Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Bosnak. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Andrea, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

Judging by the majority of my work, many would consider me a sign-painter. That profession in general is different from the industry standard. As far as sign painters go, I’m not doing anything super unique. However, the standard for signage is vinyl, which is super different from what I do. There is definitely a time and a place for both, but in my opinion hand generated work has a warmth and soul to it that is just unmatched.

Does hand generated work have more imperfections? Yes. Is that an uncommon preference? Probably. However, the reason I love hand painted signage is that the imperfections tell you that a person – a real pair of hands – crafted it. Someone spent hours of their day visualizing, conceptualizing, and executing this piece. Someone carefully fine-tuned each brush stroke, and probably custom mixed the paint colors themselves. And the results are vibrant – they have texture, grit, soul, and a more radical, deep seated vibe. It’s got heart.

Is it different? Yeah. Is that why I prefer it? Absolutely.

Andrea, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a creative professional in Kansas City, Missouri. I recently launched my business, Spur & Serif, full time. I work primarily in lettering, design, calligraphy, and illustration. Hand written and hand painted work is the emphasis of my career, and I take a lot of pride in doing everything I can from scratch. I use primarily ink, enamel paint, and chalk. Letterforms & working with my hands are truly my passion, and I’m so grateful I can share that with my community everyday.

Other than the general graphic design work I do, a lot of my job is hand-painted signage. Most of that entails storefront logos, hours, and messages to their customers. It’s a super fulfilling profession, especially because most of my clients are small businesses, and usually I’m hired during build-out stages before these establishments are even open. I catch a glimpse of what their business is, what’s important to them, their early successes and setbacks. I generally finish the job with a new friend or two. I have genuinely enjoyed a great majority of my clients, and I feel super lucky to own & operate my business.

I am really really proud of how far I’ve come, and all of the places I’ve gotten to bring to life with a little paint – but I’m especially proud of just choosing to believe in myself and my brand. It has not always been easy, but it has been so fulfilling to see my growth.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve only been full time in my business for about 7 months – before that, I supplemented my freelance work with service industry jobs. I worked in the industry for about 12 years, most of that time as a server, and a small amount as a bartender. I really love the service industry, and I was fortunate to work with a fantastic team. Some of those people are still some of my closest friends, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

However, when I do anything, I give it my all. It was really difficult to balance both jobs because the one that always needed immediate attention (and provided a steady paycheck) was the restaurant. I made it my priority most days, and there wasn’t much energy left in me to generate freelance work.

Eventually, I had so much freelance work that I lost a lot of my passion and love for my ‘day job’. Leaving the service industry was such a mix of feelings – excitement at starting my dream career, mourning the loss of my long-time-familiar job, general pride for both – but it was what I needed to do. That pivot has been so much harder than I thought it would be! A lot of the things I thought would be glorious, have actually been challenging. Not seeing hundreds of people a night, not having to eat dinner at 10pm, figuring out when I’m most productive during the day, creating and sticking to my own schedule, and the list goes on and on.

Ultimately, I am so glad I made the move to full time, because it has been my dream for so long. But the difficulty has been a gentle reminder that the grass is not always greener, and that you really should enjoy where you are NOW. The journey is everything, and if you aren’t enjoying it, what’s the point?

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think I’d just like people to appreciate less common practices, in general. Recognize things and people that are different or do things differently. One of the most common questions I’m asked is “can’t you automate this somehow? can’t you make this easier for yourself?” and for me, easier isn’t better. I know I’m not the only person that gets confused looks or comments, and I think people should stop and realize that it’s ok to have different priorities than the majority. There are SO MANY people and brands that are being slept on because they’re different, and I’d like them all to get the attention and admiration they deserve.

Contact Info:

• Website: andreabosnak.com
• Instagram: @spur.and.serif

Image Credits
Johanna Brooks Films, Alyssa Barletter, Alyssa Broadus