Years ago, when I was the Needleworker at Colonial Williamsburg, my father suggested that I create a stylized signature in stitch. A brand, if you will, although I don't think he called it that.
In hindsight, this wasn't a surprising suggestion as he was a marketing exec for a toy company and worked on Madison Avenue. However, my modus operandi at the time was cross stitch and I wasn't able to see my way out of the figurative box that format imposed.
Indeed, I neglected signing my work more often than not. And when I did, it was arguably "over-wrought" as these two samplers amply depict ...
So today I was faced with signing a newly completed gift and once again found myself supremely dissatisfied with the result. As I tore out the stitches, I thought about my recent forays into eccentric lettering and started to play ...
At long last, I actually liked what I saw ...
and went with it ...