Founder Feature: Chelsie Tamms, Lettering Works
Meet Chelsie Tamms, the creative force behind Lettering Works, a business that brings custom branding, artist education, and original art products to life, all with the mission to infuse more creativity into the world.
Chelsie is especially passionate about cause-driven projects surrounding mental health, chronic illness, and underrepresented communities. Her work spans custom branding packages, artist mentorship, online courses, and a growing collection of wholesale art products.
“I love working on values-aligned projects that make an impact with intentional, hand-crafted creative work,” Chelsie shares.
We love sharing the stories about how our mastermind members turned their businesses into thriving stories, so you may be asking, “What’s a Mastermind?”.
What is a women’s business mastermind?
The Founding Females® Women’s Business Mastermind is an off-social platform designed specifically for women entrepreneurs who are seeking authentic connection, needle-moving conversations, and aligned growth.
This private community thrives on daily exchanges of insights, wins, and support among women who show up intentionally building businesses that reflect their values. Whether you’re refining your services, scaling strategically, or working through mindset blocks around money and pricing, this is the space where you’ll find guidance and encouragement, not just surface-level advice.
Inside, we focus on the strategies that create real momentum, including:
Marketing strategies to attract and keep ideal clients
Creating collaborations that translate into genuine referrals
Shifting your relationship with money to make wiser financial decisions
Structuring your scalable business around your life and priorities
Pricing your offers in a way that honors your expertise and drives growth
Members come together each month for a dynamic, focused mastermind call where ideas are workshopped, wisdom is shared, and solutions are co-created. Our women’s mastermind calls go deep and leave you feeling inspired. In between sessions, the conversation inside the Founding Females® Mastermind app continues through thoughtful posts, meaningful feedback, and honest check-ins.
If you’ve ever wished for a supportive circle of entrepreneurial women who understand the highs and lows of growing a business, the Founding Females® Mastermind is that place. The breakthroughs that happen here are anything but ordinary.
Meet Chelsie Tamms, founder of Lettering Works
At Founding Females®, we love shining a spotlight on the incredible women inside our Mastermind community. Today we’re thrilled to introduce you to Chelsie Tamms, founder of Lettering Works.
Chelsie is a lettering artist, branding strategist, and creative entrepreneur who helps businesses, nonprofits, and cultural institutions bring their visions to life through intentional design, custom merchandise, and values-aligned branding. Her story is one of creativity, courage, and building a sustainable business that reflects her passions all while staying true to what fuels her most: making an impact through art.
How Lettering Works Came to Be
Chelsie’s journey started with a bold leap into entrepreneurship right out of college.
“I always imagined myself working at a big Chicago ad agency to make an impact with my creative work,” Chelsie says. “But when I won $10,000 in startup funding from Bradley University as a senior, I decided to bypass the corporate world and start my own business instead.”
That was back in 2016 and she hasn’t looked back. After spending her first three years in Peoria, Illinois, Chelsie relocated to Chicago in 2019 where she continues to grow Lettering Works with a focus on creativity, collaboration, and meaningful impact.
Founding Females® Women’s Business Mastermind
We’re in open enrollment! Be part of something special by joining Chelsie and the strong female founder community inside the Founding Females® Mastermind.
Who Chelsie Works With
Chelsie helps clients bring art strategically into their businesses in ways that reflect their values and connect with their audiences.
Her work includes:
Museums & Cultural Institutions seeking custom merchandise collections that tell their story
Nonprofits who need eye-catching branding and merchandise to amplify their mission
Small Business Owners looking to translate their passions into polished visuals
Artists who need business guidance and confidence-building mentorship (often through bartering partnerships)
Chelsie also partners with organizations like Women’s Business Development Center and Adobe as an advisor and mentor, teaching creative marketing and branding strategies to help other artists and entrepreneurs thrive.
Proud Accomplishments
One of Chelsie’s proudest moments has been getting her original art products into The Field Museum and O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
“This was so meaningful to me,” Chelsie says, “because it gave me the opportunity to authentically represent Chicago (and Peoria) through my art and help visitors and residents alike showcase their pride.”
Client Transformation Highlight
A particularly meaningful project for Chelsie was rebranding the Living with Kidney Disease and Transplantation program for the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois.
“With my own personal and familial ties to kidney disease, this project was close to my heart,” Chelsie shares. “I wanted to make their communications and visuals feel approachable and human. Too often, amazing nonprofit resources get overlooked because they feel intimidating. Through thoughtful design and hand lettering, we elevated the experience and connected patients to resources they truly needed.”
Growth Through Entrepreneurship
Chelsie’s entrepreneurial journey has been a path of learning, refining, and building a business that reflects her values.
“When I first started out, I did a lot of things because I felt like I should do them to be successful,” Chelsie says. “Nearly 10 years later, I’ve learned how to set better boundaries and focus on aligned, fulfilling work. I’m growing my business in a way that is sustainable and works for my unique needs and interests.”
She continues to invest in her personal growth through groups, workshops, and audiobooks, always looking for ways to expand both her creativity and her business knowledge.
Favorite Topics
Chelsie loves discussing:
Creative and unconventional approaches to marketing
Win-win collaborations and partnerships
How generosity can fuel growth (as she shared on the Off the Grid Podcast)
Artist business models, including her own Artist Trade Program
Why She Joined Founding Females®
Chelsie has been connected to Founding Females® since its earliest days, even before the connective work we were doing was branded as Founding Females®.
“I attended some of the very first Lipsticks & Lattes coffee meetups with Francie and Ingrid that eventually became the Mastermind,” Chelsie recalls. “When I won a membership during Founding Females’ 10-year celebration, I knew it would be an amazing opportunity to connect with like-minded business owners. I love the supportiveness of the group and the opportunities to collaborate.”
Chelsie’s Vision
Chelsie envisions a future of slow and sustainable growth for Lettering Works.
“My focus is on refining my processes and client roster so I can make the biggest impact without burning out,” Chelsie says. “I also want to expand the reach of my 200+ art designs through licensing to make high-quality design more accessible to small businesses and nonprofits. I’m inviting in aligned partners and collaborators to make growth feel easy and natural.”
Connect with Chelsie
Website: letteringworks.com/coolbeans
Instagram: @letteringworks
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chelsietamms
Podcast Feature: Grow Through Collaborations on Off the Grid
Conclusion
Chelsie’s journey with Lettering Works is proof that art and entrepreneurship can coexist beautifully. Through her custom lettering, branding, and creative education, she’s helping businesses and individuals stand out in a world full of cookie-cutter design. Whether you need a one-of-a-kind logo, an eye-catching mural, or inspiration to explore your own creativity, Chelsie is making it possible to turn ideas into works of art.
Join the Women’s Business Mastermind
Join Chelsie, Andrea Verplaetse, Mandy-Marie Eldredge, Kelley Gibson, Traci Kingdon, Paola LaManna, Krystal Stegmaier, Taylor Leontios Bre Henderson, Katrina Howard, Kayla Miller, Janelle Reeb, Lindsey the Ladysmith, Heidi the Joyologist, Lindsay Wineinger, and the rest of the Founding Females® family inside the Founding Females® women business mastermind.
We’re currently offering a free trial, so peek inside and see what it’s like!
P.S. Here are some of my top favorite female small business resources:
Dream, Build, Grow Free Resource Suite - free business templates for your business plan, marketing plan, ideal client persona, financial statements, and more!
Founding Females® Community - an online female mastermind space for entrepreneurs to connect, support, and get inspired
Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business - a guided how-to handbook including everything you need to know from business idea to launch to profiting and scaling your business.
Free Downloads for Female Entrepreneurs
Free PDF Download: 25 Ways to Market Your Business (Aside from Social Media)
Free PDF Download: 33 keys to Business Success
Free PDF Download: SEO Tips for Entrepreneurs
Related Articles for Female Entrepreneurs
About Founding Females®
The mission of Founding Females® is to help women build thriving businesses. We create safe spaces for women to share business challenges and receive peer support.
In addition, Founding Females® offers an online female business mastermind, a how-to guidebook for female entrepreneurs called Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business, and in-person events, like an annual women’s business conference and local Founding Females® Meet Ups.
Founding Females® was founded by small business educator, Francie Hinrichsen. She believes anyone with a dream on their heart can pull up a seat to change the world through entrepreneurship. Click to learn more about working with Francie.
Meet Chelsie Tamms, the creative force behind Lettering Works, a business that brings custom branding, artist education, and original art products to life, all with the mission to infuse more creativity into the world. Click to view…