An Artist Spreading Joy, Unleashing Her Inner Child, and Searching for IPA Perfection

Who are you, sister? Tell us a little about yourself.  Hey everyone! I’m Erika, a 31-year-old who recently got reacquainted with my inner child and adventure seeker self.

I call Providence, RI home with my supportive and adventurous husband, along with our 3 cats and 3 dogs (yes, things are a bit crazy in our home).

During the day, I design toy packaging for a global toy company. At night, I spend my time hand-lettering, practicing my calligraphy, and working on building my business Lunar Creative Co.

I love mountain biking (which is what got me reacquainted with my inner child and adventure seeker self), yoga, and trying to find an IPA as delicious as Heady Topper.

Let’s do some one word answers. Ready, set, go!

Morning Drink? Coffee
Indulgence? French Macarons
Lusting after? An iPad pro (the lettering possibilities!)
Spirit Animal? Owl
Head Space? Full to the brim
Heart Space? Open and grateful
Bloom of Choice? Bird of Paradise
Turn-on? Being committed (to all things)
Go-to Gemstone? Amethyst
Celebrity Icon? Kristen Bell
Favorite compliment? That I’m fearless!

What does practicing joy mean to you? It means being 100% present and 100% who you are at any given moment. It’s the moments of being in flow and losing sense of time. It’s also about spreading that joy, love, and flow to all living things.

Biggest life lesson you’ve learned lately? It’s totally okay to be scared but you can’t let your fear stop you. I recently started mountain biking after spending over 20 years saying I would NEVER get on a bike. My decision to not ride was 100% dictated by fear and I was happy to stay safe and not ride.

After realizing that if I wanted to spend any time with my husband this summer, I would have to get on a bike, I decided to put my fear on the shelf.

It was honestly the best thing I could have ever done because I LOVE it! It’s so exhilarating and fun and awesome. I definitely still get scared when I’m out riding trails but I’m learning how to acknowledge the fears that I have (both real and imagined) and how to go for something even when I’m scared.

It’s definitely made me more confident and start to take bigger risks in other areas of my life where I definitely need that boldness.

What’s your definition of success? Getting to do what you love with people you love and being exactly who you are all the time, regardless of the situation.

Name 3 things from your Life List that light you up.

Traveling

Building a successful lettering business (getting there!)

Having a tiny house in the mountains of Vermont

What do you do when life gets messy? I stop, take stock of all the things in my life, and practice gratitude. I’ll also practice yoga, get out in nature, talk to people I love and trust… and a beer doesn’t hurt either! I have lots of tools in my tool kit to help me out and I highly recommend having lots of options to help you work through the messiness.

3 songs, 3 books, 3 Instagram accounts

SONGS

“Fall Over” by Banks

“Werewolf” by Fiona Apple

“Graceless” by The National

BOOKS

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Harry Potter (I seriously read the series once a year!)

INSTAGRAM

@chloekardoggian

@mollyjacques

@crx_doubletrouble

(Obviously, I love me some animal accounts.)

How are you going to change the world? By being a badass and empowering women and girls to be badasses, too. I definitely want to do this through the art of hand-lettering by sharing empowering, not cliché quotes (I’m working on it currently).

I also think by showing up and being who I am 100% of the time that it will help other people to do the same. I believe that if we can take off our masks and be vulnerable and real and share our authentic selves fully that the world would be a better place.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? If you haven’t already picked up on it, the best piece of advice I’ve been given is to be who you are 100% of the time. Kathleen Shannon of Braid Creative and Being Boss said this during their boss vacation in New Orleans (which is when I found out I was accepted into Elevate!) and it stuck with me ever since.

It’s really started to shape how I go about living my life and I realized that I’ve spent a lot of time not really being me. Now that I’ve started to explore this concept, I’m showing up more powerfully and confidently in life and doing things I would have never considered before (hello, mountain biking!).

Word of the Year: Expansive

Book That Made a Difference: You Are a Badass 

Currently Obsessed: Polar Seltzer 2016 Summer Flavors (especially tangerine limeade!)

Can’t Live Without: My sketchbooks! I keep all of my crazy ideas and all of my lettering sketches in them.

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You can find and connect with Erika in other places online via her website, www.lunarcreativeco.com, Instagram (where she is most active!) and Twitter.