Extraordinary Hand Lettering has arrived....!

On November 7th, 2017 my book Extraordinary Hand Lettering was finally released, and with that was an overwhelming amount of gratitude and tears for all the people who opened their arms and hearts to my first book.  

Its really hard to imagine that 3 years ago, I was in quite a dark and stormy time in my life, Melody was almost 3 and in that moment I thought that I would try, try, try to live my life authentically by dedicating my life to 2 things that I would never regret or let me down, being a full time mom, and a full time artist/business.  Making that decision would be lead me to the most creative and amazing years of my life so far.  It has been hard, I have learned a lot, I have met some incredible people along the way, and now I have become an author.

I hope that this book will be loved for its beauty along with its inspiration, I always design and create things for myself if mind, in this case I had to view it from the maker side, and the reader side, so I hope I have fulfilled my task.  Below you will find a video by the amazing HenjoFilms who shot this process video of one of our shoots from the book, it really captures how everything started and what I want the book to encompass... Hope you enjoy!

The making of this book was no small feat, and I cannot express HOW thankful I am to the amazing team that worked on this mountain of a project, it would not have been possible to achieve anything so lovely without the following creatives:

Head Stylist & Planner - Annie Tu from Madison and Ella

Photography - Janet Kwan from Janet Kwan Photography , Heidi Lau from Heidi Lau Photography, Katie Thompson from K.Thompson Photography

Cakes & Desserts - Caitlin Elaine from Cakelaine

Videography - Henry & Joanie from HenjoFilms

Creative Styling Consultants - Kathie Barone from Southern Charm Vintage Rentals, Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag

Florists - Jess McKewan from Periwinkle Flowers, Tellie Hunt from Hunt & Gather

Q & A Letterbox Interview

I always feel so lucky to be able to work in a creative field doing what I love... the best part really is the creative community that figures out ways to use my skills.  I really do think I am but a tool for others to use to execute their ideas, but I also get a thrill from creating them.  This month I am one of the featured vendors for Q & A Letterbox, a monthly subscription box for all stationery and snail mail lovers...!  Included was my envelope template that makes addressing envelopes easier by allowing lines to be drawn without measuring!  Their interview of the artist (moi =) ) is featured below, I spoke about how I started and where I am going.....!  Enjoy!

http://www.qandaletterbox.com/artists/qa-with-doris-of-love-lettering/

Welcome

As the last of the warm days are amongst us, it reminds me that the year is almost wrapping up and it’s just a shame that I have not written more on the blog, but trust me I have been busy with the book, lettering, and life essentially.

Year after year I promise myself that I would try to find balance between being a mom and wife and a business owner and entrepreneur, and I am boldly stating that I have NOT been successful in finding the happy medium…. and I cannot figure out why.

Is it because I am a workaholic and cannot say no? Am I not organized enough when it comes to allocating personal time to myself? Do I have too many ideas and want to fulfill all of them?  And if that is the case, WHY? What am I chasing? Sometimes I do feel burnt out but it doesn’t discourage me from waking up the next day and doing it again for another 18 hours.

I love my life, everyday I feel so lucky to have a god given talent that I use to make people happy, make a living for myself, and also helps me make new friends! But turning this talent into a business has been more than meets the Instagram eye…it takes long hours, really good organization skills, being able to NOT procrastinate and it takes guts.

When you start a business, you have to leave your fear of being judged, lose your fear of meeting new people and telling people what you do. If you have the talent, the determination and fearlessness then all there is left to do is to TELL people what you are capable of and what you can offer… and what I have found is that people will find ways to put your talent to good use.

I have learned a lot of lessons along the way since the business opened in 2014 and I hope to always be a student of life… you will not find me stagnant, I hope to always be evolving and taking my lettering and the business to the next level…coming up is the release of my book, Extraordinary Hand Lettering, may it open more creative doors for me and the business, and from there the balancing act changes again!

Please follow my favourite social media channel, Instagram (@lovelettering_doriswai). Unlike my blog, I do post there regularly and I do unload a lot of tips and tricks about my lettering and thoughts.

Until the next post… Happy Lettering!