a luxe contraband is the studio of Los Angeles based artist Alyce Harley, focusing on emotive hand-lettering, calligraphy, and painting. A former director of litigation support at a boutique firm in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Alyce continues to freelance as a legal consultant with an emphasis on working and empowering freelance creatives in contracts negotiations. She is an art teacher at the Pasadena-based nonprofit Jade Love Kids Foundation as well as a private art instructor focusing on age-appropriate art history and fundamentals in online courses for K-12 students.

Alyce's lettering work ranges from spirited, unexpected takes on modern calligraphy to abstract freeform scripts. Her lettering and illustration work is intentionally done the analog way-- with pen, ink, and paper. She has produced calligraphy and design work for clients coveting one-of-a-kind looks and idiosyncrasies of things made by hand for weddings, events, and commercial projects. Alyce’s work has been featured on 100 Layer Cake and Brides.com.

Her approach to painting is rooted in a unwavering belief that emotions are captured in art as gesture that comes from the deepest places of pain and pleasure. Alyce relies on the imperfect, unpredictable qualities of ink and a monochromatic palate to create melancholically beautiful emotions. These pieces are fluid and communicate the visceralness of the “in-between” -- between intention and madness, between form and abstraction.

Representative clients include Nordstrom, Shinola, LIVELY, Angel City Brewery, Golden Road Brewing.

Please use the contact form to inquire about bookings for commissions, collaborations, and private lessons.