Information
Nathan Spainhour
Greenville, SCContact
Find me on Instagram:
@spainhour_creative_work
@scbbqproject
I send out occasional updates via email as well. These folks get first access to store drops, events, and announcements.
About
I'm a designer, artist, and writer from the Upstate of South Carolina. My work is about place, and how we remember it.
Most of what I do is a kind of cataloging. I photograph, write about, and archive what's in front of me before it's gone. The signage, the type nobody chose on purpose, the hand-lettered sign that only goes up after the thing it's forbidding has already happened. My first book, The South Carolina BBQ Project: Signs, Symbols, and Stories from the Pit, began as my MFA thesis and grew into a record of the state's barbecue: its hand-painted signs, roadside architecture, and everyday ephemera. Other projects look elsewhere, but how we remember is always at the core.
I work mostly in printed matter. Think photographs, screen prints, and self-published zines. My favorite tool is still an X-Acto knife.
I spent years leading creative teams for national brands before turning toward teaching and my own work. My studio is in Greenville, South Carolina. This fall, I'm joining Oye Studios, a collective of working artists here in town.
Workshops & Talks
I lead workshops on analog, process-driven design. This includes working with chance, collaboration exercises, Risograph basics, and making by hand. I also give talks on design, authorship, and branding.
Available for workshops, lectures, and studio sessions. Get In touch.
Select Engagements:
2026 – Anderson University, Talk and Workshop, "Telephone Apocalypse"
2026 – City of Anderson Bring Your Own Business (BYOB) event, "Branding & Online Presence"
2025 – Furman University, Sleep When Your Dead Event, Panelist
2023-2026 – Anderson University, Guest Lecturer
2016 – Converge SE Design & Web Conference, Speaker
2015-2016 – Makers Summit Conference, 1-on-1 Brand Coach
Brand & Identity Work
I take on a limited number of brand strategy and identity projects each year.
Portfolio on request. Get in touch.
Press & Awards
Awards:
2025 Metropolitan Arts Council Artist Grant Recipient
2024 GDUSA Health + Wellness Design Award
2023 Artfields Competition Artist
2020 GDUSA American Graphic Design Award
2020 GDUSA American Inhouse Design Award
2015 Gold WOMMY Engagement award
2014 Featured in Under Consideration
2014 Southeastern Tourism Society award
2004-2012 various AAF American Advertising awards
Press:
June 2026 – SC Public Radio, Walter Edgar’s Journal
May 2026 – People of Print
March 2026 – The Cue Sheet
March 2026 – The Food Section
March 2026 – Graphic Design USA
March 2026 – Upstate Trail Talks
March 2026 – Access Carolina
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