One story in particular caught her eye; it was titled “Who Wants Love?,” and recorded the musings of this complicated emotion through the words of Quinn, a 4th grader. Shortly afterwards, Alison was doing freelance for them (designing books for other stories), and when Tiny Bold launched, 826CHI claimed the pro-bono work portion of our studio to help bring their message – and the writing of thousands of Chicago-area students – to the rest of the city.
When reading that first story, a nugget of an idea formed: The students’ words can often be so visually inspiring–why don’t we design posters to bring their words to life in another way? Inspire the kids to keep doing what they do best, knowing that they are inspiring others at the same time?
This year, we did just that. Tiny Bold organized a one night pop up print show, all inspired by Quinn’s original story. 20 designers from around Chicago read her story, grabbed ahold of what they were most connected to, and designed an 8×10” screen print, which were then displayed and sold at Workshop Chicago on February 12. Every single dollar from the show – totalling over $2,800 in just over 4 hours! – went right into 826’s pocket to help further their no-cost tutoring and publication efforts. And the best part? Quinn herself was there to see them all and share her thoughts on love now that she’s a few years older 🙂
Huge thanks go to:
Gage Salzano, who helped us print a good majority of the designs
French Paper, because we love that Sweet Tooth!
Workshop Chicago, the best event space
Half Acre, for tasty beer
Little Goat Diner, for their delicious baked goods
Brian Pietrini Photo, for capturing the event
And of course, all the designers who participated:
Jenna Blazevich
Helen Boggess
Tyler Deal
Kyle Eertmoed
Ryan Troy Ford
Cooper Foszcz
Marnie Galloway
Jimi Geiyer
Audrey Green
Ambrose Holiday
Sarah Lee
Letterform & Nourishing Notes
Kim Knoll
Michael Mesker
Anna Mielniczuk
Grace Molteni
Bobby Reichle
Gage Salzano
Alison Sustarich
Thomas Quinn