With intricate hand-drawn techniques, designer Erica Loesing’s beautiful calligraphy and design talents have led to the launching of her own business, Yes Ma’am Paper + Goods. Since opening her online shop a few months ago, the response has been overwhelmingly positive—each one of her pieces and designs have delicate details that tell a story and are all made with basic materials like ink and paper. Her work ranges from paper cutouts and invitations to rubber stamps and large-scale installations. With a background in architecture and studio art, she’s also part of CAMP (Creating Art Meaning Purpose)—a local event that invites creatives to connect, attend workshops and inspire each other.
Here, Loesing talks to CommonCreativ about being a business owner, finding her style and her love for Atlanta.
CommonCreativ: How did you become a designer?
Erica Loesing: My dad is a contractor and a true craftsman, so I grew up in and around all kinds of making. Then I went to art school, followed by architecture school, so I’ve dabbled in pretty much every facet of art and design. I’ve been a maker my whole life. It just took me forever to land on one thing! I love paper in the same ways I love architecture: using simple materials to make them more than you would expect, to really show the breadth of an otherwise overlooked, nondescript material. How all of the little details come together to create the whole and tell a story. These principles are true in all of the work I do.
CC: How did you start working on calligraphy lettering and hand drawings?
EL: I’ve always played with lettering. I remember perfecting the Looney Tunes logo when I was really young, and also the orca from Free Willy. I’ve always loved working with my hands, but honestly the calligraphy kind of just happened. I did it on the spot for a few photoshoots I was working on (fudged the line thicknesses with a marker!), then finally decided to try using a nib, then people just started giving me all kinds of love for my lettering and here I am! I practice a lot and my letters change constantly. I like to think of it as more of an evolving skill and by no means call myself a calligrapher. I don’t think I could do the perfect kind if I tried!
CC: What’s your creative process behind making a new product?
EL: I’m a firm believer in taking things to their simplest form. I had a professor in architecture school who always told me, “as complicated as it needs to be, as simple as it can be.” And I still design by that to this day. I like to use a lot of black, white and neutrals with clean lines and materials. I’m a big fan of editing oneself, for each piece to have thought behind it, and for every element to have a purpose.
CC: You started Yes Ma’am Paper + Goods a few months ago—how’s it going so far?
EL: Starting a shop is so much work! I also have a [young child], so balancing the two is even crazier. I work all the time and really just underestimated how much time having a shop would take. I’ve been so touched by how the shop has been received. People just have the nicest things to say about my work, and that keeps me really inspired to keep on working. I think being a designer and shop owner is tough because there is so much of the work I feel the need to do myself. All of my work I design for myself, and that’s hard to have help on! But I do have two really awesome interns who I don’t know what I would do without. But even that has been a big learning process for me. I’m wearing a lot of hats these days, but no complaints here!
CC: How do you promote yourself as an artist? Do you have any advice for others?
EL: I use social media (primarily Instagram) to promote my work and shop. And I really do try to stay true to myself and keep my work original so I feel good about everything I put out there. I think in our world of Pinterest and Instagram and all social media, it can be too easy for work to start looking all the same, and even in my lettering classes I really emphasize finding your own voice and doing the thing you love, not just the thing you can learn to do.
CC: How did you get involved in the CAMP workshops?
EL: One of my dearest friends, Ginny Branch, came back from a conference inspired to start a creative community of people (mostly ladies at the time) in Atlanta—just a supportive group of women who could get together and connect. Ginny and I met in a collaborative studio at SCAD and above all else share a genuinely collaborative spirit. We shared a studio at the time so I was lucky enough to hop on board at the very start. We began hosting little breakfasts just to get together. Over time, CAMP grew to include so many more creatives who helped really take it to the next level by offering classes, workshops, and all kinds of opportunities to make our community really feel connected, especially in our digital world. So now we do suppers (which are just amazing) twice a year, teach classes (I do a lettering class!), and offer other little ways for people to simply connect. It has been amazing in so many ways. Personally I always have so much love and support around me and I’m lucky to be a part of it.
CC: When you’re not creating, where do you spend your time in Atlanta?
EL: If you would have asked me this pre-baby my answers would have been quite a bit different. Nowadays, I spend a lot of time at the park, or sans baby at my favorite coffee shops (Octane Grant Park!). I love walking in and around our neighborhood and going out to dinner. Otherwise I spend a whole lot of time in my office and with my family. The time I take with my little one to slow down is a really welcome opportunity to let my mind wander a little bit and see the small things.
CC: What inspires you?
EL: I try to get in my own head a little more for inspiration than I used to. There are just so many regurgitated ideas out there now with Pinterest and social media that I try to not do as much looking but instead just visualize projects I want to see happen. On a perfect week, I find some time to have some kind of experience that inspires me. This is really when my best work comes about, but making that time is tough when there are orders to fulfill and projects piling up. I’m still really inspired by space. The way of thinking from some of my favorite architects still inspires me a lot, and concept in general. Peter Zumthor’s Thinking Architecture, for one. Love that book so much.
CC: How are you challenging yourself as an artist and entrepreneur next?
EL: My goal is always to produce work that has the touch of hand. To show that time and thought were taken into creating each and every piece—and then figuring out a way to create larger quantities while maintaining that look and feel. So this year I’m focusing on getting my work into shops and spreading the reach. It’s really neat to think that your stuff can have tiny impacts all over the world! In many ways it’s everything I wanted to do in design, and this year I’m making more of that happen. Also some really exciting little “campaigns” I’ve been thinking up… I hope to set aside more creative thinking time for myself—and get a house cleaner to help make it actually happen.
CC: How do you feel about Atlanta’s current art scene?
EL: I think we’ve been so fortunate lately to have so much good stuff happening in Atlanta. Public stuff like Living Walls, Flux Projects, GloATL, Art on the BeltLine, and so many groups who make art and design visible and accessible to the general public. I think it’s awesome! And #weloveatl—I’ve been thinking a lot about that campaign and how awesome it really is for our community. Makes me love Atlanta more and more.
You can see more of Erica’s work and products in her shop, Yes Ma’am.
