Welcome back!
Today is an exciting day over here as it is the first ever post of the One Sweet Spotlight series!! This series is to introduce you to creatives and boss ladies who are ground-breaking in their industry and who are making it happen. There is a movement going around introduced by Natalie Franke called #communityovercompetition which you can read about here and the One Sweet Spotlight is to encourage just that. It's so important to lift eachother up and honestly, I think it makes our jobs way more fun.
Our first boss lady is (drum roll please!) calligrapher Amy Webber of Sincerely Amy Designs!
Isn't she so pretty?!
I'm excited to feature Amy because her new brand and website launced TODAY!! Branding genius Lauren Hooker of Elle&Company designed her branding and website and it is gorgeous!! It's fresh and bright yet has an old-soul feeling. Think whites and soft teals with hints of copper tones. Andrea Pesce photographed Amy for the new site and she perfectly captured her in every way. I've seen a few sneaks peaks over the past few weeks and you can see for yourself how beautiful it is here!
Amy is one of the best calligraphers in the biz and is truly one of the most selfless people I have ever met. It has been amazing to see her business grow over the past few months. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview her and get to know her better!
OSDIM- Your new branding is gorgeous! What inspired the new look and what did you want to express to your audience?
AW- Thank you!! This brand and new look has been a long time coming and I’m so excited to finally be able to share it with everyone. When I first started the process, I had no idea what I wanted it to look like or what I wanted to communicate to my audience. Lauren from Elle and Company and Andrea from Andrea Pesce spent so much time with me helping me to figure out not just what I wanted Sincerely Amy Designs to look like but also what I wanted it to be about. It is amazing what processing with fellow small business owners can do. I started with an inspiration board and pinned anything and everything that I loved. I began seeing trends in styles and colors and realized that I saw a lot of those same colors and trends in my personal style and home décor (which was helpful when it was time to find props for the photos for the website!). The one thing I did know from the beginning was that I wanted the brand to feel comfortable. I wanted it to be beautiful and attract people who loved and valued calligraphy and hand lettering, but I also wanted it to come across sincere (no pun intended haha). Building relationships with clients and fellow business owners has been one of my favorite parts of owning Sincerely Amy Designs and I wanted the importance of those relationships to be communicated by having a brand that was about people and not just pretty letters.
OSDIM- How did you get into calligraphy and how has your business grown?
AW- I have always had a love for letters. Growing up, I would practice my handwriting and I would look for ways to do letters differently. Even now, I still love experimenting with my handwriting. Calligraphy came into the picture when I was lettering some envelopes for a friend’s baby shower. I was spending hours on the envelopes using the fake calligraphy method (found here) and I loved every minute of it. I knew then I needed to learn real calligraphy and I haven’t looked back since.
While I have no other business to compare it to, I have felt so blessed and blown away with how quickly Sincerely Amy Designs has grown. Since starting 9 months ago, I’ve had some incredible opportunities, worked with amazing clients, and found a community of friends that I cherish. I’ve learned so much about myself and even greater, I have learned so much about God. This has been one of the craziest spiritual journeys I’ve ever been on and I’m so thankful for how the Lord has showed up, provided, guided, and blessed this endeavor. I pinch myself every day that I get to do this and that the Lord has entrusted this to me.
One Sweet Day in May was honored to create some #onesweetblooms for Amy's photo shoot!
OSDIM- What advice would you give calligraphers or creatives who are just starting out?
AW- The advice I find myself giving the most often is to network! It can be so scary to send that email to someone whose business you admire but it is so worth it! I truly don’t think Sincerely Amy Designs would be in existence if I hadn’t taken a chance and reached out to other business owners. Not only have those connections been critical to the success of the business but so many of them have turned into the sweetest friendships. We aren’t meant to do this alone. It’s impossible to reach our full potential when we travel the small business journey by ourselves. So send that email, leave that comment, and put yourself out there!
OSDIM- What have been some of your successes and what has been challenging for you?
AW- It’s funny how quickly our challenges come to mind but how much time it can take to think through what we are doing well. I have SO much to learn about calligraphy and about running a business but one of the things I consider a success is the continued desire to educate myself and grow. I work hard to invest my time, energy, and finances in continually learning how I can improve.
The most challenging thing so far for me has been balance. I’m sure so many of you can relate! I work a full time job during the day and my husband and I live with and take care of my aging grandma. Our life is the most chaotic it’s ever been and it can be overwhelming at times. Learning how to balance my day job, calligraphy business, husband, grandma, church, friendships, rest and play can be so hard. Working out of our living room has also been a challenge. It’s a less than ideal set up and my poor grandma hates that her formal living room has turned into a calligraphy studio haha.
OSDIM- What are your favorite projects to work on?
AW- I love everything about weddings so I get excited to work with brides on adding calligraphy to their big day. While I know a lot of calligraphers find envelopes to be tedious and sometimes maddening, I actually really love them. I have a deep love for snail mail and the invitations are my favorite detail of a wedding day, which makes envelopes a fun project for me. Guests love to see their names written in an art form that has been around for centuries. It communicates thoughtfulness and attention to detail and I love getting to be a part of that!
OSDIM- What makes you stand out from others?
AW- Margaret Peterson has a quote that says, “There is something in the human soul that longs for beauty beyond necessity”. I heard that quote years ago and I have never forgotten it. It’s that attention to and lovefor the ‘beauty beyond necessity’ as Margaret puts it, that is where I think I stand out. While most people overlook the small details, I think that is where so much beauty can be found. That plays out in so many ways in my business, from how I communicate to my clients, to the interest I take in all the details of their wedding or project, all the way to how I go about creating the perfect lettering style for each project. It is an honor and a pleasure when a bride or client looks to me to add beauty, through calligraphy, to their event, special occasion, favorite quote/verse, or business.
OSDIM- What can we look forward to from Sincerely Amy Designs in the future?
AW- There are a lot of exciting things ahead for Sincerely Amy Designs! One of those exciting things is expanding the teaching side of the business. There may just be a workshop coming up soon and I can notwait to share the details! I am really looking forward to sharing with others something that I’ve grown to love so much!
All photos by Andrea Pesce Photography.
Congratulations on the new brand, Amy!! And friends, because this is our first ever week for the One Sweet Spotlight, We're starting off with a bang and I'm excited to feature another amazing brand tomorrow!!! Yay!! Stay tuned!!
Love,
Michelle.