letterkayes

Lettering + Life

[letterkayes]

YOUNG SCRAPPY HUNGRY Hamilton Fan Made Print, Lyrics, Decor, Musicals Poster, Printable, Broadway, Dorm Room, Fandom, musical geek gift

Ayo Im just like my country! Heres one for the Hamilfans out there. -- DIGITAL FILE, FRAME NOT INCLUDED Upon payment you will receive a set of JPEG files in the following PRINT SIZES: -A4 -16x 20 scale-able to 8x10,4x5 -18x 24 scale-able to 12x16, 9x12 -- Thank you for your purchase! -- IG:

Ayo! I’m just like my country!

[letterkayes]

2015

I started this in 2015, back then it was called MADEMNL. My intention was to have a space to make ideas into reality. It was an experimental time in my life. I had just entered my first  job at a firm and craved for a creative outlet on the weekends. I chose to solder or burn lettering on cork. I thought the burnt effect was cool and I’d never seen it done. I added screen printed tote bags and pillow cases to the mix, recycled cans to pencil holders. And my little handmade goods shop was complete.

So I took those creations to art fairs like the Alabama Handmade Arts and Craft Fair, Katipunan Weekend Market and eventually brought them to The Craft Central stores, Hello MNL and The Wander Space. 

Then life just happened, I got a new job, I had to work hard and felt burnt out trying to sustain supplying my handmade goods to stores. Mass production didn’t feel right to me so I had to make the decision to stop. It wasn’t easy, but I admit it made me feel better. I had enough time to rest and didn’t hate my creations. 

I changed my handle to LETTERKAYES and opened my doors to commissions only, got into chalk lettering and eventually teaching. 

Teaching was one of the best things I discovered for myself in 2019. I got to meet people who were excited about brush calligraphy. I got a spot to teach at Papemelroti. I was having a blast! In fact we’re near the anniversary of that first lettering class, September 21st. 

I share this not to flex, but to show that my journey has been mostly up and down. I let go when I need to and fall back in love with what I do. And I think that’s okay. Nobody said someone’s creative journey should look a certain way. That’s the beauty of carving your own path, you can do whatever you want. That’s not to say I don’t have bouts of insecurity over artists and brands I started with that have now become super successful. I just pull myself out of that mindset so I can celebrate and support them. Their journey wasn’t easy, I’m sure. 

It’s almost six months since the quarantine started. I really struggled with it, I still do. I think about lost opportunities to teach. And most days I mourn time lost to just staying at home.

But I’ve been trying hard to get into a creative routine. My efforts has led me to decide to re-open my little shop. It will be on this little corner of the internet. Some old items are making a comeback, and some new stuff will hopefully make their way to you just in time for the holidays. 

I’m nervous, excited, cramming of course. HA. But I’m feeling good about it.

-K

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[letterkayes]

Are you feeling anxious like me?

Here’s a lettering exercise to take you back to the present. All you need is a pencil and a clean sheet of paper.

Brush lettering is all about drawing brush strokes to form letters. Beginners and more experienced letterers use stroke drills to practice and warm-up. These warm-up exercises not only improve lettering, but they are also quite calming to do.

The art of drawing letters is a great way to practice focus, patience, and mindfulness. I hope this helps.

Love, Kat

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[letterkayes]

Brush Lettering Basics (September)

Hello!

After taking a much-needed break from teaching and lettering, I've decided to revive my Brush Lettering Basics workshop. It took some convincing from friends and family and trying to get over my bouts of imposter syndrome. But here we go!

This time around I partnered with well known family-owned gift shop, Papemelroti. Early this year, they opened the second floor of their main branch to artists willing to share their craft. It's a lovely space, flooded with natural light, perfect for the early Saturday morning of the workshop.

A year ago, the largest group I taught totaled seven people. This time I had the privilege to guide twelve students as they begin their lettering journey.

Another great thing about this space is that they have a TV you can hook up to a laptop. I took advantage and made guide videos for the letterforms exercises we did. Not gonna lie, I felt really accomplished about those videos (haha).

This batch is also extra special because I had two very young participants join in, the youngest so far. I couldn’t remember if third graders knew how to write cursive. I learned from these two that they teach cursive in first grade.

Fun fact, I had to transfer schools in second grade and the class I transferred to were taught cursive the year prior. I had to catch up, so I copied the cursive letters on posters above our blackboard. I like to think that's what started me on lettering.

We ended the workshop with a D.I.Y activity. I'm really pushing for gifting personalized items for the holidays, so we made gift tags, notebooks, and greeting cards.

The next workshop will be on October 12. You can find more details here

Much love,

Kat

[letterkayes]