We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jamie Morin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jamie below.

Jamie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I have been drawing since I was a kid and always had some natural talent for it, but don’t feel like I ever really progressed much from taking classes in high school/college. I pursued degrees in interior design and architecture thinking it was a great fit with my interests in math and drawing, but came to realize early in my career that my day-to-day job did not include either! At that point I felt like I needed to do something for a creative outlet and decided to try calligraphy. I was self-taught for a little while, but as my interest grew, I decided to take a class through the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC and had the privilege to learn under a great teacher and a women who is now the White House calligrapher! Not only did I learn more about calligraphy, but I learned how to study a creative skill, break it down into component parts, and really observe. After honing my calligraphy skills, I at some point decided to go back to drawing and I was blown away on how my drawing skills had also improved! Just as athletes cross train, learning calligraphy seemed to be the cross training I needed to improve my drawing. Those same skills of slowing down and really observing have paid off astronomically for my skill and craft.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My story as an entrepreneur and business owner is probably a little different than most who get profiled for articles but there are some key points that I have learned that I would love to share. First a bit of my back story: I have degrees in both interior design and architecture and have been working in that industry since 2011. It is a fairly demanding job and in 2018 I fell ill with a rare blood and kidney disease that put me in the hospital for several weeks and forced me away from work for a few months to recover. It is times like those that really allow you to stop and assess what you are doing with your life, and I knew the stress from work was taking a toll on my body and I needed some time to figure out how to move forward.

I went back to work part-time but in 2019 moved to Florida for my husband’s job and I decided that was my time to try to pursue a career in calligraphy and illustration. I worked on weddings and personal commissions, and with the pandemic in 2020, I took the opportunity to teach online drawing classes to students world-wide. When fully immersed into the world of being your own boss, I feel like all you hear is how terrible working “for the man” is and how everyone should hustle and be their own boss, but I was finding that I was lonely. I missed having a team to both bounce questions off of and share every day life moments with.

So in 2021, I accepted a remote position with REI as an architectural project manager and decided to shutter Jamie Morin Designs. I struggled a bit with the thought that I had failed, or that others would perceive me as a failure, but in my heart I don’t feel that way at all. Starting my business in 2019 was the right thing for me to do in that season in my life, and taking the job with REI felt just as right two years later. I still create art, mainly for myself, and it now feels selfish and indulgent and I love it! I also do a few special projects, like designing wine labels for Footprint Wine Tap, but again that is for the love of art (and wine!) and a good friend. I love the balance I have now, but also have the confidence to know I can shift if my next chapter looks different from where I am at now.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I think the best “resource” a person can have is a group of like-minded individuals. This can be other creatives, other entrepreneurs or something very specific, like for me, other calligraphers. I found that the online calligraphy community is comprised of the kindest and most caring people I have met. Everyone is happy to share tips, talk about pricing, and provide support (and refer you when they don’t have the time to take a job!). Being a visual artist, Instagram was a great place to start but I also joined more formal organizations like IAMPETH (International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting) and am a member of my local organization, the Chicago Calligraphy Collective.

It is tempting, and fairly appealing at times, as an introvert to think that you will be able to sit at home in your studio and create art and your business with grow and thrive, but you need to find your community. Find your support group. Find someone to lean on and ask questions. And then be that person for the next new person coming on the scene.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am passionate about preserving what some people think are dying arts and crafts. Calligraphy was one of these until fairly recently when lettering and modern calligraphy became popular via social media. Attend any traditional calligraphy class or convention and the average age is still probably in the 50s-60s. In the computer era, typing classes have taken the place of handwriting classes and the basic cursive letter forms are barely recognizable to younger generations. Why does this matter? Some people don’t think it does, but we not only will be losing an art form but losing our ability to learn from original historical documents! Our nation’s Constitution and Bill of Rights are written in a cursive script, along with so many other documents, diaries, letters, etc. It would be like losing an entire language. So I am heart warmed whenever I hear of younger generations having interest in calligraphy or cursive because it gives me hope that it won’t be lost.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jamiemorindesigns