Commercial Houston Hand Lettering

So the secret's out...I'm making a departure from wedding calligraphy in the way that I have been running my business for the last 3 years.  Still creating those cool reception pieces - agate stone calligraphy, mirror seating chart calligraphy, ceramic & marble tile calligraphy, laser cut placecard calligraphy (of course engraving too 😉) and I'll add something else to the list if it's groovy & different.  However, I am departing from wedding invitation design & envelope addressing with the exception of my commercial accounts.

With that said, I participated on a commercial shoot last week for Slinging Ink (commercial hand lettering side of my business) and here is the result.  We went for chaos & beauty for a food account.  We loved it and hope that you do too!  Cheers! 

Wax Seals - Houston Calligraphy

I take my stationery VERY seriously.  I guess that's obvious.  Well, I have been using wax seals on all of my correspondence for years and always receive compliments and questions.  I started offering these to my clients this year and they have become one of the most popular requests...outside of calligraphy of course :) 

Wedding Wire - 2015 Winner of Couples' Choice Award

I am proud to say that Bella Grafia has received the WeddingWire Couple's Choice Award for 2015.  

The WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards® recognizes the top 5 percent of local Wedding Professionals from the WeddingWire Network throughout the United States, Canada and abroad that demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, the WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards® are awarded solely based on the reviews from over 200,000 newlyweds. Awards are determined by a combination of excellence in four factors: overall rating (quality), total number of reviews (quantity), review performance from 2014 (recency), and consistency of reviews from year to year (consistency).  THANK YOU!

 

Houston Calligrapher - Ornate Roundhand

This is one of my favorite hands.  This bride chose silver ink on black paper which plays into contrast which I just love right now.  These look gorgeous in person as the pictures don't do them justice.

Nothing Serious - Houston Calligraphy

This style came about because sometimes you just want something that's simple, unpretentious and "nothing serious". This monoline hand would be great for a relaxed event.

Hanging to Dry - Houston Calligraphy

If you follow my work at all, you know that my studio is very 1800's for the majority of my work.  Meaning, that I take the vintage approach to most of the work that I execute.  I have found that hanging my envelope jobs to dry on what is similar to a clothesline allows for 1. easy comparison from one envelope to the other, 2. places them high above my 3 year old, Lola and obviously 3. by the time I complete the line, the earlier ones placed are dry.  

This bride opted for Ornate Roundhand in black ink.  It's funny because I don't use black extensively for wedding projects except for pieces that are going for reproduction (menus, invitation/save the date designs etc).  However as I was working on this job, I was reminded of how simply classic black ink is.  Simplicity is absolutely beautiful and should not be overlooked.  Peace & Love!

Hand Calligraphy - Los Angeles Calligraphy

I love this style.  If you follow my work at all, you know that I love contrast and this style exudes what you don't expect to see.  It's uncentered, the names are on slightly staggered levels & there are different writing forms even within one person's name.  (What was I thinking?) But I love it.   I Dare your computer to produce that. :)

Since it is temperamental, I decided to call it Elis after one of my favorite musical artists.