Maker Division

Comment “giveaway” and we’ll send you the link! Everyone’s selling something for Black Friday… so we decided to give something instead. We teamed up with some of our favorite creative brands @showit @hellobravemark @bendito.mockup @pangram.pangram to launch the Designer’s Dream Giveaway. This isn’t a sale. It’s a thank-you. You could win a 2:1 coaching call with Stephanie Owens @goldsheepdesign and @mrbenburns , a full year inside Maker Division, and a creative toolkit worth thousands. Forty more designers will win second-place prize packs. And everyone who enters gets access to the First Call Formula workshop plus a mystery gift worth more than $75. Free to enter. Takes less than a minute. And if someone you refer wins, you win too. 👉 Enter before November 30. No purchase necessary. Open worldwide where permitted. Not sponsored or endorsed by Meta, Instagram, or Facebook. See Official Rules for details.

Comment “giveaway” and we’ll send you the link! Every Black Friday, the internet turns into chaos. Everyone’s shouting louder. Everyone’s trying to sell something. So this year, *Maker Division* decided to do something different. We teamed up with some of our favorite creative brands (@showit , @hellobravemark , @bendito.mockup , @pangram.pangram ) to launch the Designer’s Dream Giveaway. This isn’t a sale. It’s a thank-you. You could win a 2:1 coaching call with Ben Burns and Stephanie Owens, a year inside Maker Division and more… a creative toolkit worth thousands. Forty more designers will win second-place prize packs. And everyone who enters gets access to the *First Call Formula* workshop and a mystery gift worth more than seventy-five dollars. Free to enter. Takes less than a minute. And if someone you refer wins, you win too. 👉 Enter before November 30. No purchase necessary. Open worldwide where permitted. Not sponsored or endorsed by Meta, Instagram, or Facebook. See Official Rules for details.

Back in August, I had the opportunity to capture the @makerdivision retreat in Vegas, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I couldn’t ask for a better and more supportive group of individuals. Being around so many creative minds reminded me why I do what I do. It gave me space to recharge, rethink my process, and reconnect with the kind of people who make things because they have to. I left feeling more fired up than ever to keep building Frame 83 and help other creators tell their stories. This is a short recap of that weekend.

Forget the “just post more content” advice. 🙅‍♀️ This PDF is packed with 30+ creatives spilling the tea on how they booked clients- real jobs, real revenue numbers, real action steps you can swipe. No content creation grind required. 👉 Reply CLIENT to get your copy.

He builds the blueprint—strategy and systems. She brings the spark—creative fire and lead gen engines. We’re not cut from the same cloth. But we’re stitched together by purpose. This is what happens when logic meets lightning. When creative freedom meets business mastery. And when two makers decide to do it our way. @mrbenburns + @goldsheepdesign This is Maker Division. Different by design. Built for the

How to get great fonts for free. (That’s the line that got you here, right?) You don’t. Hehe all jokes aside, sure, you could go the Google-fonts-only route, or find diamonds in the rough (looking at you Inter and Geist) But… type designers are creatives too, and just like the rest of us, they deserve to get paid for their work. But! Great type doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. There are some incredible foundries and independent type designers out there offering free trials, affordable licenses, and even entire font libraries that won’t break the bank (legally). A few of my personal favorites: @pangram.pangram @beastsofengland @ohnotypeco @silverstagco @djrrb @rajputrajesh448 @fortfoundry …and a bunch more. Support the folks shaping the visual language of everything we make. Fonts matter. Pay the people. Save this—and send it to any pixel pirates you know.

Who’s here for the fonts? We had a whole lot of fun choosing some fonts for the Maker Division identity system (still a work in progress) and we weren’t afraid to go bold (and maybe a bit extra). So when Maker Division member @markdaniel asked us what fonts we were using, we thought like any other creative does these days- CONTENT! Tagging in some amazing foundries here for your reference: Cottonhouse Slab by @cantrell.type Newsagent by @beastsofengland Runholdy by @alitsuarnegara Larken by @ellen_luff Jacklyen by @rometheme_studio Engravers Gothic by Bitstream Did we go overboard? (The answer is no 😂) Let us know your favorite in the comments!

Some design books you’ll find on our shelves. Ben’s. Steph’s. A mix of process, type, history, and stuff that just makes us want to make things. Here are our top three each, plus a bonus from Ben that’s not technically a design book… but might be the best one of all. Steph’s Picks: 📜 Love Letters by Tony DiSpigna The best examples of Spencerian and Italianhand script lettering—simply gorgeous and a true example of specialization. 🛠️ The Process is the Inspiration by House Industries A peek inside my favorite studio with case studies featuring design, lettering, and illustration built around the idea of taking your hobbies to work. ✒️ Dangerous Curves by Doyald Young Page after page of hand-drawn logotype iterations from a lettering master—I get lost in this thing. Ben’s Picks: 📦 Ephemera by Joshua Minnich A goldmine of vintage labels, pins, packaging, and oddball print. It’s like holding a physical moodboard. 📚 Graphic Design: 1890–Today by Jens Müller I love flipping through this one when I’m feeling stuck—there’s something refreshing about drawing from the real archives, not just Instagram trends. 📐 Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Müller-Brockmann When I hit a creative wall, this book reminds me: maybe I just need a better grid. Bonus: 🧠 The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci He was just a guy with a sketchbook too. Scribbles, half-finished thoughts, weird notes to himself. It’s grounding and inspiring. What’s your favorite inspo book? Drop it in the comments and we’ll add it to our shopping list. 📚 #designinspo #designbooks #creativeprocess #letteringlove #typenerds #studioshelves #creativeblock #staycurious #buildyourlibrary

🔥 5 Marketing Must-Haves for Creatives Who Want to Get Booked 🔥 If you’re tired of crickets when you post your work online—or relying on the algorithm gods to bless your feed—it’s time to get strategic. Here’s what every creative studio needs to look pro, land dream clients, and stand out in a sea of “meh.” 👇 ⠀ 💼 1. Capabilities Deck Think of it as your creative résumé but make it ✨hot✨. Who you are, what you do, and proof you can do it—with style. Perfect for client outreach and pitch emails. 📄 Deck by Maker Division member @nickponsdesign ⠀ 🌐 2. Studio Website If your IG went poof tomorrow… would anyone know how to hire you? Your website should be: ✅ Clear ✅ Credible ✅ Compelling ✅ FULL of personality 💻 Site by Maker Division member @humbl.creatives ⠀ 🎁 3. Networking Leave-Behind Postcards, stickers, bold biz cards—whatever makes someone say: “Damn, who made this?” Be memorable offline, not just on the grid. Featuring spicy AF business cards from our co-founder @goldsheepdesign ⠀ 📬 4. Promo Packs Snail mail > the social media rat race. Send zines, samples, or surprise goodies to would-be clients. Get in their hands—and their heads. (Shown: A real Gold Sheep promo pack that slaps.) ⠀ 📸 5. Brand Photos No more car selfies, bestie. Get yourself a real shoot and use those images in: Your deck Your website Your media kit Literally everywhere (Featuring Gold Sheep’s signature glam rock Vegas vibes 🤘🖤) ⠀ 👇 Wanna grow a creative studio you’re obsessed with? 👇 📌 Save this post so you can come back when you’re ready to level up. 👊 Follow Maker Division for real-deal strategies, creative business tips, and inspo that shreds.

Hey, I’m Stephanie Owens—lady lettering artist, sparkly guitar collector, Old Fashioned connoisseur, and creative business mentor based in fabulous Las Vegas. ✨ I didn’t plan on teaching business. I planned on making art, playing music, and running @goldsheepdesign —my lettering and illustration studio where I walk the walk every damn day. But over two years ago, @mrbenburns asked me to build something with him for creatives like us—and it’s been a wild, gritty, beautiful ride ever since. Now? I co-lead Maker Division, a different kind of space for creative business owners who are tired of all the noise. No hustle worship. No “7-figure roadmap” BS. Just practical, proven, artful strategies for building something that actually feels like you. I’ve been the burned-out teacher with a side hustle. I’ve started over more than once. And I’ve learned how to build a creative life on my terms—with work that sells, without selling my soul. If you’re a designer, artist, letterer, maker, or multi-hyphenate who wants to grow without losing yourself in the process— you’re in the right place. Let’s make something real, rebellious, and completely yours.

The five things I’d create first Prereq: I’d want to pull together 3–5 excellent examples of the kind of work I actually want more of. That’s the foundation. From there, here’s what I’m building next: 🔧 Capabilities Deck 📄 Proposal Template 📜 Contract 🖼️ Presentation Template 🌐 Website These five tools help me land projects, move faster, and present the studio like it’s already the real deal. Because it is. BONUS — Client Presentation Framework: • Agenda • Recap goals • Show the work (isolated) • Show the work in context • End with next steps I use this same format for every major client milestone. Btw: Inside Maker Division, we’ve built templates or walkthroughs for each one of these. #creativebusiness #studioowner #freelancerlife #makerdivision #graphicdesignerlife

I used to get hung up on only showing “real” work. Big mistake. I was always waiting for a client to give me the permission to do the work I dreamed of doing. Thing is, it works the other way around. When we produce the work we love, we’ll attract the clients who want that kind of work. And if we wait for a client’s permission to do work we love, we might be waiting a long time. And sure, some folks might think we’re a risky option if we never worked with clients at all. Or never worked with clients of a certain “caliber.” But it’s wayyyyy riskier hiring a creative that doesn’t have proof they can do the thing. Might be a hot take but it’s something I’ve seen time and again, both in my own practice and in others. The Work > Everything Anyway, happy Friday :)