Tell us a bit about yourself and your side hustle.
Though I’m currently Head of Design at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, I am not a native New Yorker. I’m a long way from home. I come from a small town in the North West of England, Wigan. We may be small, but we’re scrappy, and my side hustle celebrates this attitude by taking common phrases and words unique to the area and honoring them with fun hand drawn typography interpretations. The project itself lives primarily under @HomeGrownType on Instagram.
What inspired you to start your side hustle? How long have you been doing it?
I moved to New York in 2015 to further my career. I was excited by the opportunity and thrilled to be experiencing a world none of my family before me dared dream of. However, I missed my little home town, and felt the need to connect with it in my own creative way. In tandem, there was rarely a day in NY I wasn’t asked ‘where are you from?’ or received a comment about my accent. So, after two years of questioning I started expressing myself with type in 2017.
Does your side hustle benefit the community in any way? If not, do you plan on using it to give back at some point?
It doesn’t right now. When I have a more thorough collection of art I have considered collaborating with the town tourist bureau with the designs to create and sell products with all proceeds put back into the town's economy.
What motivates you to keep hustling?
It’s a creative outlet for me. Simply put, I love to draw. No matter the stressors from the day, the second I get to pick up my pen/pencil and create, it all falls away.
Were there any specific skills you needed to start this project? Has your day job helped in developing those skills?
I didn’t need any specific skills to start the project, just a pen and piece of paper. However, I have required a constant source of inspiration to continue. As a result, I have consistently kept my finger on the pulse of design trends, something that my job has also helped me keep up.
Does your side hustle benefit your day-to-day work?
Absolutely! Taking time out of my day to hone my typography skills has meant many more opportunities to utilize those skills in agency life. It has helped define my specialty and carved out a niche in every design group I’ve been a part of.
Creative Directors have seen @HomeGrownType and loved the work, resulting in the inclusion of typography on client briefs. Most recently, Brooklyn Film Festival’s How To Be Human campaign focused heavily on typography, which I consider a direct result of my side hustle.
What have you learned since you began your side hustle? Has it evolved over the years?
I have learnt about the intricacies of type forms and letters themselves, and now have a more thorough understanding of typography than I thought possible. My style has developed and improved over the years, but the principle has always remained the same. This project has a lot of my heart behind it - that will never change.
Is there any advice you’d give to young creatives & executives on how to pursue their passion projects on the side?
You have to find the time to keep pushing yourself. We all get busy, and our day to day responsibilities have to be our main focus, but you have to find time for your passion projects. Be it at the end of a very long day, or 10 minutes on your lunch break, if you have a passion and desire to learn and grow you will always find the time.