We recently connected with Enjoli Villa and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Enjoli, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
I have learned to be effective/successful by coming prepared and staying open minded.
If I have insight to what the room is about, I will come ready with my information and point of view in order to feel fully confident and prepared to have potentially challenging conversations. If I am not aware of what the room will be discussing, I enter with an open mind to soak in the information currently available, ask meaningful questions and begin to develop a point of view for next steps in the short vs. long term.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Enjoli and I was born and raised in the great Midwest city of Aurora, Illinois.
My lettering journey started at a very young age. I precisely remember when I started to learn to write in school and loved when we did the letter tracing sheets. I could trace and write letters and numbers over and over again and would never get tired of it. And when I started to learn cursive, I was obsessed! Throughout my schooling, art was always my favorite subject and I consistently found myself writing or painting on anything I could get my hands on, even napkins. It was so fun, relaxing and grounded me through chaos that life sometimes brings.
After the birth of my second daughter, I experienced a dark season of postpartum depression. Luckily, I dove deeper into the art of lettering and it helped pull me through this tough time. It provided me mindfulness that my mental health was missing. Very soon I realized how meaningful lettering was to me. Not only meaningful to me, but also my clients. Hearing their stories, knowing their purpose and the seeing the impact my lettering brought to their lives was life changing.
And so, in 2017 Meaningful Letters was born!
Fast forward to early 2023, after 11 years in the corporate world I decided it was time to hang up my corporate hat and pursue my passion as a full time lettering artist. I knew sitting behind a desk, I wasn’t living my purpose to the fullest potential. I knew it was time to take my creativity and love for lettering to the next level. Most recently, the focus for my business has been on-site live event lettering for a variety of brands and private events including clients like Dior, Macy’s and Nordstrom.
My purpose is to inspire the world using the art of unique hand lettering to create meaningful, memorable and valuable experiences.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three qualities/skills/knowledge that were most impacts in my journey has been practicing the art of lettering, networking, and doing things scared.
The advise I would give folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these:
1. Set aside designated time to focus on building your skill in your craft. At minimum I would find 1/day to work on developing my lettering skills. This helps build muscle memory to develop your own unique style or approach to the skill at hand.
2, Find local networking events and go! Sometimes the most difficult part can be to just show up and by showing up to these events you are making direct connections with your local community or the industry that you want to be a part of. Relationships are everything and take time to nourish. Start now!
3. Do things scared and unprepared. You’ll never feel 100% ready whenever entering an unknown situation or opportunity. Prepare as much as you can but take a deep breath, believe in yourself and do the thing that your scared to do, learn from the experience and evolve for next time.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes!
I am looking to partner with small businesses and brands to help elevate their clients/guests experiences with personalized hand engraving or calligraphy. I can be reached at [email protected] or even DM via Instagram @meaningfulletters_
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