Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Palmer.
Kelly, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Palmer Lettering Co. initially started out as a side hustle, as so many creative businesses do. Several years ago, I started exploring handlettering as a way to practice self-care and unwind after a long day’s work. I’m a licensed social worker and have often worked in jobs where I bore witness to some of the world’s greatest trauma and social injustices. After a particularly intense day, I needed a way to unwind and disconnect from the day’s work. I found lettering to be an incredibly centering, mindful practice and continued to enjoy the respite beauty offered on a regular basis.
A year ago, I knew that I needed to step away from social work for a while in order to let my mind/body/soul recalibrate from years of work with highly traumatized populations. I had made wooden signs and lettered decor for a number of friend’s weddings by that point and felt confident that I had enough skill and gumption to attempt to set out and start my own business. This past week my business celebrated its first birthday and I’m thrilled that I decided to take the entrepreneurial leap. Owning a business has been both challenging and delightful, but more than anything else, it has allowed me space to heal and reach a place of equilibrium again.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Ha, a smooth road isn’t exactly how I would describe my journey thus far. One of the biggest struggles of starting a one-woman-run small business has been learning how to operate in so many different roles and capacities. Small business owners wear so many given hats in a week that I wasn’t fully cognizant of prior to taking the leap into full-time business owning. While I hold a Bachelors and Masters of Social Work, I have never taken as much as a single business or accounting class in my life, so I had a bit of a steep learning curve in the beginning. I was lucky enough to have a few business babes in my corner that I could reach out to for guidance and support — their expertise and advice were critically helpful to me!
One piece of advice that I would recommend to women venturing out on their own, is to find a few people, either online or in-person, that have walked this road before you. They can help guide you in everything from finding the best accounting software for your needs to guiding you through the process of registering your business with the state!
We’d love to hear more about Palmer Lettering Co..
I started my business with the belief that “Beauty will save the world”, a quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This phrase has been really meaningful for me as I’ve formed and grown my business into what it is today. I want to intentionally create pieces of art that I believe will make people’s lives even just the tiniest bit better.
I dabble in a lit bit of everything in the lettering realm and really enjoy practicing calligraphy on unorthodox surfaces. Some of my favorite things to letter on are leather jackets for brides to wear at their weddings, faux pumpkins for the fall, and handpainted doormats with custom phrases (everything from “It’s Okay Guacamole, I’m Extra Too” to “The Palmers”).
I love creating items that carry a meaningful message for the person who will be receiving the lettered good. Sometimes, that means lettering something sassy, like Bye Felicia on a doormat and other times it means carefully writing in calligraphy a couple’s vows for one partner to give to the other for an anniversary.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
Gosh, I’ve been in inspired by so many women on my journey! On a macro level, I have been deeply impacted by the girl power movement of 2018 — seeing so many women bravely own their stories, live into their truths, and advocate for a better, the more beautiful world has been wildly inspiring to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.palmerletteringco.com
- Email: hello@palmerletteringco.com
- Instagram: @palmerletteringco
- Other: www.etsy.com/shop/palmerletteringco
Image Credit:
Ashton Steele Photography, Monilynn Images
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