Calligrapher for Team USA - 2016 Rio Olympics
Houston calligrapher and wine bottle engraver
So I'm always up for writing on anything that is not paper. Agate stones are so great as they calligraph like butter, are gorgeous and are available in so many colors. Love this. We did this project in a modern hand as it seemed to just fit. These will be available on the website and the Etsy shop. Cheers!
Sometimes when I am asked to calligraph something, I'll write it out, return it to my client and months will pass & I've almost forgotten about it as there are many projects in between. However, yesterday on my restful Sunday I received a cool email from one of my wonderfully, memorable clients. She requested that I write out a saying in a connected hand with shading for a tattoo back in January. After a few options, this was her choice. This Sunday she had it inked. Very cool!
When we got married, we decided to do a "destination wedding". I love them as they tend to be much less stress and it's even better if the locale is gorgeous. This New Orleans couple is getting married in Paris and requested my services for their envelope addressing, which I completed last week. The first pic is in white ink (one of my favs), but the project was actually in black ink (the following pictures). We did this in the Business Casual style as they wanted something simple and cool. I love it! #neworleanscalligraphy #neworleanscalligrapher
It's been a while since I've posted a project. It's been a little crazy around here to say the least, but I love what I do so there are no complaints here. I had a client that is getting married in NY request samples of what I could do with birds. Yes, birds. This is one of the samples that I provided. I just finished her project and I will say that it was pretty cool. Yay for something new! Yet another example of a client asking for something that pushes me outside of my box and I'm glad that she did. These are now available as a style option for wedding calligraphy. Cheers!
During a quick break from my wedding work I made a calligraphic plume... Must find a way to incorporate one of these into a future project :)
CNN (via IBN Live) recently posted an article about how a calligrapher recreated well-known logos. One thing that I love about this article is how it highlights how many logos that we see everyday were actually created by hand as opposed to a computer program. Click the image for the entire article.
Courtesy of CNN: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/buzz/calligraphy-artist-recreates-famous-logos-with-amazing-precision-977846.html
The only way I send out my correspondence....blind embossing the return address. This is actually the formal etiquette for return addressing a wedding invitation & has been my preference for my correspondence for years along with wax seals. I began offering this to my clients this year & it has been well received. It's clean, classic and is offered in various styles.
Portions of the address below have been digitally removed for client privacy.
So with whatever profession you are in, if you love it, there is an artist's work that struck a chord with you and changed the trajectory of your focus. For me, that was Michael Sull, Master Penman & Chief White House calligrapher for Ronald Reagan. The man is my modern day rock star for penmanship. I met him and studied under him along with a few other master penman this week. I stood in line today and asked that he write my best friend's name. Here it is... Gorgeous!
What a treat it was to wake up this morning to learn that I have received the Houston Best Engraver Award for the 3rd year in a row! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here's the press release: http://houstontx.houstontx.awardcontact.org/PressReleaseub.aspx?cc=DEV7-RBCB-G7FF
I had the pleasure of having my calligraphy featured in a styled shoot in Colorado. I am so honored to see the post featured today on Style Me Pretty! Check out more photos from the shoot on the Style Me Pretty blog,
Credits: Photography: mustard Seed Photography & Alicia Pyne | Wedding Dress: Dreamers & Lovers | Cake: Buttercup Bakery | Hair and Make Up: Sunkissed & Made Up | Calligraphy: Bella Grafia | Floral Crown: Olive & Bloom | Private Residence: Estes Park, CO
Alright, let's get these babies ready for the mail...
Haven't engraved metal in about a year. Quick warm-up on a knife as I promised to engrave for a friend today. Forgot how cool metals were to engrave....
It's not often that I do wedding vows or song lyrics, but I am weak for contrast that's not the garden variety. So when a previous client asked me to calligraph their vows from their wedding for their 1st anniversary in white ink....Done! Yep, i wrote it out in graphite first, then followed up in ink and erased after it dried. Cheers!
When you are engraving scotch bottles for a spirit company at an event and the outlet for your air compressor gives out & you can't take the table to a different outlet because you'd block the aisle... along with the fact that you have a line of people waiting for their engraved bottles, what do you do? While the store figures out where to shift your electrical power, You find the closest outlet (that works), take the necessities to engrave a scotch bottle and something high enough to engrave on. Go!
#MakeItWork #IPimpMyPen #houstoncalligraphy #houstoncalligrapher #bottleengraving #slingingink
#SlingingInk
So remember that Grand Marnier Event that I did calligraphy for? They asked if I would engrave some of the bottles that were purchased by clients. I was happy to oblige. One of these was hand painted....No pressure. Keep a steady hand :)
This Long Island, NY client wanted to have a seating chart created for a birthday celebration. The request was for gold ink on black paper with script headers. I don't play golf but I totally dig the theme! I think that it came out nicely. Now off to the post office this will go. Cheers!
This bride from Atlanta had a preference for the "Elis" style. This is my favorite this year as it shows a contrast of 2 hands and can be made informal with dropping the titles from the guest names and shifting the lines etc, if desired. We executed it in gold ink on beautiful off-white heavy cotton paper. Love it!
So this was my office yesterday afternoon. Grand Marnier hosted a dinner and requested that I provide the on-site calligraphy for the event. It was my pleasure to oblige. Adrenaline was high as my work began amidst the event planning & restaurant staff prep, but it was fun and they liked my work. So sorry, but of course this was a quick iPhone pic as I was leaving before guests arrived. Not quite photography competition material, but I got a picture.
I'm really trying to get better about consistently posting my work. Work gets so crazy that a lot of times it doesn't happen. Must get better about that. Cheers!
These are a great idea for place cards as they are different from the norm and they provide a wonderful keepsake for your guests. Now to add the ties to finish it off :)
During my typography class today, my instructor began to talk about serifs which encouraged me to doodle in pencil. Must stop doing that! Pay attention, Janet! I digress.
During my doodle session, I thought about a potential tattoo for myself since I have been designing tattoos for so many clients lately. Maybe for my 40th birthday.....or never. Probably never, but who knows......
