Hand-Lettering Workshops with Ridgedale Center & Beachwood Place: Recap

Learning through Lettering

Hand-lettering Workshops at Ridgedale Center & Beachwood Place to Celebrate the New School Year

Who knew back-to-school shopping could be so educational–and–inspirational? Back-to-school season means new clothes, new books, new gadgets, and above all, new lessons to learn. GGP had the great idea to kick off this school year by hosting events at two of their shopping malls–Beachwood Place in Cleveland, Ohio, and Ridgedale Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota– all centered around free hand-lettering workshops I created to inspire and educate shoppers.

Each back-to-school event was packed with activities inviting shoppers to try new things and enjoy some family fun. DJs brought the festivities to life with great tunes, and guests received free party bags filled with fun merch like PopSockets, Moleskine journals, and gummy bears (my personal fave).

Sponsors set up booths near my workshops to share freebies and tasty samples. They hosted giveaways, showcased the latest back-to-school fashion trends, offered free hair and makeup demos and much more. Needless to say, these events were the perfect way for shoppers to take a break from the hustle of their to-do lists and get into the school spirit.

At the heart of each event were free, 30-minute workshops where I taught my shoppers-turned-students how to create their very own inspirational works of art using some fun hand-lettering techniques.

I provided samples of inspirational quotes and showed my students how to hand-letter their own words of wisdom onto notebooks, folders, cards, and colorful cardstock.

Each workshop was small, about 30 people, so I was able to give each student personalized attention as they created their masterpieces. The energy was infectious, and attendance soared to more than 100 students each day. I wanted all of my students, from kindergarteners to grandparents, to feel empowered and creatively charged by my workshops–and to take home their very own hand-lettered souvenirs.

One attendee told me about their artwork, “I have never felt very good about my messy handwriting, but this turned out great! Thank you!”

Another awesome aspect of each event were the large-scale, custom photo walls Ridgedale Center and Beachwood Place created from my artwork. Shoppers posed for photos against the walls and showed off their newly hand-lettered pieces.

Many had never done anything like this workshop before, and they were thrilled with how their projects turned out.

One of my students explained, “I came here to do a little shopping, and this was such a great unexpected bonus!"

Another told me, "I can't wait to do this at home with my kids!"

I loved hearing all the positive feedback from the students, all of whom had deviated from the Saturday shopping trips they had planned to take on a new skill and create something wonderful.

Many thanks to GCP, Beachwood Place and Ridgedale Center for inviting me to help their communities get inspired and ready for the school year ahead. It was a blast to partner with you.

The “back to school” shoes I picked up for myself in between workshops was just a bonus :)