Q&A With Dawn Nicole Warnaar
Dawn Nicole Warnaar
Meet Dawn Nicole Warnaar, beloved author of The Art of Playful Lettering and Modern Folk Art Coloring Book! Dawn is a talented and sought-after lettering artist who creates one-of-a-kind fonts, illustrations, and custom designs for clients and brands such as Tombow, Kendra Scott, Silhouette, Create Room, and Mixbook Photo Co. Also a dedicated teacher, she shares her knowledge and expertise through her workbooks, Procreate brush packages, and online courses. With a mission to educate and inspire makers to get creative daily, she has helped many budding artists learn the art of hand lettering and calligraphy. In preparation for her upcoming book, The Bibliophile’s Coloring & Lettering Book, we sat down with Dawn to learn more about her and her creative journey. Join us!
Let’s get into it!
How did you become a hand-lettering artist and graphic designer?
I graduated from college with an English degree and worked in the hospitality field in Charleston, South Carolina. I loved my job and eventually was promoted to HR manager, so I went to graduate school to obtain my MBA in HR management. Not long after, I met a cute Air Force guy outside a bar in downtown Charleston, which changed my life trajectory. His friends had dared him to hit on the next girl to walk by. That girl was me. We got married over a year later and had three babies within four years. In the end, I think he got a lot more than he bargained for!
We move every one to four years, so maintaining a career in HR wasn’t feasible. To stay busy, I started craft blogging, which evolved into what it is today. I’m an accidental “creativepreneur” (creative + entrepreneur). Blogging involves a lot of graphic design work, so I went back to school again for an advanced certificate in graphic design and shifted to doing more design work. That was about 12 years ago!
What inspired you to focus specifically on hand lettering?
During my time in design school, several instructors said I had a knack for mixing typography styles, and that was just the encouragement I needed to fall in love with type. However, after graduating, I discovered that many fonts are pricey to use commercially and that copyright and licensing can be confusing and gray, so I just started making art with my hand lettering. The more I did it, the better I got (and continue to get) at lettering, and it evolved into a major passion. I love the nuances and organic feeling that doing art by hand creates. The imperfections are part of the charm for me!
What do you do when you feel uninspired or unsure of your creative path?
Read and reread The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna. That book made me realize how important it is to follow my passions. While no job is without its downsides, it’s a fantastic feeling to love my career so much that, most of the time, work doesn’t feel like work! My favorite part is that I can inspire others to be creative daily.
What do you hope readers experience as they color and letter their way through this book?
I hope this book reinforces your love of books and fills you with an incredible sense of community among bibliophiles. Even though reading is an individual activity, there’s so much connection in discussing books with others. If you’re new to hand lettering, I hope this book sparks a passion in you to continue learning the art of lettering!
Where can we connect with you?
Visit me at www.bydawnnicole.com and @bydawnnicole on Instagram!
Now for some fun questions!
What fictional world or place would you like to visit?
Velaris, The City of Starlight, from Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses book series. I even have a Velaris sweatshirt I bought on Etsy. On the back, it says, “Don’t let the hard days win.”
What music have you had on repeat lately?
While I was working on this book, it was Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poet’s Department. It’s easily her best album. The lyrics are clever and poetic, and I can’t get enough.
What’s your favorite obscure word?
Apricity. It’s the name given to the feeling of the warmth of the sun in the winter. So lovely!
If you could only have three apps on your phone, which three would you pick?
Goodreads, Fit with Coco, Instagram.
If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be?
Golf, because then I could finally beat my husband at the game he taught me.
What would you write if you could write a book that was guaranteed to be a bestseller?
A psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator and elements of magical realism.
Would you rather live without heat and AC or live without social media?
I could easily live without social media, but I need my AC in the summer and my gas fireplace in the winter!
What’s your favorite season and why?
Autumn. I love the cool, crisp air, cozy clothing, bonfires, the holidays, the colorful leaves, and all things pumpkin and apple!
Have you traveled outside the US?
I’ve visited Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas, St. Maarten, Germany, Australia, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands, and Ireland. We lived in Germany for two years, so it was a great time to travel to European countries affordably!
What bands have you seen in concert?
Gavin DeGraw, Lindsey Stirling, Matchbox Twenty, Shawn James, Sam Hunt, and Kaleo . . . just to name a few of the more recent ones I’ve gone to!
What is currently at the top of your wish list?
The iPad Pro M4 and Apple Pencil 3. Swoon.
If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?
I was born on Halloween, so I’m going to have to choose a witch—a good witch, of course!
What’s one of your favorite quotes from a book?
Oh, I have such a long list of those, so I’ll have to pick the one I feel best fits the vibe of this book:
“We made a choice to do joy on purpose. Not in spite of life’s sorrows. But because of them.”
—Katherine Center, What You Wish For
Dawn’s new book, The Bibliophile’s Coloring & Lettering Book, is a unique combination of coloring pages and hand lettering tutorials which celebrate the bookish lifestyle! It’s available to pre-order now and will be published in October 2025. This book is the perfect way to relax and get creative while celebrating your bookish life! Inside are 25 beautifully illustrated, book-themed coloring pages, 6 pull-out bookmarks, and 10 unique lettering lessons so you can personalize your journals, notes, and art projects.
Here’s what’s inside:
• 25 cozy, book-themed coloring pages for relaxation and inspiration
• 10 book-themed lettering styles with instructions and practice pages so you can personalize journals, notes, and more
• Pull-out bookmarks ready to use on your next read (or share with book-club friends!)
• A perfect blend of creativity and the love of reading for book enthusiasts everywhere
• Premium format with thick, high-quality pages and a keepsake-worthy design
Slow down, get creative, and celebrate the joy of books and art with this one-of-a-kind treasure.
Q&A from the book, The Bibliophile’s Coloring & Lettering Book
Blog by Jules Hostetter