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! 

Fragrance Bottle Engraving - Houston Engraver

Quite often, I am asked "so you are a calligrapher/penman/engraver?  How do you make a living at that?"  Well, here is one way....fragrance bottle engraving.  The last 2 weeks have been fragrance bottle engraving events nonstop for Mother's Day.  I LOVE IT!  It was such a pleasure working with Prada, Calvin Klein, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs and Chloe yesterday.  

I love that I am able to use my love of hand lettering, calligraphy & engraving AND make a living.  Who could ask for more?  If you noticed that my business is making a departure from wedding invitation design and wedding envelope addressing, you would be correct.  I absolutely ADORE making the reception pieces (tiles, agate stones, mirror seating charts, laser cut wood calligraphy) and those will REMAIN as interestingly they have become what I am known for :).  Hope you enjoy this journey as much as I am.  Cheers!

Agate Stone Houston Hand Lettering - Los Angeles Calligraphy

I just adore working with these agate stones for hand lettering and calligraphy.  They come in various colors and each one is different as they are created by nature.  Some may not like that fact that each one is different, but I believe that is one thing that makes them pretty awesome.  Just like people :).  Cheers and have a groovy day!

Macallan Scotch Bottle Engraving - Houston Calligrapher

Probably one of the most meaningful bottles that I've engraved at an event.  Here's to groovy parents... Gotta Love Macallan scotch.

Featured in The Perfect Wedding Guide - Houston Calligraphy

It's always a treat to see my work featured in publications and I was quite honored to have my work chosen as one of the "looks to see" in 2016.  Cheers!

Agate Stone Calligraphy - Houston Hand Lettering

Calligraphy and hand lettering on anything but paper is what I say.  These agate stones make for fabulous placecards and double as a keepsake!  Cheers! 

#IPimpMyPen

Black Agate Stones as Place Cards - Houston Hand Lettering

As my work ventures more and more away from paper, I love the hand lettering opportunities that have presented themselves as well as the artistic freedom.  These black agate stones were created for an event in LA with gold ink.  I'm truly adoring using anything but paper.  Cheers! 

Mirror Calligraphy Seating Chart - Houston Hand Lettering

I've calligraphed quite a few mirrors in the last few years, but this was by far the largest and it was just absolutely gorgeous in person.  It measured 90" x 34"...had to use a small ladder for this one.  This mirror was also cool as the client wanted a scattered organization with the lines as the mirror was much larger than what was needed for the list roughly 65 lines (about 100 guests).  The monogram was nice as this was the first mirror where a client already had a monogram that was used from the invitation and wanted to incorporate that with the mirror....and I got to play with illustration a bit with the florals around the monogram.....Yes that was freehand :).  Groovy times!  Cheers!

Calligraphy in Wood - Washington DC Calligraphy

It's no secret that my work has made a deviation away from paper over the last year.  Obviously, I still work with paper, but it has definitely taken a backseat to glass, mirrors, wood, metal, acrylic etc.  I just ADORE these laser cut names that are often used as place cards.  This is my hand calligraphy taken to a larger size.  Next medium that I plan to work in....FABRICS.  Why not?!  Cheers!

Houston Hand Lettering - Watercolor with Modern Calligraphy

What do you do when a client wants gold ink, but the paper choice would make it difficult to see that ink on the chosen paper?  (See USPS, I keep you in mind when I work :)  Just change the canvas, of course.  We decided to go with white ink on the envelopes except for the envelope for the guest of honor.  On hers, I decided to add a little watercolor and lighten the canvas such that the gold ink would be more pronounced.  Cheers!

Personal Correspondence - Hand Lettering

Getting caught up on my personal correspondence.  It's funny that this was the reason that I began my calligraphy journey when I moved to Houston years ago.  I just wanted my personal correspondence to look nice. life is funny that way....

I must send out a thank you to Nikki Hite, my sorority sister that introduced me to Crane & Co paper when we were in college.  Once I felt that paper, I was intoxicated with correspondence, etiquette with correspondence & all things paper from that day forward.  She is probably in some way responsible for my being in this profession.  You never know who will influence you... Cheers to random discussions in a dorm room :)!!!!

The Decision Has Been Made - 2016 Business Excellence Awards

Guess what was in my inbox a few weeks ago one morning...!!!  Slinging Ink (commercial side of Bella Grafia) has done it again!

 "The judges have made their final decision and I am pleased to announce Slinging Ink Hand Lettering has won in the 2016 Business Excellence Awards!  You have been named: Best Commercial Calligraphy Company - Houston"  I'll take that!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Marc Jacobs Fragrance Engraving Event - Houston Engraver

This fragrance bottle was one of my favorites from a recent fragrance engraving event for Marc Jacobs.  Most of my Houston engraving events are for wine & spirits, but I have recently started doing more work with fragrance companies.  It's quite a bit of fun so I look forward to more of the perfume engraving events.  Cheers!

Modern Calligraphy - Houston Calligrapher

Modern calligraphy is very polarizing.  Some people love it and some people hate it.  I'm pretty objective and understand both views on it although I am typically a bit of a purist.  Over time, I have found that modern calligraphy has it's place and I use it in some instances over others.  I use it when I want to exhibit a carefree, easy-going attitude.  Serious isn't always my thing :).  Here, I wanted to mix things up a bit.  I love contrast and color with my work.  Not my clothes as I'm quite often in all black or gray hiding under my big floppy hat, but definitely my work :).  With contrast in mind, I combined a relaxed, almost textbook lettering with modern calligraphy and figured "let's add some color too".  Why not?  Enter my "Color Me Groovy" style.  I'm working on a collection of prints that will play with these themes and those will be out later this year.  Cheers!

The Tale of Two Mirrors - Houston Calligraphy

Mirrors have become something that I am known for & I love that!  Last month, I was contacted about a wedding "welcome sign" mirror.  Groovy, I love placing calligraphy on mirrors!  Upon speaking with this bride, we were not exactly clear on which direction we would go.  That is understandable & I'm cool with that as I have found that in working with clients where this happens, I always learn something or develop a new take on a technique etc that I would have missed otherwise.  My clients are truly one of the most creative resources for me.  Without a doubt!   We spent part of the day texting back and forth discussing pictures, styles as I calligraphed them.  We ended up with 2 options for mirrors.  I liked them both.  They were very different from each other.  Guess which one she chose?  The ornate one!  Cheers!

Hennessy & Martell Engraving - Houston Calligraphy in Vietnamese & Chinese

Happy New Year!  For a few weekends in January, I had the pleasure of engraving at events in preparation for Chinese New Year!  While there, I was asked if I could engrave in Vietnamese & Chinese.  My response: if you write it down for me, I will engrave it. I engraved as they watched right there in the store.   I thought it came out pretty nicely for engraving in a language that I am not even conversational in.  So then of course, I engraved for 2 days in mostly Vietnamese.  This was pretty cool as I can now fluently say Happy New Year in Vietnamese. 

Next up, "can you engrave in Chinese"?  My response was "if you write it down for me, I will engrave it".  This was pretty cool as I have only engraved in Chinese once before and that was at an event as well.  So far, I have engraved in English, Spanish, Czech, German, Vietnamese & Chinese.  Looking forward to adding more languages to the list.  Cheers!

Personal Correspondence - Houston Calligrapher

It's amazing to me that my journey with calligraphy started from my desire to send my personal correspondence in a style that was my own and looked cool....and here we are.  Life is funny!  

Sweet + Romantic Elopement Inspiration - Calligraphy featured in Style Me Pretty

So excited to see my work featured in Style Me Pretty for this beautiful elopement inspiration shoot.  Take a peek!

Winner of Wedding Wire Couples' Choice 2016 - Houston Calligraphy

It is always so nice to check your email to learn that your work has been recognized by your clients to be one of the best.  Love it!  Bella Grafia Calligraphy & Engraving has been recognized by WeddingWire with it's Couples' Choice Awards for 2016.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Cheers!

 

Mirrors are the New Paper - New Jersey Calligrapher

Mirrors are very groovy to calligraph.  Not so groovy to photograph as they see EVERYTHING in the background :).  This mirror was for a New Jersey bride that wanted a welcome sign with a modern calligraphy feel with a little bounce.  

I actually wrapped this one for shipping myself and shipped via USPS as the fancy shipping carriers that we all know and love were a little too expensive for my taste.  It arrived safe and sound for half the price of previous mirror shipping adventures.  LOVE IT!  I think that I may be on to something especially since I have been doing quite a few mirrors lately.  We also did this cute little calligraphy wood sign.  Cheers!