2019 year in Review
2019 was a year of firsts for Eden and Ev Calligraphy. 2019 officially marked the first full year of my business. I really never considered having a calligraphy business. i just knew it was always something I loved to do and just always saw as a hobby. In 2018 I was laying the foundation for my business —still experimenting with the pointed pen (this took me 6-9 months to fully learn), learning all about all the different surfaces I could write on, learning what I did well….. and maybe not so well.
I started the year working for Alex Hitz, author of “My Beverly Hills Kitchen”. I got to address envelopes to some cool people (aka: Carolina Herrera). This project stretched my muscles more than any other as it was my first project with copperplate calligraphy… also working for someone I esteem so highly.
I had my first job in rose gold ink for one of my favorite clients in California. This year I learned how to mix custom gold/ rose gold ink and fell in love with the process. I also got to work with this bride on doing pointed pen calligraphy on polaroid pictures (not the easiest thing to learn to do….but I got the hang of it).
Last spring I got to put my calligraphy on hundreds of ribbons for a wedding in New Jersey. They hung from a tent and served as place cards. This project was a huge learning experience. We did the whole thing while battling a horrible stomach bug. It taught me to push through in order to deliver to the client.
Last spring I also launched my calligraphy on agates. And…..I fell in love with agates. I never would believe how much I would end up writing on agate stones but I love each and every job that I do.
One of the biggest and best parts of 2019 was being asked to teach pointed pen calligraphy classes with Skillpop Greenville. Teaching has pushed me way out of my comfort zone. I was previously a teacher for six years so it allowed me to reignite my love for putting lesson plans together and carrying it out in the class. I love sharing lessons I’ve learned and helping to motivate students in their calligraphy journey.
In the process of teaching classes, I wrote a book on the process of how to do calligraphy. I feel fortunate to use it in my classes to help students.
This fall I have focused on launching new products. I got to do a job with black acrylic place cards that was shipped to California. I’m loving writing on tiles!
This year has been a great year full of learning, growth and continuous improvement. I’ll end this by saying if I could count the number of mistakes I made in 2016-2018 in learning how to start a business/ learning how to do calligraphy it would be impossible to count. I’ve learned the more mistakes that you make the more it will help you in the future.