Type Faces: Meet Kelci Elliott.

Welcome to our Type Faces series, where we’ll be sharing the stories of some of the fabulous people behind the type here at Monotype. From all around the globe and across the organization, our Monotype colleagues truly prove that, like Charles Nix, Senior Executive Creative Director at Monotype, always says, “We are ALL creative.”

For Kelci Elliott, everything starts with connection — whether it’s nurturing relationships with foundries, sharing fermentation experiments with new friends, or passing down beloved books to her daughter. As Senior Foundry Relations Manager at Monotype, she uses curiosity, care, and creativity to support the people behind the typefaces we see every day.

 
Kelci (left) with her husband Isaiah and daughter Charlotte.

Where are you from?
I live in Shelbyville, Kentucky, a small town with big charm — so charming, in fact, that Hallmark movies have literally been filmed here. It’s home to the Shelbyville Horse Show and has a deep equestrian heritage, but also a surprising amount of cultural diversity. 

I grew up nearby in Louisville, and have spent most of my life in Kentucky. My husband and I built our house here in Shelbyville a few years ago — his parents live just eight minutes away — and we love raising our daughter in a place that feels rooted and connected.

   
Downtown Shelbyville, Kentucky.

What do you love about living in a small town?
It’s the little things: seeing your house being built, waving to neighbors at the local coffee shop, walking into the library and feeling like everyone knows your name. It’s also where my faith community is, and that’s an important part of our life. 

There’s a slower rhythm here that makes space for connection. And honestly, there’s a magic to it. 

   
Weathered Oak Farms, Kelci’s favorite coffee shop.

How does creativity fit into your life?
For me, creativity is all about playfulness and experimentation, especially in the kitchen. I’ve gone down this fermentation rabbit hole lately: kombucha, sourdough, Greek yogurt — soon even cottage cheese! It’s messy and slow and full of discovery. You take basic ingredients, add time and care, and create something entirely new. I love that.

   
Kelci’s sourdough bread loaf.

It’s also about feeding people, literally and figuratively. Sharing what I make brings me joy. And it’s a reminder that creativity doesn’t have to be grand or flashy. It can live in the simplest things.

What inspires you?
I find inspiration in unexpected places: conversations with strangers, a great song at the right moment, or watching someone do something they love. 

I actually got into kombucha because someone was raving about it, and I thought, “That sounds cool.” I got my SCOBY starter (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) from my husband’s coworker’s wife and never looked back.

   
Kombucha SCOBYs.

But my biggest inspiration right now is my two-year-old daughter, Charlotte. I love the way she moves through the world with pure curiosity and joy, totally uninhibited. No filters, no self-consciousness. She’s just absorbed in discovery. It reminds me how we’re meant to experience life. There’s something magnetic about that energy.

 
Charlotte enjoying a cinnamon roll at Weathered Oak Farms.

What’s something that would surprise people about you?
People see me at work as very results-driven. I’m organized, checklist-oriented, always ready to lead. 

But outside of work, I’m incredibly experimental. In the kitchen, I feel like a different person. I’m playful, curious, and not afraid to get it wrong. 

Most people wouldn’t expect that from me. But in college, I started out pre-med and studied science. I’ve always loved lab work and the process of testing and learning. I just express it differently now.

   
Kelci making sourdough bread.

Do you collect anything?
Books, always. My husband and I both love physical books, and we’ve made a point to fill our home with them. We’re both in multiple book clubs, and we even took our engagement photos in a coffee shop surrounded by books. I hope one day to pass down my book collection to our kids and grandkids.

 
Kelci’s large book collection.

There’s one book that means everything to me: Shoes for Angela by Ellen Bartow Snavely. It was a discarded library book my grandmother found and gave to my mom, who then read it to me every night. Recently, my mom gave it to me so I could read it to Charlotte. 

It’s from 1963, and totally beat up, but it holds some of my sweetest memories. You don’t get that kind of legacy with digital books.

 
Kelci’s beloved copy of Shoes for Angela.

Any book recommendations for adults?
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. I read it with the Monotype Book Club last year, and it genuinely changed my life. It’s this magical, heartwarming story that wraps you in a hug while challenging you to think deeply about how you treat others (especially those who are different from you). 

The characters are quirky and loveable, and the book balances whimsy with substance. I rarely give five stars, but this one earned it. It’s a comfort read I still think about months later. That’s the mark of something special.

Besides reading, what are some other family traditions that are important to you?
My husband’s family makes these incredible homemade noodles every Thanksgiving. His grandmother, who our daughter is named after, created the recipe just by playing around in the kitchen, and now it’s become a cherished tradition. They’re simple — just seasoned, buttered noodles — but deeply meaningful. Everyone takes a turn making them each year, and this Thanksgiving, my daughter will get to try them for the first time.

 
The entire Elliott family.

This is a tradition we’ll keep going for generations. And seriously, who else does noodles for Thanksgiving? It’s a little rebellious, which I love.

Tell us about your role at Monotype.
I recently became Senior Foundry Relations Manager. I’m one of the main points of contact between Monotype and our foundry partners — the designers and teams behind the typefaces themselves. My job is to support and advocate for them: creating educational content, hosting webinars, troubleshooting issues, brainstorming promotional opportunities, and organizing in-person events that bring our community together.

Before this role, I worked on marketing promotions, large-scale campaigns, and then moved into foundry marketing. I’ve been at Monotype for four years now, and this is my third role, but foundry relations is the space where I really feel at home. I’ve built incredible relationships with our foundries — some inviting me to visit, messaging me on social media about daily life. It’s really sweet. 

What do you love about your job?
I love the blend of creativity and technicality, and that I get to work with these wildly talented designers who are true artists. 

I didn’t come from the type world. I started my career in politics, then worked for a megachurch. So, helping foundries navigate the business side of typography is new, exciting, and especially meaningful to me. I get to be a small part of the bridge between craft and commerce, helping designers succeed not just creatively, but financially, too.

 
A photo from the Foundry Business Summit.

What’s the most exciting thing you’ve gotten to do at work?
Last year’s Foundry Business Summit was a real highlight. It brought together our foundries for sessions on the business side of type — what customers want, how to merchandise effectively, how to thrive as a type designer.

At the end, people were so appreciative, which really reinforced why I love this work. These foundries pour everything into their typefaces, and getting to support them in new ways — ways that haven’t ever been done before — is such a privilege. Helping people succeed at what they love is the dream.

What do you find interesting about typography?
So much! I’m fascinated by the emotional impact of type. There was a study I read about recently that looked at how fonts trigger emotional responses in advertising. Even small changes that you don’t register, like the curve of a serif, can shift how something makes you feel. 

Kelci and her then-fiancé Isaiah pose for engagement photos, showcasing their mutual love for reading

That’s what I love about type: it’s all around us, but easy to overlook. A great font does its job so well that it disappears. It’s this beautiful blend of tradition and innovation — hundreds of years of history, and it’s still evolving. There will never be enough typefaces in the world!

What’s a font you love and why?
For me, it’s kind of nostalgic. When I first got on Myspace (my first social network!), the platform really let you customize everything — from colors to font to background — and express yourself in fun ways. 

I would experiment with coding, editing my pictures, and changing out the fonts. The first font I ever fell in love with was King Cool KC Pro. It may not hold the same cool factor today, but I still remember what it meant to me, being able to express myself and my personality. In 2008, the Internet felt a lot more playful. I love that King Cool KC Pro has this super quirky, nostalgic feel that really takes me back to that time in my life.

   
An idyllic sunset in Shelbyville.