Pitching For Future Me
Sometimes, itโs not just the cold weather that makes me want to hibernate.
In fact, I'm sure I have a snow day on back order somewhere...โจ๐ค
It would be difficult to sum up in a two-minute read the effects that a super, fast-paced culture and current events have on the psyche.
I have only been able to see some of the news clips on Tyre Nichols here and there. Work has kept me pretty busy. In some ways, thatโs a blessing. But, what I do see breaks my heart.
Iโm the type of person that screams frantically at the screen when the main character is about to get it. You can only imagine how that translates when itโs real, live footage.
Iโve seen posts where people donโt want to see the violence of the video. They would rather see his smile. They want only to recollect how joyfully he lived his life. Itโs an effort to protect the mind.
And I get that. I really do. Iโm tired of seeing all the ugliness. We grow callous to the violence in our communities because thereโs so much of it.
On the other hand, in the lettering or luxury industry, we get lulled to sleep by comfort and opulence. The focus is on elevating and making things look and feel better...the aesthetics. And rightly so. Itโs luxury.
But, since 2020 actually did happen, for me, it's necessary to show support for companies that have a heartbeat under all of the pretty.
That's why I applaud brands that take time to notice.
Well done Bfragranced. ๐๐พ
We need change. Everywhere.
It might be unavoidable to patronize services of those who may not always value what we value as individuals. Whoโs really not going to call the police if their home is vandalized? Who starts googling every single company behind the lip color they fell in love with in the middle of a Target run? How many of us truly take the time to research if every single ingredient in our cosmetics and foods are ethically sourced?
But, where we reasonably can, we support companies that we see trying to make a difference in some way.
Somehow, assessing my values on these kinds of topics actually caused me to make some progress on my goal to pitch.
Finally.
Case in point, one tip I learned about cold-calling is, you want to tell a brand why you want to work with them. Honestly, for a while, I couldnโt think of a reason other than I like engraving a lot. ๐ฌ
As a teacher, I don't know much about beauty brands. My days with my students don't usually involve a lot of dolling up. I use a trusted fragrance religiously...and I use make-up as needed. As needed, meaning for on-site events. ๐คท๐พโโ๏ธ
I have near no-brand literacy whatsoever. I help raise kids with arts and crafts for a living. The only brand I know is Crayola.
But, I grew up with a saying that, โBeauty is only skin deep.โ Thereโs more to beauty than what we put on to fight wrinkles and dark circles under our eyes. Like the beauty that fights sugar-coated bullyingโฆOr the beauty that cares for the homeless and hungryโฆAnd the beauty that stands up to injustice.
Thereโs all kinds of beauty.
This past week, I remembered a few calligrafriends and I once did a story for Black Business Month on a few black beauty brands. They weren't well-known in our circles. But, in my digging, I came across the fact that a couple of them are in Macy's.
Y'all may already know, I tend to be heart-driven when I try something new. So, since it's Black History Month, I decided to kickoff my pitching journey by pitching to offer engraving services at Macyโs.
I can't say that I'll get the desired response...or that I even contacted the appropriate department. And Iโm 99.99% certain that most on-site calligraphers pitch to the actual beauty brands themselves. But, I took the first step. And on the other side is a company that supports those with little representation. That is a value I can stand behind.
I intend to be on the lookout now to pitch to specific brands that I see doing good in the community as I find them...Brands that are putting truly beautiful things in the world. Since the first email has gone out, I wonโt be so fearful to send the nextโฆand I hope to catch many more in the act of doing good to share about here.
But, the most important thing is to make future me proud of the decisions Iโm making today.
I pitch for her. โค๏ธ
This quote by the legendary Amanda Gorman was a large part of the prompt for this blog post and was inspired by the Women Writerโs Quotes Lettering Challenge hosted by @graciousgood and @calligraphybyct on IG. If you are interested in learning more about the challenge, click here.
