Anthro Life : Working Creatively

One of the reasons that I stepped away from the blog this past fall was because life got busy. I took a part-time job working as a sales associate at Anthropologie in Hoboken, and the holiday shopping season was a bustling one! Fortunately, I have been able to stay on post-Christmas and yesterday marked three months with the company.

While I enjoy working as a sales associate — getting to know the product, helping create an inviting, beautiful store experience, and interacting with customers — what has truly been a joy and a surprise is getting to put my passion for calligraphy and hand-lettering to use. It all started with an early morning employee breakfast "party" for which I made pumpkin muffins and a matching sign. 

My managers and the regional visual manager were so impressed that they asked me to make holiday signage to help accent local store displays. I made those happily and eagerly, in many different versions. I'm not sure where they all ended up, but one was displayed in my store, in Hoboken — and it sure looked pretty surrounded by all of our gorgeous home wares!

I was then completely over the moon to later be asked to head to the Anthropologie on Fifth Avenue in New York City, to spend a morning lettering a large mirror with a cocktail menu for a vignette in the store's home section. My first time writing on a mirror, or glass for that matter, proved challenging, but it was worth all the time, energy and sore lower back (from hunching over and shifting around that heavy mirror!). It really was such a treat and an honor to have my work on display in a NYC store. And a few weeks later, while in the neighborhood, I was so proud to show G the mirror in person.

Last week, our Hoboken store hosted its very first shopping party and as soon as I found out I volunteered to create any necessary signage for the event. I was tasked with creating small, place card-size signs for the sips and snacks, as well as a larger sign to hang on the rack of "stylist picks." Luckily, I was able to work the party — for which I slipped on my new Anthropologie dress — and see my signs in action. If only I had a chance to taste that pear and ginger fizz refresher; it looked so good!

I'm looking forward to continuing to put my creative passions to work — literally! — and maybe even moving into a more creative role within the Anthroplogie family. Because work doesn't really feel like work when you are doing what you love.

Wedding Wednesdays : Hand-lettered Signs & Cards

[ A dressed-up envelope to accompany a special, glittery card for the newlyweds. ]

After deciding to learn calligraphy last fall, my best friend quickly informed me that she'd love to put her maid of honor's newfound skills to work creating signage for her wedding. And in the two weeks leading up to her March 27th Malibu nuptials, put to work I was! I hand-wrote three chalkboard signs; two for the ceremony space and one for the bar. It was my first time ever using chalk markers and, while I'm sure there's a better way, I freehanded each of them. Several hours were spent on each one. I also lettered or calligraphed smaller, framed paper signs (for the gift table, the escort card table, and one with their wedding hashtag) as well as place cards for the dessert and snack bar so guests would know which cookies were chocolate chip and which were peanut butter, and so on. The treat table signs were whipped up, no joke, at 2 a.m. the morning of the wedding at the request of a bridesmaid who was heading up the last-minute "Mission: Dessert Table." (Funny enough, I was happiest with how these tired-eyed pieces came out. I guess I was too exhausted to overthink them.) In addition, I created a personalized card for Marielle to give JP on their wedding day.

Finally, perhaps my biggest task, was painstakingly calligraphing 105 escort cards with guests full names in black Sumi ink and table numbers in gold (and then helping the bride stick on glittered tape to distinguish who was getting beef, fish or vegetarian). Initially I planned to break this massive project up into chunks, but due to time constraints I ended up writing all the names in one day and then writing the table numbers the next.

I am a perfectionist to a fault and my own worst critic, so while some of the projects didn't ultimately meet my high, self-imposed standards—I feel I could have done better on the escort cards if I'd had more time—the bride and groom were absolutely thrilled with everything and I heard that some of the wedding guests even commented on my work, thinking it was created by a professional or store-bought. So I know I need to cut myself some slack and be proud of all that I did create, especially since I'm still learning and it was my first time doing many of the projects. (I didn't even do all this sign-making work for my own wedding! Though still a big undertaking, the menus, dessert table signs, and favor tags/escort cards were simply written in my own, natural hand and the chalkboard signs were created by our very kind catering coordinator.)

Without further adieu, I thought I'd share a few photos of my work. I'm looking forward to seeing my bestie's professional shots when she gets them in! While it was, at times, a bit stressful taking on all these projects, it was a true labor of love for my very favorite lady.

Thanks for looking and reading! If you are interested in learning calligraphy, I would suggest taking Molly Jacques' Skillshare class. (Use my referral link to get a free month of membership with unlimited access to all Skillshare classes.) And my No. 1 tip is practice! I got a lot of practice making all those little signs, and multiple versions to boot, not to mention writing all those escort cards :)

P.S. You can follow along on my calligraphy journey on Instagram! Find me posting my latest creations and practice sessions at @wispandwhim.

Homeward Bound

Today's the day! This afternoon I'll be boarding a flight home (with Jasper in tow) to Simi Valley, California. This weekend is my best friend's bridal shower, which I have been thinking about and planning for months! I'm excited to see it all finally come together and a little nervous, too, hoping everything goes off without a hitch. Just five days after the shower, the bride and I, along with her best gals, will be off for a bachelorette bash in San Diego. Two weeks after that, G will join me in SoCal for the wedding of another pair of friends. And two weeks after that, it will be my bestie's turn at the altar (and I'll be giving my maid of honor speech, eek!). Suffice to say, I have a busy month-and-a-half ahead of me, partying it up to be sure but also helping out my favorite bride-to-be with anything and everything she may need. Wish me luck! I'll be sure to check back in and share about all the fabulous festivities.

[ Me & my bestie, at my wedding last May. ]

(California sunset image via Kayleen Eng,
wedding photo by heidi-o-photo)

Learning Calligraphy & My 365 Project

I've always loved making pretty letters. As a kid I would frequently change the way I wrote my name and, in particular, the way I wrote my lowercase "As" (with a "hat" or without, with a straight "tail" or a curvy one). I also always bemoaned the fact that my name wasn't very fun to write. No loops. No "Ls" or "Ys" to swing and curl around. Nope, my maiden name did not grant my hand a lot of ascenders or descenders to play with (though, of course, I didn't know the proper terminology at the time). Nevertheless, I enjoyed writing other people's names, and as I got older I became known for the embellished cards and envelopes that were attached whenever I presented someone with a gift. (I even served as the sunshine chair for my sorority in college, because the entire job description was to brighten my sisters' days with notes, cards, and gifts.) But these were simple, untrained doodles. It was all very unserious, just for fun, and honestly, part of me didn't think I was capable of doing much more.

But that changed last fall. In September, I decided to get a little more serious. I decided to learn calligraphy.

I'm not exactly sure how I came upon this decision. I think it was just the inundation of pretty lettering I saw on Instagram, Pinterest, and even Facebook. I saw so many people writing beautiful scripts, lettering inspiring quotes, creating pretty personalized details for wedding and events, and I thought that maybe I could learn the skill, too, after all, if I put my mind to it.

With the help of Google, I researched all I could about learning calligraphy, the tools I would need and what online resources were available to me. And I happily discovered that learning calligraphy doesn't require a huge investment up front. Sure, you can spend a pretty penny buying beautiful pen holders and inks and fancy papers but you definitely don't need that to start. A pen holder, a nib, a pad of practice paper and a pot of black ink will set you back 20 bucks, tops, and you're on your way.

My extensive research also led me to two highly-rated online calligraphy classes: Molly Jacques' Skillshare class, Introduction to the Art of Modern Calligraphy, and Melissa Esplin's I Still Love Calligraphy workshop. While I wanted to join Melissa's course due to the personal coaching and feedback element, at $95 (or $130 with the supplies) the cost was a bit too much for my unemployed self to justify, especially if I didn't stick with it. Instead, I opted for Molly's Skillshare class since it was just $20 (if I remember correctly) or free if I signed up for a Skillshare membership ($10/month, but I got the first month free as a trial run and I've recently upgraded to a premium membership).

[ Snapshots from my early days. Watching videos, taking notes, and practicing letterforms over and over.]

I thoroughly enjoyed Molly's videos and found them extremely helpful. But once you learn the basics—how to hold and use the pen and nib, creating downstrokes and upstrokes—the most important step is practicing. That is the only way you will get better. And in our instant gratification society that step is tough, because we want to be as good as all those images that inspired us to start learning calligraphy in the first place. I know I did and still do. But it just takes time. It takes time and mistakes, splatters and spills and inky fingers, and some frustrating practice sessions where it feels like you can't make anything look good. Been there, done that. But there are days when you love and are proud of what you create, and that makes the not-so-good days worth it.

[ Mini calligraphy signs I made over the holidays to brighten up our apartment. ]

While I was practicing fairly regularly last fall, there were weeks when I didn't pick up my calligraphy pen. Partly because of the busyness of the holidays, but mostly because we had no dedicated space for me to lay out all my supplies, and keep them laid out, for practice. (My wonderful husband subsequently let me take over the dining room table as my creative space, so that problem has been solved!)

To encourage daily practicing, and to keep myself accountable, I made it a goal for 2015 to launch and complete a 365 project—a year of calligraphy. There are not many things I do every single day. I don't even blog every day. But this project requires me to put nib to paper daily. I began my project January 12 and sometimes I think, "What did I get myself into?" But in just 14 days I've already seen some improvement. And I'm having fun trying new nibs and inks and papers. I'm relishing the process of creating.

[ Some of my 365 project work thus far. ]

To document my project, I started another Instagram account, separate from my personal profile. If you'd like to follow me on my calligraphy journey, my year of lettering, you can find me posting my daily practices and creations at @wispandwhim. My plan is to have a new theme each month to inspire my work. January is all about fresh starts and bold steps, in honor of my New Years resolutions and word for 2015. February, which is fast approaching, will appropriately be all about love.

[ A quote that is true of life and true of learning calligraphy. ]

If you've been thinking about learning calligraphy as well, I would encourage you to check out Skillshare (which has tons of other classes in design, photography, DIY and more). Use my referral link to get a free month of Skillshare membership with unlimited access to hundreds of classes. (When you use my link, I get a free month too! Win win.)

With that, I propose a toast (grab your cup of coffee or tea!): Here's to pursuing new, exciting and challenging creative endeavors, and following wherever they may lead.