get out of the project as soon as possible. And it's also valuing things outside of money. So your mental health, your sanity, your comfort, and like your knowledge that if you suffer through this, you might have some significant burnout, and it's going to take a recovery cost. And I think those are things that we don't always think about.

You're like, I'll just get through it, but it does affect you beyond that project. So I've seen myself grow in that way of just, this is not working out for various reasons. I always give it a couple shots of like, I will try one other thing, but I'm going to draw the line and say, if this isn't working, we have to come up with another solution. You're going to need to hire another designer.

Maybe I can get flexible on here's the files to hand over to someone else, which isn't normally what I would do, but the priority in that situation is getting out. And so I was really happy that I made that a priority in the last big red flag project.

And of course the red flags were similar to zero to no budget kind of situation. Someone else paid for it, super tight timeline, working on the weekend, but it was a friend of a friend. So you have like this empathy of like, oh, they really need this, they need this help. And so you kind of weigh those things out. But the reality is like, those are very clear red flags of like, we're going to tell you how to do your job.

And then they were just very much like, it doesn't matter what the scope of the project is. You need to fix this. You need to figure this out. You need to make something better. Nothing you've done is good. And I don't think that's a normal way that people should talk to designers or just people in general. So if that's happening now, I'm like, cut it off as fast as possible.

I will say that to any designer of like, if you feel really bad working with this person, Stop working with them. And if it means you have to refund their money, refund their money, because your mental health and sanity and comfort and stability as a designer is worth more than most projects.

Of course, that comes with a grain of salt that sometimes you need that work, but the more you're doing that work, the more it takes up all your mental space and energy and prevents you from getting the project that's really fulfilling.

Christian Solorzano [30:31]

Yeah. Even you saying, recovery costs. To me, that's the first time that I heard of that. And I think, yeah, you're totally right. I think, but it's so difficult, especially I think if you're, if you're just starting out to just have the confidence or to have that, have that self-awareness to know when to say no.

And I think for myself, like I've been in situations where I've, I felt this way or where I've almost felt somewhat guilty for complaining because it's almost like while you're doing the job of your dreams, like you should just, be quiet and just do it. But yeah, I've noticed that just over time, like you sort of— yeah, like you said, you start to get a little bit more comfortable and confident and learn to say no. But it's— I feel like it's just practice.

Like it's— I don't know if it ever gets easier. I don't know if it ever gets easier for you to say no. I don't know.

Chelsie Tamms [31:28]

I would say it doesn't get easier, but you get better at saying no. So it's really Saying no is never an easy task, but the more experience you have saying no and things working out okay and it not being the fear that you have coming to life, the easier it is to say no and to put more things in the bucket of this is a red flag or this is a boundary that I have with work.

If you're willing to cross this boundary and not respect my time or expertise, then we can't work together. And like getting comfortable saying that, because I don't think I would say that Day 1 or even day 100 of owning my own studio. But now it's the reality of like, we don't have time and energy for clients that suck your creativity and your soul out of you, especially when you know this is the career you want to be in.

If you know you want to be a designer, don't let bad experiences and bad clients be the reason that you have to change careers. Find the people who value you so that you can continue doing what you love. And I think that's always been a internal struggle for me is just knowing like, this is what I should be doing.

So when those things happen and they like try to put out that spark and that fire, I know it's more on them than it is on me because I know I've always wanted to do this. I love doing this. And if I'm in the right project, I couldn't be happier.

Christian Solorzano [32:46]

I love that. That needs to be a quote. So good. So in addition to working with clients, I know that you also do you also offer— you have like a curriculum where you teach, artists to start their own businesses. Could you talk a little bit about that?

Chelsie Tamms [33:05]

Yeah, absolutely. So that was mostly born out of realizing like 5 or so years into business, I actually figured out a lot of business things. There's a lot to this, and there's also a lot of businessy courses and things out there that feel too businessy, and they don't feel like they appeal to this emotional side of being an artist and creative person where I feel like they're like, okay, follow the money or like scale your business.

And that's not always applicable for designers and artists because there's more to it. Like we're so passionate and we care so much about it. So that was really the motivation for putting together the content. So I built out a 6-week course and program to help people learn the business fundamentals. And the goal of that is through the lens of I'm an artist, I get it.

I get that there's a lot of bad business advice out there because so businessy and so removed from the heart and the passion you have for this art that it doesn't really account for all of that.

So that was really the goal and motivation, become somebody who could help bridge the gap because there's so many people who love art and design and they also would love to just do that full-time and not have to take on another job just to fund their hobby as an art, but why not make it their full-time career? So I really wanna see more artists charging more and building sustainable businesses so they can actually support themselves. And I think that's a huge topic right now.

And we're seeing it across just jobs in general, that things cost more than we're willing to admit they cost. And there's a huge resistance to that. And that's in like paying workers wages that they're happy with. And that's also just paying for food, like food prices are increasing, prices of everything's increasing. And I think for so long, we've gotten used to like such low wages, such low prices, all of these different things that it's hard to be honest about what things actually cost.

And I think art is a really big category in that of like, when you do the math on how long it took you to create this painting or this logo or whatever else, the reality is you can't charge this low amount. When you really do the math and the numbers, which I know that none of us love doing, but is necessary sometimes, we miss the reality that we're undercutting ourselves or undercharging to a degree that will never allow us to have this career because it's unsustainable.

And we can't actually make 16 $500 logos a month to keep our business going or to grow it. That's just kind of crazy to think about having to churn out that much work on that consistent of a basis. So that's really the motivation for all of it is just trying to open up that conversation and discussion and push people to learn the things they need to learn so they can make their lives easier and more fulfilling.

Christian Solorzano [35:52]

I love that. And how long have you been doing this academy work for?

Chelsie Tamms [35:58]

Yeah, so it started in— I would say it started really in 2020 in terms of developing it, but it was launched officially in February 2021. So I've had— I'm going to have the 4th cohort of the program starting this summer, June 2022. And really all of the students that have gone through it have really been from all different backgrounds, but mostly in kind of the visual arts is probably the most common.

Everyone from painting to lettering and calligraphy to just drawing and illustration to photography and in a range beyond that as well. But the goal is really just to create this. And this was also in part created because the pandemic really made me slow down and realize, okay, I learned some stuff and also what can I do at this time? We're not able to connect in person the same way.

So how can I adapt and pivot a little bit to create something that I've always maybe thought of in the back of my mind, like this would be a valuable resource, I wish I had it, but actually having the time to sit down and create it.

Christian Solorzano [37:02]

Okay, and then, and then, and you've been in Chicago since 2019, correct? And what was that just what, is there any, what was the transition like to come from, you know like Peoria, central Illinois to Chicago and just curious to just hear about that.

Chelsie Tamms [37:24]

Yeah, I really enjoyed the transition mostly because I was really excited about Chicago in general. And as I said earlier, I always aspired to like work at an agency in Chicago. So this was kind of like my own version of that. And all of these things fell into place for that to like be the next logical step or jump. So I was able to look back at everything I did in Peoria and say, okay, what worked well? What do I want to bring with me?

What do I want to leave behind here? And a couple of the things that I wanted to bring with me and focus on was I still love branding work. I love these stickers that I've created. My first priority was recreating different designs and different positive designs that I had for Peoria, make a Chicago version, which was honestly a lot easier because there's a lot of great things that Chicagoans have pride in where Peoria was kind of starting from scratch a little bit in that realm.

And then also kind of as a subcategory to those, working with airports and museums. So those were 2 things that worked really well for me in Peoria. So I had a kind of hyper-focused vision of moving to Chicago and saying, okay, airports and museums, that's what I'm after. That's what worked well. That's where this fits in. That's where I feel valued. And so that's what I've been working on. And it's been a mix of successful and not so successful.

Museums, I got really lucky in that, and I think it's luck in a sense, but I had a specific goal that was informed by that put me in the position to actually be able to have a great conversation with the Field Museum, for example.

So I had the experience of, I've done museums, I don't know exactly how to scale it to the Field Museum, so you're gonna have to tell me how to work with you as a museum, but here's what I can do, here's what I can bring. If you can help me fill in the gaps, I think this could be a really great opportunity for both of us, and that's kind of how it got started.

So that's been one of my favorite projects I've ever worked on, creating different custom designs for the Field Museum in sticker and enamel pin form, and really just being able to see my work produced on a much larger scale than the Peoria Museum. That's been a great thing. And then, as I said, failures, or maybe not successes yet is a better way of putting it, but airports have been really hard to break into. Been Working on it since 2019.

And as of just, well, really just yesterday, but also recently in the past month or so, it's like the first airport deal that I got has come to fruition. And it wasn't what I expected. It's been exciting and cool nonetheless, but also it's a lot more intensive than what I thought it would be in different ways of like rules and restrictions and regulations they have. And I had to create a whole new series of designs to be part of that.

So it, I had hoped I would just be able to sell my existing work. Into the airport and that still hasn't happened. And I'm kind of up in the air on if that's the right path. But I think that's really what made the transition fun is I worked there. So I have that footing, that starting point, and I can kind of figure it out along the way. So I've learned a ton and never planned to make a course, but that kind of fell into place.

Christian Solorzano [40:36]

Nice. And just out of curiosity, what about Airports you find interesting?

Chelsie Tamms [40:42]

I think that it all comes down to just community building in general. So I like to think that idea of this fewer, better things of like, could I put my artwork in one place that touches a lot of people that has the greatest impact from a community perspective? So many people go through museums, so many people go through airports. And so it's just such a hub of culture. And community, and like going through and like the community pride that is Chicago.

So whether you're visiting here and you feel really excited to take a piece of that home and take the culture of Chicago home with you to gift someone else or for you to remember, or you're from Chicago and you want to share part of that with someone you're visiting, or you're just on your way home and you're just really excited to be home because you love Chicago and you want something. That visualizes that represents that to you.

So I think that's where I'm really attracted to them is that they're just a large-scale place. And I also think that there's a lot of souvenirs out there that just aren't representative of the communities that they are attempting to serve. They're typical made-in-China souvenirs that just don't have the culture and the personality of our city.

And so that's really where I see myself fitting in to create more art forward and art-focused products that actually represent the vibrancy and the excitement of our design community and of Chicago as a whole. So that's kind of the problem that I see of like, this isn't Chicago, or this doesn't represent us. So I want to create something that actually does, in my opinion, and connect it with as many people as possible who want to feel part of that community.

Christian Solorzano [42:22]

Okay. Yeah, I love that so much. And I do agree. I think Airports are always really interesting because I think there's like a love-hate relationship. You don't want to wait at the airport too long because if a flight's late or anything, but sometimes like you have no option but to walk around and just explore. And yeah, I always find myself like running into things that I'm like, I can't believe they sell this, they sell this really cool thing at this airport.

So I love it, and I feel like every airport that I've been to, always, to your point, like someone adopts like the culture of that specific location. So I think just the fact that you're creating something that's gonna represent Chicago, I think is wonderful. So awesome. And congrats on that deal. I can't even imagine what— like, just, you mentioned that there's just more red tape or just more things to consider when dealing with airports, which I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like.

Like those emails.

Chelsie Tamms [43:23]

Yeah, it is, it is hard to not get into the weeds of it. I think a lot of it comes down to how you have to label things, how you have to ship things, how you have to document everything along the way, and kind of the hoops you have to jump through in terms of like vendor forms. Because when we're talking about airports, we're likely talking about working with much larger corporations or businesses as an entry point, because it's really expensive to do business in airports.

I've gained a new appreciation for how expensive things are in airports, realizing like how expensive rent is in airports and things like that. I've sat through a lot of meetings that didn't really apply to me about construction and rent prices and all these different things, just in an attempt to break into the industry.

And I've really just learned that like there's— and I think this is true across everything— there's a reason that it's more expensive, and it's not one that we all need to dig into and know a ton about, but it's just given me a greater appreciation of understanding the inner workings of these big entities and knowing that even if we don't love that water's way more expensive or a sticker's way more expensive there, there's a reason for it.

And I think the pandemic really pushed against the airport industry and aviation as a whole of like, we need to change some of these policies because they are not friendly for small businesses and minorities to break into this. So I think that's one good thing that's come out of the pandemic in that regard. But there's just, there's so much to it. And I think that is kind of what I think about in terms of owning your own business is there's, it's a hard, everything's hard.

Everything's hard to figure out and it's hard to break in. But also if you're willing to put in the time to learn and navigate it, you can go pretty far. And there's a lot of people that get intimidated and so they don't even try. And I feel frustrated being on the other side of some of those situations and being like, I did try all the way and it turns out it's not very viable or not very great for me.

But I think it still feels really good to like have gone that far, to have gone kind of all the way in pursuing this very specific goal. And then I get to be the one that decides this doesn't work. And maybe it doesn't work for a financial reason. Maybe it doesn't work because— the culture fit's not there. But I think I just always want to encourage other artists and designers to like go a little bit bigger. Don't limit yourself to the coffee shop in your neighborhood.

Think bigger. What if your products got into every coffee shop and Starbucks? And it sounds glamorous and also very much isn't glamorous sometimes, but I don't think people should limit themselves as much because it's worth learning about and seeing if it's right for you versus writing it off before you know what it entails.

Christian Solorzano [46:10]

That's another quote.

Chelsie Tamms [46:13]

So good.

Christian Solorzano [46:15]

So I guess before we wrap up, I have another question and it's just about— and this is something that I always like to ask designers in Chicago, but is there anything in particular or anything that comes to mind regarding a gap in the Chicago design community? Because that's something that the Chicago Graphic Design Club is always trying to do is what are some gaps or like what are some things that we could, that we could, do to support the community.

So yeah, do you have any thoughts there?

Chelsie Tamms [46:48]

Yeah, that is such a great question, Christian. I would say it's hard to pinpoint because I think first of all, the Chicago graphic design community is really awesome and just the creative community in general is great. I feel like it's not actually as much about what the Chicago Graphic Design Club or other organizations similar could do. It's really kind of put on, in my opinion, needs to be put on individuals to show up to what's happening.

That I think is my biggest frustration or what I see missing in Chicago is people showing up to the wonderful events that are being put on by organizations like the Chicago Graphic Design Club, AIGA, another group that I'm Pretty active in is the Ladies Wine and Design. And there's so many great things happening. And I know there's so many more designers out there who could engage more.

And I think that's where we could get some even more fruitful conversations, just having more diversity of people in the room, experiences. And I would say one other thing to add to that is thinking about transparency.

I think that this podcast is great because it's a transparent conversation between designers and talking about these things, but Opening up for transparency and talking about what people's salaries are, what people's rates are for freelance, and like comparing some of those things so that we all are on a more level playing field. And so that us as creatives and as designers feel more equipped to go up against big projects or go up against new clients and all of these things. And we build that confidence.

That's a theme of what we talked about is just building confidence in yourself so that you can say no to things so that you can do what's right for you. All of these different things, I feel like what equips us better is knowledge from our peers. There's been so many times that I've been in a webinar or a meetup and heard the smallest offhand comment of somebody being transparent, and it's really stuck with me and changed how I approached a new project.

So I think that's what we can always do a better job at—is just being a little bit more honest and creating spaces to be transparent and honest that aren't necessarily. As public.

So recording a webinar presentation is sometimes hard to say some of the true stories about your clients and your experiences, but creating more of those spaces where we can share the good and the bad and the ugly and everything in between so that we feel less alone and that we feel better equipped to take on the next challenge, whatever that looks like in our individual career path. I love that.

Christian Solorzano [49:24]

Another quote. You're so much wisdom from you. So thank you so much. Before we wrap up, is there anything you want us to promote? If someone wants to get in touch with you, how could they find you? Where could they reach you?

Chelsie Tamms [49:41]

Yeah, absolutely. So the easiest place to reach me is probably on Instagram. So my handle is just Lettering Works, L-E-T-T-E-R-I-N-G W-O-R-K-S. And then my website Site is just Lettering Works, and the course-specific website is courses.letteringworks.com. Always happy to answer people's questions or connect them with resources. Contacting me through my contact form, I get the emails directly to me and review them every single day. So if anyone has questions, that's the best way to get a hold of me.

Christian Solorzano [50:13]

Awesome. And you're— and I just want to add, you're a very approachable person. So anyone that's listening, I definitely recommend reaching out.

Chelsie Tamms [50:22]

So yeah, and I think the reality too, I've learned this over the years, is not enough people actually reach out. So you can make yourself really memorable by actually reaching out and don't assume, oh, she must get so many messages because you can reach out and people are more accessible. And I think that goes for the big goals, but also just reach out, ask the question. The worst that can happen is you don't get a response or you get a no.

And that doesn't mean it's a no. It just means not right now. So be persistent, put yourself out there. And connect with all of these wonderful designers we have here in the Chicago community.

Christian Solorzano [50:58]

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Chelsie. And yeah, we can't wait to just see what other things you're up to in the coming years. So thank you so much.

Chelsie Tamms [51:11]

Yeah, thanks for having me, Christian. Awesome. Cool.