Women’s History Month | Newsletter
Women’s History Month is here, and I would like to take the opportunity to share my own journey with all of you. As I mentioned in my January newsletter, this year marks 10 years as an independent creative business of one. I drafted my reflections on the past decade, and it turned into a full 5-page essay. To make it more digestible, I decided to summarise it by years and bullet points. It’s quite shocking to read a decade of your own life presented this way, and I recommend you all to give it a try!
For the ones looking for an extended and more emotional narrative, at the end of this newsletter I am sharing a video, where I’m elaborating in some of these points.
2014
- Lost full-time textile design job unexpectedly.
- Became a freelance designer and secured my first clients.
- Created and sold my first artwork in Melbourne, London and Barcelona.
- Started teaching calligraphy at my studio, which became my main income source.
2015
- My education sustained me for the entire year, as I focused primarily in self-generated work.
- Living the dream as a starving artist, educator and independent designer.
- Opened my first solo exhibition in Melbourne at the end of the year.
2016
- Post-exhibition blues followed by depression.
- Started “The Shit Series” personal project which lasted 2 years.
- Taught Advanced Typography at Tractor Design School in Melbourne.
- Calligraphy courses remained my main income, with sporadic client commissions here and there.
2017
- Calligraphy & lettering gained popularity. All my courses for the year sold out.
- Turned 40 and became Australian citizen after 10 years in the country.
- Met Dominique Falla and gave my first conference talk at Typism.
- Designed and published my first font family called Green Fairy.
- Education was almost my only income source, as I discontinued client work to focus on my font for 9 months of the year.
2018
- Gave a second conference talk at The Design Conference in Brisbane.
- Opened my second solo exhibition at La Panera in Spain.
- Diagnosed with melanoma at the end of the year.
- Education remained my main income source, with some client coming along.
2019
- Looking for financial security, I accepted a teaching position at RMIT University.
- Experienced anxiety and sickness for the first 6 months of the year.
- Opened my third solo exhibition in Spain; felt exhausted, overwhelmed and could hardly enjoy any of it.
- Went into a 6-month depression right afterwards.
2020
- Anxiety worsened, declined RMIT job offer.
- Hosted my first Calligraphy retreat in Australia.
- Global lockdown canceled all my classes and client work.
- Started therapy and lost considerable weight due to anxiety.
- Started teaching online, which I loved instantly.
- Released my first educational video on Youtube, which has now been watched over 197K times.
2021
- Therapy greatly improved my mental health.
- Spent five months in regional NSW.
- The Australian Covid-19 wage subsidy became my main income source.
2022
- Moved out of Melbourne after 11 years at our Fitzroy home.
- Spent five months in regional NSW again.
- Transferred our beloved Rotson Studios after 8 freaking good years.
- Started our overseas journey, landing in Barcelona in August after 3 years away.
- Education income dropped and client work increased considerably.
- Spent my first Xmas in Catalonia with my family after 11 years.
2023
- Lived in 6 different apartments; 4 cities; 3 countries; and 2 continents.
- Education income kept dropping, relying more and more on client work.
- Worked with Pentagram and Porto Rocha in NYC.
- Won my first design award at the age of forty six.
- Finished the year financially stressed due to overdue invoices.
2024
- Client work is my main income source.
- Moved from Thailand to Vietnam, and looking forward to our next destination.
- Feeling the full swing of life with all its splendour and paradoxes; feeling f*king grateful for all of it: the great, the not so great, and everything in between.
- Looking for our new home, whatever, wherever this looks like.
- Next steps? Getting familiarised with the idea of “I don’t know yet”.
Would you share your last ten years with me?Much love, Maria xx
Below, you’ll find my next calligraphy course of the year; a pre-recorded and self-paced course to refine and up-skill your Copperplate calligraphy; and a highly-detailed premium logomark.
On resources section of this newsletter, you’ll find out about Words of Type; a Ceasefire Now! Type initiative; and The Malee Scholarship supporting women of colour in the type industry.
“Feminism by definition is the believe that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. There is no one country in the world where women can expect to receive equal rights. No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality” Emma Watson.This month, and every month, respect women by listening to their needs and act accordingly. Support women by creating safe environments for them to thrive. Recruit women and compensate them equally. Celebrate women and their achievements. Promote women to leadership positions. Invest in women and in their businesses. Champion women by giving them a platform to be heard.For Women’s History Month I am compiling an ongoing list of resources called “Women in type & design”. Get in touch in you know of any additional resources!
Intro to Copperplate Calligraphy Course (L1)
_______________DATESMarch 2, 9, 16, 23_______________Expect to hear from me about type, human anatomy, food, breathing and a deep love for letterforms.— 11am to 1pm AEST (MEL) / 7pm to 9pm EST (NYC)— 2h x 4 Classes— For beginner and intermediate students— No calligraphy experience required (L1)— Videos available to watch for 2 months after the last class— Every lesson is recorded and uploaded 3 hours after each class.
Intro to Italic Calligraphy (L1)
__________________
DATESMay 4, 11, 18, 25
__________________COURSE SUMMARY
— 2h x 4 Classes via Zoom— For beginner and intermediate students— No calligraphy experience required (L1)— Videos available to watch for 3 months!
Premium Branding Asset | Custom Feather
Highly-detailed vector feather logomark for April Anjali’s visual brand identity.
Client: April Anjali (US)Web design: New Breed Design (US)
Words of Type | Lisa Huang
Words of Type is an online and multilingual encyclopedia of typographic terms. It is a project under construction — launching mid-2024 —, initiated by French and Chinese typeface designer Lisa Huang. Together with a team of designers, illustrators, graphic designer, and web developers from around the globe, she has been working on WoT to bring easier access (in every sense) to the intricate and diverse vocabulary of typography, at an international scale.
Ceasefire Now! From across the globe
This is a transnational call for solidarity with the Palestinian people and a call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. A ceasefire – not a pause, nor a truce – is not the only demand, but is the first demand. Starting (and expanding) from the 153 countries that have signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; we say Ceasefire Now!
If you wish to contribute from a place/in a language that is not yet covered, with your typeface, lettering or calligraphy, head here. This post is updated once a week.
Special thanks to Naïma Ben Ayed for this initiative 🖤.
The Malee Scholarship | Women of Type
Applications for the 2024 Malee Scholarship are now open through May 5, 2024!Now in its fifth year, the Malee Scholarship was established in 2019 and funded by @sharp_type with the mission to advance and empower women who are part of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the type design field.Every year, the Malee Scholarship grants $6,000 USD to one woman of color over 16 years of age. The annual recipient will also take part in a mentorship program with the @sharp_type team, who will provide professional & creative guidance with the production of their typeface. If the recipient requires a RoboFont license, one will be generously donated by the RoboFont team.