With about 10-15 calligraphy classes down my belt I thought I would write a little about lessons learned and how to teach a successful calligraphy class. Each class I teach is a little bit different in that I go by my student’s personalities, the rate, and what they ask me to write on the board. Below are a few helpul ideas that I have learned along the way.
Pick a good location/partner- Currently I am teaching my beginner modern calligraphy class at Dear Greenville which is a stationery store in Greenville, SC. It is a great location because before my students come to my class they are able to shop and look at all the cute paper and pens that the store sells so they are already in a fun light mood. I teach my class in a nice area in the back of the store that has a great chalkboard to display my calligraphy as I teach my students. You can pick a coffee shop or restaurant as well but I love stationary stores!
Make worksheets for your students- I personally made all my worksheets using my ipad procreate app. My worksheets are color coded for each of the strokes that you need to for calligraphy letters. The crux of the class is actually tracing the letters on the worksheet. Students are able to take home the worksheets as well.
Make a list of every possible material you would need to teach your class so you’re prepared. For pointed pen calligraphy I bring in (straight, oblique pen holders, tons of nibs, worksheets, ink, paper towels, a lighter, other pens).
Demonstrate the right and incorrect-As a special education teacher I learned that the best ways to introduce new skills is often what not to do. It also makes it a little fun to show students all the different ways to not do calligraphy as this is how I learned as a self taught calligrapher (do not hold a pen this way, do not sit this way, do not dip this way, do not start on this line for this letter). I’ve found visuals help a lot.
Give plenty of time between each letter you teach. As a former teacher I’ve learned that students need a lot of time to practice, especially as a newcomer. Go around and answer questions and use the time to encourage students.
Give a list of supplies students need to get started with links. They took the class, now what? It is easy to forget where the teacher told you to go get that paper, that ink, this pen. If they have a visual list it makes it easier.
Give them fun place cards with their name on it. One of the things I realized is that people really like seeing their name in calligraphy. I usually give them an agate stone with their name on it. They can take it home to remember how to write their name.
This is just a start. My class at Dear Greenville will be on June 24th this summer, hope to see you there!
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Leaning in is a term I have heard a lot in the last couple of years. It has multiple meanings but the definition that stands out to me is the one used in sports that means “shifting one’s body weight forward or toward someone or something.” In professional skiing, skiers lean into the turn. In track and field when there is a race to be won as in the Olympics the runners have to lean in with their whole body especially if it is a close race. The sports of gymnastics and tennis have many opportunities to lean in. Especially when the tennis player serves the ball. They are leaning forward with their whole body. When one leans in they do so trusting their bodies, minds, and training. There is no doubt or time for questioning. As in sports there are many opportunities to lean in in business. The following are examples from my business over the last 6 years that have required me to lean in
I started sketching in notebooks in the year 2015. The year 2016 was spent doing more elaborate sketches and teaching myself the art of calligraphy from my house. In 2017 I was asked to do my first two jobs. I had never been asked to put my writing in front of anyone before. I remember the client cold calling me one day and say I need someone to do my envelopes for me. At the time I hardly knew even what that meant. All I had was my black tombow brush pen. I chose at that moment to lean in. I studied other calligraphers envelopes and got a laser level and tackled the project. I had a very limited picture of what I could accomplish as a calligrapher but with that small picture I’m glad I leaned in. They were not perfect but the client was happy and it showed me that I really enjoyed envelope calligraphy.
After slowly working in 2017 and 2018 I finally had what would be considered a body of work. I decided it was time to make the body of work into a business. I hired my friend Alicia DiPerri to take pictures of me walking in downtown Greer for a website. I put what pictures I had of my work on the website and launched my business. I had the tiny thoughts in my head “Who do you think you are? Are you really ready to broadcast yourself like this? Nevertheless I had a fun day and I leaned into the fact that I needed to lean into the flow.
Shortly after launching my website, I taught myself pointed pen calligraphy (not easy, give yourself a solid 6 months). I said I would do modern calligraphy which is the very flowy easier form. But, I always that copperplate or traditional calligraphy was amazing but just too hard and fancy for me. Well, as the universe would have it I got a huge push. Those that know me know that I am not a person who enjoys cooking all the time. I was given a cookbook in 2012 by my mother in law by an amazing celebrity chef and his was quite literally the only cookbook i cooked out of. Well, in 2018 as the universe would have it, this celebrity chef’s assistant found my work on etsy and asked it I’d do envelopes for this chef’s party in California. He got me in touch with the chef by telephone. We had a nice conversation. And towards the end he said “I would like these to be in Copperplate calligraphy please”. Well I had never written one letter in copperplate calligraphy. I had about 5 seconds to decide if i was going to lean in or run in fear. I said “Ok, I’ll do it”. Well I spent about 2 weeks practicing, tracing and learning copperplate calligraphy. After hours and hours of practice, it was time to do the envelopes. It was at the time the opportunity of my career. This specific opportunity taught me that if you believe in yourself and lean in you can accomplish anything. After that job it gave me a confidence that I could go for more in my business and I did.
In 2019, I was asked to do a styled shoot with agates. I looked at other calligraphers agates on instagram and thought it was a great idea. Little did I know, that writing on an agate is like iceskating. You can hit it in the wrong way a fall, It is slippery and not easy. I put my work out there for the styled shoot and leaned into it and soon enough I got asked to do more agate place cards and now its my most requested product.
Around that time I had my biggest opportunity to lean in. Skillpop, a local business that hosts classes that include art, calligraphy, photography, marketing, etc. reached out to me and said we would like you to teach pointed pen calligraphy introduction classes. I remember my first thought was, “Me, really? I just started this business. But, I decided to lean in with what I knew. I was a former special ed teacher so I thought I’ll just teach this class as one of my special ed classes- slow, methodical, steady. I knew my students would need calligraphy letters to trace during the class so I researched other calligrapher’s tracing guides and I thought I’ll just make my own guides. Anyone who has seen my guides know they are “very special ed”. They are color coded to the direction of the strokes. When It came time to market my class, of course the nerves set in. “Would anyone come to a new calligraphers new class?” But, i trusted the process and two days before the class it sold out. We had a great night at Swoozies. Since that night I’ve taught about 5 classes for Skillpop and it is one of the most favorite parts of my business.
A running theme in starting my business has been encouragement. Why encouragement? I believe that encouragement is the driving agent behind every success. Some rare people are self motivators all the time. Most of us need that verbal encouragement that comes from being seen by others. Encouragement keeps you going in seasons of doubt, insecurity, and silence. When I first started calligraphy, I had two specific people that saw beauty in the mess that was my endless scraps of notepads I was writing in each day. I’ve had many people along the way when I was growing weary of the long hours I put into learning pointed pen calligraphy, to say keep going. Or when I had no idea how to address a wedding envelope and make it all line up, saying- “I like how these letters lean, this one looks great”. I think encouragement brings out the best in others. My main mission in my business and in the classes I teach is encouragement. Everyone wants to be seen, noticed, and propelled further. So today remember that everyone has a beginning. You never know who just might need that one big push to get started, or to keep going.
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In the Meantime…….
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Seven Years
Tomorrow marks seven years of marriage for my husband and I. So much has changed in seven years. When we got married seven years ago I was a special education teacher in Birmingham, Alabama. We got married in my parent’s front yard in front of family and friends. There is so much that made the day special. It is funny looking back now but I had absolutely no idea what the future would hold for us…. a move to Greenville, a change in profession from teaching fifth graders to learning calligraphy and pursuing it as a business. My wedding planner asked me who I wanted to do the calligraphy. Laughing at my response now…. I said what is calligraphy? I guess this one? It doesn’t really matter….its just fancy writing. Looking back at the pictures now some of my favorites are of the invitation. All the extra special touches made the day special: watching the tent go up in my parent’s front yard the week before the wedding, the music, the flowers (Buffy Hargett is amazing). I love being able to add that extra touch for my brides that I work with now in Greenville, South Carolina. I will always smile looking back at how the one part of my day I had no opinion or feeling about is what brings me the most joy and fills my days each day.
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With Love, Eden and Ev Calligraphy
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner I thought I’d share a little bit about the other person that helps/ co owns this business with me. I often get asked in my classes- “So how do you run a calligraphy business by yourself, with two kids?” My answer is simple. I DON”T. Very early on I decided (thought) it would be fun to write pretty things and work a few hours a month if I was lucky. As time passed, I am now working anywhere from 1-5 hours a day in my business. My kids are out of the house for 3 hours so you can do the math. I also learned and picked up a lot of information into what it REALLY takes to run a calligraphy business. Like I just mentioned, I thought I could just write some pretty names on envelopes or signs and then give it to my clients. I quickly learned there was so much to do outside of the actual calligraphy. To do 100 envelopes, it takes me about 6-7 days or 30 hours. After those 30 hours 2-3 hours need to be spent proofreading, organizing the envelopes for shipping or delivery, and printing guest lists, emailing clients. My husband graciously started to step in around 2018 when I started my business. He helps me count and organize which is a huge help! He is an engineer so he has helped me with many other things as well. The following are things he has done behind the scenes: helped design my website, proofreads every project, listened to my lesson plan for my classes, helped me design my calligraphy manual, motivated me to keep going when I was learning pointed pen calligraphy and got frustrated, watched the kids while I have taught my classes, helped me lay out over 100 ribbons for a May wedding, set up and taken down my market tent last summer, goes to the post office to mail all the orders every week and cheered me on from the sidelines. As the business has grown I’ve appreciated the support as every calligrapher knows it truly takes more than one person to run a calligraphy business.
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On August 27th, I had the pleasure of teaching my first calligraphy class at Swoozies Greenville. I got to share stories of the many lessons I have learned along the way. My hope is to be an encouragement to anyone that wants to letter or learn calligraphy. It can be so scary at first and frustrating. With all of the materials, tools, and calligraphy lingo my hope is to make it as easy and fun as possible to understand. In the class I covered the basic strokes of calligraphy and the basics of pointed pen calligraphy. It was such a fun night!
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When I started my business officially in May of 2018 I knew that if I had the opportunity to help or guide anyone interested in calligraphy I would jump in. In May of 2019 I was asked to lead a Skillpop calligraphy class. The only class I have ever taken was a Skillpop class back in 2017 when I was just beginning to learn hand lettering. The atmosphere was so calming and easy. The classes are perfect for beginners and comfortable. More than anything I’m excited to help others avoid the mistakes I made. I want my business to be one that is always open to encouraging others. So excited to give more details on my class soon.
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In this last year I’ve been asked what supplies do you recommend to get started when you are interested in learning calligraphy. So, I decided to write post on my favorite supplies that have worked well for me.
When I was first learning to letter I used the Tombow flexible tip black pens which I highly recommend.
Envelope Addressing
This year I have lettered about 1,200 envelopes and I have tried a lot of tools and products. The following list are my favorite tools that have helped me the most.
For envelope addressing I use the following:
~ Envelopes by crane and company and cards and pockets
~ Laser level for lettering in a straight line (I use the Johnson laser level)
~ Ink (Sumi black ink, and Bleed proof white ink)
~ Nibs- my favorites are the Nikko G and Blue Pumpkin nib
~ For Copper plate calligraphy I use a light box
~ Gum arabic for mixing custom inks
~Pearl x pigment if you are mixing gold/ rose gold inks
Wood signs
~ Home depot Wood Stain in Dark brown
~ Molotow paint pen, Posca paint pen for lettering
Custom projects
For custom projects I use the I Pad Procreate program. On the program I have been able to do projects such as designing notecards, note pads, and invitation suites.
If you have any specific questions about supplies or products I use feel free to email me.
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