Best of Cleveland 2017: Hand-lettered Trinkets

Don’t throw out those old, dusty knickknacks just yet — they could be Kate Hardy’s newest projects. The 28-year-old came up with the idea for Hand Lettered Old Shit after she started writing clever phrases on old, awkward family photos and sending them to her friends as postcards. “I’ve always had a dry, sarcastic sense of humor,” she says. “So whenever I see old photos, I immediately want to make something funny out of it.” Since launching her business in 2016, Hardy has catered to the snarky crowd by hand-lettering modern-day slang such as “Send nudes,” “Bye Felicia” and “Main bitch” on old photos, globes, maps and bowling pins. But she also scrolls out more politically correct phrases such as “Embrace the journey” and “Find your own way.” Hardy, who says pieces can take her from three hours to three days, even does custom work on things such as motorcycle helmets and skateboard decks. “I’ve gotten pretty good at lettering on curved and weird surfaces,” she says.handletteredoldshit.com