Calligraphy & Artistic Services

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. My most common jobs are of course wedding invitation envelopes....or any event envelopes from birthday party to anniversary to bar mitzvahs. I also create programs, place cards, menus, seating charts, marriage certificates, table numbers and names, card boxes, shuttle signs, just married signs and anything you can dream up for your event!
I also am a floral artist (former floral designer), as well as a jewelry artist, watercolor artist and muralist. Anything creative from yarn to wire, I am there with bells on!

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Always ask to see samples in person. On line samples don't do the actual work justice. Ask if your calligrapher guarantees their work. It's important to know they are willing to stand on the quality of their work. The cheapest isn't always the way to go. You stand to lose your very expensive envelopes to a bad calligrapher (I have seen it happen!) who messes up the work and then refuses to buy you new ones.
I always guarantee my work and stand on your happiness.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Calligraphers take years to learn their trade and the effort shows in the finished product. Your guests will actually appreciate it so much when you take the time to order their envelopes with their very own personal names written in fancy calligraphy. They will comment and they do take notice! Some brides find it a waste of time and think it's OK to just do them on stickers or a computer. But stickers are a huge etiquette no-no! They look tacky (even though your guests won't say it to you... they will likely say it to one another, I have heard them myself.) If you can't afford a calligrapher, do your best to still hand address them with a nice black marker in a fine point. Use your best hand writing and they will fill that need nicely without using ugly stickers or obvious perfect machine calligraphy. It shows you cared enough to do it by hand.
My insider secret is that all of my work is done on a light table to guarantee that your work is straight and extra neat!

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I have 25 years experience in the calligraphy and wedding industry. I have worked with wedding planners and brides alike. My pricing is very fair for the industry and my work is of a high quality. My artistic capabilities combined with your fun and creative ideas are a winning combination for making the most unique items for your wedding. Your wedding will be one of elegant touches that guests will be talking about long after your event. From themed events to simple understated classic affairs, calligraphy by hand adds a touch that nothing else can!

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I LOVE weddings! Therefore I am so excited and honored to become a part of your wedding (or event) vendor team! I want your wedding to be as special as you do and I want your guests to remember the special little touches that you and I create together. There is nothing I love more than a bride who comes back to me after her event to tell me how the guests raved about the items we created for her wedding.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. People ask a lot of etiquette questions. Those are answered individually. For an example though... guests who live together. There are actually several answers to that one. Some etiquette says to list them alphabetically, others say to list the woman first always, while others still say to list the person you know best as the first guest. My suggestion was the final one as that makes the most sense to me. Another question is list formatting. I always prefer lists to be formatted in label format as opposed to spread sheet documents. Spread sheets can often cut things off in excel for example. Plus they are harder to follow and cause more errors.
Other questions have to do with mailing out your invitations. If you have all ready sent save the dates, you will be fine with a normal 6 weeks prior to your wedding. If you have a lot of folks who need to travel and you haven't sent save the dates, do send them out at least 8 weeks in advance.
Always weigh your entire invitation at the post office before sending them all... postage can be changed by the addition of one small card and bump you into the next category of price range. It's always best to check. Try to find a small post office that might be willing to hand cancel your invitations. It always adds that lovely old fashioned touch to them.
Another tip for mailing out... a small penciled number on the back corner of your return cards to correspond with your address list, is a way to be sure exactly who has sent back their RSVP's to you and who has not. If you have a bunch of Smiths for example and someone forgets to write their first name, you will know exactly whose card you have and who is still missing. Be prepared for some folks to skip sending their cards back to you despite the fact that you have postage on them. It happens all the time. Also if you haven't heard from someone you know would likely be coming, always call to be sure they received their invitation. Mail gets lost every day... wedding invites included, so it's better to check than to hurt someone's feelings by thinking they weren't invited.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. A recent bride liked my work so much she hired me to be her "Day of Coordinator". I was truly honored and enjoyed every moment of being an actual part of every aspect of the wedding that I had worked so hard on.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. It takes years of hard work and practice to become a seasoned calligrapher. Be careful if hiring a new person, not everyone guarantees their work. I have had to fix several bad calligraphers work from unhappy brides and wedding planners. They can ruin your beautiful envelopes!

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I have always been an artist from the time I was a small child. After learning calligraphy in my sophomore year of high school, by my art teacher... I decided to practice it randomly throughout my life. After my dear friend did my wedding invitations (she was even better than me at the time!)I decided to practice it and offer that service to brides in a local bridal publication back in the 1980's. I have been doing it ever since. So with the hiring of me comes over 25 years of experience!

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. I recently did artwork for a husband who ordered a very special piece for his wife. For mother's day he chose scriptures that fit attributes of her as an excellent, wife, mother and friend. We did her name in elegant shades of black to gray and the word wife in red gradiated, mother in green gradiated, and friend in blue gradiated, all scriptures were done in gold. She then returned the favor by having me create one for him for Father's Day. Then at Christmas time he once again ordered a piece about Christ that complimented the others. It was an honor to know that my artwork and calligraphy fills their home.
I am always honored to see my artwork in the homes of friends and clients.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Things have changed a bit in the field in that unique fun styles are starting to emerge making it more fun than traditional calligraphy. I do get my practice in by regularly continuing to work. Every order is helping me to perfect my craft. 25 years of experience adds up to a LOT of experience!

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. Most of my work is wedding related. I recently did balsa wood airplanes for an air force wedding and wrote the guests' names on the wings to act as place cards. I understand they were a huge hit with the guests as planes were flying all over the hall throughout the night!
Normally an order of envelopes costs $1.50 for single envelopes and $2.00 per set (an extra 50 cents for the innner).

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. Services are usually based on a client's needs. However most of my pricing is on my blog page and you can get a fairly accurate idea of how much you will need to spend.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Take classes in calligraphy and by all means... practice, practice, PRACTICE! Your work will only get better the more you do it. Post signs in local places where brides my frequent and get your blog posted online with samples of your work to share.