Last year Dominique Falla got in touch with me about speaking at Typism 2019. I was so honoured to be asked, but at the same time I knew I was pregnant and would have a baby by then and I also knew I wouldn’t be that active workwise in early 2019…I just wasn’t sure if it would be the best timing.
But Dominique told me that was no problem because Carla Hackett bought her baby along last year and had started a new trend and these future little letterers were welcome at Typism. So I said yes, not quite knowing the adventure it would be, but the whole process of being invited and getting to Typism was super encouraging for me as a new mum!
It was a really interesting time in my life for me to be putting a talk together.
My perspective has shifted big time since our tiny human arrived – everyone says it does but you don’t really get it until it happens to you – and also ‘baby brain’ is a very real thing which has at times left me questioning if I could actually pull my talk off.
The title of my talk “Shifting Perspectives’ stems from this big life change…and that, on reflection, my career and life path so far, has been shaped by a series of key events… which, at the time, caused a shift in my perspective, leading me a different direction.
You can watch my full talk below:
I was so honoured to be speaking alongside such a great lineup of speakers.
Each talk was so interesting, so unique and so inspiring.
Kate Pullen - @katepullendraws
Kate just did the most amazing opening talk. She showcased her amazing work, and the great clients she has worked for, but also got very real and talked about how she has battled anxiety, but how her lettering pieces have become a bit of an outlet. Also she wore a fabulous blue tinsel jacket.
Larry Stammers - @signvision_melbourne
Larry talked about his 50 plus years of experience as a sign painter, and I think we could have all happily listened to him and looked as his slides all day.
Moya Carroll - @moyagraphy
Moya is also a calligrapher, but she is pretty much the opposite to me, in that she does this absolutely amazing, intricate, perfect copperplate calligraphy. She has a huge social media following and has made a very successful career as a professional calligrapher.
Melissa So - @quiteso
I loved Melissa’s work and wished we had more of a chance to talk about our love for expressive calligraphy in more detail. She has worked some seriously great clients on some seriously cool projects.
Sophie Elinor - @sophie_elinor
Sophie does amazing things with moving words. Both through animation and through the message she conveys. I was so inspired by her talk and how she uses her platform to talk about the really important issues in this world from the environment to politics.
Nikita Prokhorov - @typebynikita
Nikita came all the way down under from New York. He is the ambigram king and I now have one of his awesome pins on my jacket. I loved his talk on how a creative career path is never a straight line (because mine definitely has not been!)
Kiel Tillman - @kieltillman
Local Gold Coast legend Kiel had a whole bunch of visual goodness alongside some great tunes - he even made a Typism playlist for us! He talked about looking outside your phone for inspiration and that forced boredom is great for creativity.
What was really interesting was how all the speakers touched on imposter syndrome and feeling like they weren’t good enough to be speaking, and the nerves that came with standing up in front of an audience and telling your story.
The entire Typism event was amazing, the community of people were the best. Being there with Darren and Arlo made it even more special. I met so many talented folks and so many other creative freelance mums came to talk to me about their experiences. I really felt like I had found my people and I am so excited to go back next year.
I also taught a workshop which you can read more about here.
Thanks to @dominique_falla, @george.takes.pictures - who took most of the photos in this blog, @jhdesigns, @love.libbi and the Typism team for everything you did to make it such a great event.
