Into the Sparkly Heart of an Internet Font War

Vivian Dye is a smart woman. And so it took less than six months of selling customized golf merchandise on Zazzle, the most prominent online marketplace with three Zs in its name, for her to figure out that she needed an "Elizabeth Taylor on the beach." "I call it'Elizabeth Taylor on the beach' because she used to attract men for a cousin of hers," said Dye, referring to a plotline from an old movie. Even if customers didn't fancy her Liz, a monogrammed golfball covered with rose-colored sparkles drew users to her store, where she offered them customized pickleball paddles, shower curtains, and other golf balls. "I'm the golf ball queen," says Dye, who started selling on Zazzle in 2021, soon after retiring from her job in the mortgage industry.