My mother taught me the fine art of writing thank-you notes at a very young age. To this day I try my very best to put pen to paper, closing my computers and shutting down my iPad. I write handwritten thank-you notes to journalists who profile my clients in newspapers, on television and in blogs. I’ve been told these cards stand out and convey how grateful I am. Of course with email so readily available I have to be intentional and deliberate about when I send a handwritten note versus when I choose to send an email.
I always have my pack of colorful pens and pencils and the perfect paper and envelopes. So it made a lot of sense to embark on this new path — calligraphy — “the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious, and skillful manner.” You see calligraphy everywhere — on wedding and event invitations, graphic design and posters on Pinterest. I’m just starting out, so I’ll be back with my results in a later blog post. I found my calligraphy teacher on Etsy, hired her for a project and later took one of her group classes. Now I’m focused on one-on-one instruction. Charmaine of Charmaine Calligraphy is one of the best in the business. You see her work in top international magazines. She used to live in NYC, but has moved across the world. I keep my eyes open for new creatives to work with.
Of course I took some pictures while in the class she co-led with Kathryn of Fleur Calligraphy. I can’t help myself, I love telling stories with images, everything is so visual. After the images below, I include four of my favorite calligraphers’ Instagram profiles. Enjoy!
Calligraphy class in New York City.
Instructors give a rundown of the class, in gorgeous calligraphy, of course!
Welcome pack.
I’ve kept in touch with the other students on social media …
YUM. Who wouldn’t want to write like this?
Private instruction this week with Charmaine.
I love Charmaine’s new pen on the left.
My favorite calligraphers on instagram:
@everlycalligraphy, Charmaine Al-Mulaifi
@smudgepaper, Sara Moulton — a unique beautiful style. She used to write a Quote of the Day before she moved to Asia!
@maybelleimasa, Maybelle Imasa
