It really has been a year of travel, these last two weeks I had back to back travel opportunities attending: LetterWest & Creative Works. The LetterWest retreat was located in Moab this year and Creative Works was in Memphis. Both were very fun but included very long days. Thanks to that, among other things, I now have a sinus cold.. yayyyyy! 🙄
LetterWest
LetterWest was fun because Becca (founder and great letterer) asked me to run the instagram for the retreat. Essentially, that meant that I attended everything and tried to capture all the amazingness that happened there! I don’t letter for freelance very often any more, mainly personal projects and things I enjoy but I loved the retreat! I forgot how much fun it is to be around creatives who love pens, paper, typography, etc as much as I do. I, also, loved meeting people from all over the world (my roommate was from Melbourne, Australia)!
I enjoyed all the talks and workshops but definitely fell in love with Sabeena’s workshop, “The Art of Paper Lettering.” It was so fun to work with my hands and build type. I didn’t realize until the workshop was nearly over that you are meant to glue the paper to the bottom paper! I was doing it wrong (and way more challenging) the majority of the workshop! However my “T” was used to help make the “LetterWest” collage; so fun!
Another fun part of LetterWest was that it was held in Moab! I had never been to Moab before and had no idea what I was missing! We hiked the delicate arch hike and though not the easiest it definitely wasn’t crazy hard. Plus, the delicate arch in real life is so massive–it is unreal! I loved meeting new people and enjoying the workshops. I highly recommend attending a LetterWest retreat for creatives who enjoy lettering and the intimate nature of the event.
Creative Works
Creative Works was so great. Definitely more focused on visual/graphic design but that was great. Like LetterWest the speakers are also attendees and that adds to the charm of the event. I was mega inspired and loved making new friends, as well as bond with my team there (like 70% of the product designers at Pluralsight were there)! Creative Works had a theme of vulnerability. This meant that there were a lot of talks that were not only inspiring but very real. Like LetterWest, Creative Works encourages their speakers to also be attendees. I loved chatting with some of my favorite speakers and getting to know them better.
This was my first time in Memphis and because it was right after LetterWest (among everything else happening at work) I really didn’t prepare well. I did no research prior to going there, fully expecting to have my time focused on the conference and any free time spent with my coworkers. This was probably a mistake. Though I did do those things, my food experiences and “tourist” activities were rather disappointing. I was hopeful for a great food scene but everywhere we went was just kind of okay. Not to hate on Memphis by any means. I just don’t think I did enough research to know where to go for what I like. That being said, here are some of the best things I saw or ate at:
Maciel’s Taco Shop - I had these delicious lettuce wrapped tacos and they also catered a taco bar at one of the conference dinners. Delicious!
Puck Food Hall - It is this quaint hall with multiple food vendors there. I ate from a pasta place that was sooooo tasty. It was a lemon sauce and yummm.
Aldo’s Pizza - quality white pizza (garlic sauce with many cheeses on it) that makes me drool thinking about it.
Rendezvous BBQ - definitely an experience! I didn’t expect Memphis bbq to be so tomato and vinegar based. But the environment is fun and brisket is tasty.
Central BBQ - full disclosure I only had a pulled pork sandwich from their food truck but it was the best bbq I had in Memphis! I hear there wings are amazing!
Lorraine Motel - How can you not visit the National Civil Rights museum built in the hotel that the great Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated? We took Birds (electric scooters) there and it was such a reverent place.
Though I didn’t see much other than the Lorraine Motel & Beale Street (think a micro Vegas strip), the conference was great! I left feeling inspired and refreshed. I would highly recommend the conference to other designers and especially if going with your coworkers-it is a great bonding experience!