I have been a fan of Molly Suber Thorpe since I stumbled upon her first book, Modern Calligraphy, three years ago. With its gorgeous photos and encouraging tone, Modern Calligraphy can’t help but inspire you! Based on how much I enjoyed Modern Calligraphy, I was excited when Molly offered to send me a copy of her latest book: The Calligrapher’s Business Handbook. It arrived a couple of weeks later in a gorgeous envelope!
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In 2012, I decided to start a blog about nothing in particular, mainly because I enjoy writing. I set up my simple WordPress site, made a couple of very basic printables, and wrote a blog post about soup. Fast-forward five years, and that first little blog post looks grossly out of place among the image- and content-rich art and calligraphy posts that I write now. That’s the nature of blogging, though: blogs are constantly growing and evolving to meet the needs of their audience. If you like reading the TPK blog, you may enjoy this unique look at the steps that go into creating every blog post!
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I recently wrote a post over how to make extra income by selling your calligraphy. In that post, I recommended professional-level product photography … but, this week, I realized that I left you hanging about how to achieve that! Today, I’ll discuss my top six tips for taking photos that catch prospective clients’ attention. Don’t worry if you’ve got zero photographic talent — trust me, I was there five years ago! It just takes some patience, experimentation, and time.
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I have always enjoyed experimenting with lettering and alphabets, but the thought of selling calligraphy didn’t occur to me until a few years ago. I was working at a tech company in downtown Boulder (Colorado) at the time, and a coworker started talking to me about her side calligraphy business. “Brides can hire me to address their envelopes,” she explained, showing me one.
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I think a lot of the motivation behind creating calligraphy is the ability to create something special. Something that no one else could exactly duplicate; a piece that makes you feel good, and, if it ends up with someone else, makes them feel special to own it. Really, it all boils down to being able to feel creative and having the power to make others feel great in the process.
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I want to preface this post by saying I am not a professional photographer. I wish I were a photography enthusiast, but alas: I can do much more with a calligraphy pen than I can with a camera. That said, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that if you are in a creative field, it’s sink or swim when it comes to photography. For that reason, I have laid out five tips for taking photos of artwork and calligraphy that have worked for me. These tips should help your work to stand out, whether the final goal is personal satisfaction or creative business success!
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There is one fundamental truth about learning calligraphy. That truth is this: at some time, you will find yourself addressing envelopes for an event. The occasion may be your wedding, a friend or family member’s birthday party, or a random acquaintance’s bat mitzvah. When people find out you can create calligraphy, they’ll want you to help them out for weddings, parties, and more — and I hope you’ll oblige because it’s great practice!
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If you are interested in any of the project tutorials on the TPK blog, I can assure you of this: you are creative enough to make a successful blog yourself. Today’s post is dedicated to tips on how to write a blog. It is my hope that you can either implement these ideas to your existing blog — or that it will give you the push you need to start a blog from scratch! If you’re not interested in blogging, you may still find this enlightening; you can apply some of these tips to everyday casual communication such as emailing.
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