But first, let’s recap 2014. It was a defining year!

– Collabed with 10+ amazing bloggers in the Boston area.

For all you regulars (so, three people) you know what Quoverheards are. But for all you new-to-LFR-ers, here’s a little history!

Earlier in the year I participated in Fun-a-Day Boston, and my daily project was to doodle a phrase or quote I overheard each day. All I wanted was to hear a good mix of funny, sweet and wise words. But what I realized halfway through was that this project was teaching me to be more present. I wasn’t just going to the coffee shop and staying in my own on-the-phone-bubble. I was paying attention to what was happening around me. And I liked that a lot. Not to mention, people are hilarious.

I completed the Fun-a-Day project over the 31 days of January and then started up again in March because I kind of missed the idea. I stopped again in early May and I think it’s finally time to start back up! It might not be daily, but I’ll try! 🙂 I’ll post some here and there on the blog, but to stay in the loop, follow along on Instagram!

Hello LFR friends!

I’ve been really digging deep lately (read: lots of notebook sessions and lists and scribbled out ideas) to figure out what I want Letters from Rita to BE. Where it fits in this world and what the real purpose of it is. A bit of my thought process went like this:

There’s so much I could do!
Like words on watercolors.
Or even all out illustrations!
Flowers! Houses! Birds!
But wait, I’m not that good at drawing.
I’ll stick to words.
Which means I need to fill my shop with a ton of popular quotes.
But… everyone does those.
But… I can do those too, right?
Then it’s guaranteed someone will buy something.
But is this all for money?
I just want to create.
Preferably unique things.
Because people are unique!
I want people to want art that is unique to them.
I want people to want art that no one else has.
How do I get them to want that?
Blog about it?
Yeah, I’ll blog about it.

~*~

There is art and then there is ART. Art that is thought about and learned about and created for a purpose. When I create a lettering piece, I’m doing it because I read a quote or heard a song lyric (or even overheard someone talking at the grocery store), that made me think or feel or laugh. When I’m done with a doodle, I love it! But then it just sits in my house, on my shelf, in a folder (I only have so many walls!) That’s pretty much why I started a shop, to share with you my collection of words that so moved me.

BUT. Here’s the thing. The words that move me may not be the words that have any meaning to you. Which is why custom art is so special. That is what Letters from Rita is. A place you can come for custom word/lettering art, with words that are special to you. I want the people who are buying from my shop to get creative! What is the Bible verse that has helped you through the darkest times? What song has been on repeat since you were 18? Which line from Grandma’s most recent letter is still ringing through your heart? Those are the words I want to put on paper for you.

This revelation came to me a few days ago, and it required me to make a few changes in the shop. There are no more archived prints in there. It was hard to take them out, because I really do love them. I scan all my prints for the sake of archive/portfolio. But with this new shop goal, once a print is made and sent to it’s owner, I won’t reuse that print for someone else. Even if it’s the same quote, I will re-draw it just for you. So that’s why prints cost a little more than if I simply printed out each archived print. Because then it wouldn’t be YOURS, it would be a copy. And no one deserves a copy.

Thank you so much for navigating this road with me! It’s a continued joy and definite learning experience. Thanks for reading!

Stephanie