Welcome ... or should I say welcome back?

I'm Courtney Mattern, the owner and artist behind Courtney Going Places. You may know me from Pleasant Avenue Paper Co., a happy little stationery business I ran for 10 years. I closed my shop in December 2022.

I walked away. 

I peaced out. 

I mic dropped. 

What I created didn't feel like me anymore. 

I was tired. Uninspired. 

Ya girl needed a damn break. 

So, I closed the shop. Sold off the inventory. Gave shit away. Packed up all my old designs, my sketches, my paints. I couldn't even look at them. 

I traveled with my family. I doubled down on my marketing work. I ramped up my master's degree studies. I read a lot of books. (This is the first year I've ever met my Goodreads goal). All of this was amazing. I loved every minute.

But something was missing. 

When I started Pleasant Avenue in 2013, I originally planned to sell vintage dishware on Etsy. Unfortunately, I loved my Goodwill finds too much to part with them. At the same time, I was teaching myself calligraphy for my very-DIY wedding (I was a young journalist and newspapers don't pay, y'all). 

My new hobby and love of beautiful lettering quickly spiraled. I took custom orders from brides. I designed cards. I added my designs to Etsy and BOOM. A small business was born. 

My calligraphy, my watercolor paintings, my beaded keychains, my stickers. They were more than a financial return. They were an outlet. My peace while working nights in a stressful news environment. My zen while raising my first baby. My joy while working through my autoimmune diagnosis. My art was my pride, teaching me to confidently express myself. 

Oh gosh, I'm getting cheesy. But it's true. 

A few months ago, my husband ordered me an Ipad Pro and urged me to give digital lettering a try. I had rejected digital calligraphy for a long time, swearing by the superiority of my sweet skills with a pointed-pen or watercolor brush. 

To my surprise, I found myself. I found my peace, my zen, my joy, my pride -- my art. 

I learned that it's OK to walk away from something until you feel like yourself again. That rest is a requirement, not a reward. 

I reserved the right to change my mind, so here I am with a new online shop: Courtney Going Places. 

My designs are rooted in my love of lettering, my love of exploring and my love of unapologetic ambition. Quirky always wins here. Color never goes out of style. We'll chase adventure. We'll say what we mean. We'll take breaks. We'll make up the rules as we go. I'd tell you what to expect, but I don't even know what to expect. I'm just getting going here and ... well ... I tend to surpise myself. 

Thanks for being here. It's scary to change course, but I hope you'll root for me. 

And if you don't want to? Well, I suppose that's none of my business. 

Let's go!

Courtney

Photo credit: Kamrin Baker Creative

Photo location: Luli Creative House