December Doings

Posted by Michele • November 14, 2012 • 0 comments

Hi all! We just added a new date for my Introduction to Pointed Pen Calligraphy workshop at Fifteen Eleven. If you’ve been thinking of taking part in the class and are available on December 1, this is your chance! Only caveat: sign up quickly; there are only a couple of spots left. I will also be teaching an intermediate-level workshop, which is open to anyone who has taken the intro class, on December 8, and we still have a couple of openings for that class as well. Sign up for the Level II workshop can be found here.

Featured in Brides!

Posted by Michele • November 12, 2012 • 1 comment
Meant To Be Calligraphy in Brides

MEANT TO BE CALLIGRAPHY

We’ve been keeping this under wraps for a couple of months now and so are excited that we can finally share: our lettering is featured in the December 2012 issue of Brides Magazine! That’s our Glade lettering style adorning a block print invitation created by artist and print maker Katharine Watson. The invitation is part of a feature on how to use the color red to create an unforgettable “holiday-hued” wedding. It was a thrill to collaborate with Katharine – her work in block printing has quickly become nationally recognized – and it is exciting to see how the whole feature came together.

Pop In to Salt & Sundry!

Posted by Michele • November 9, 2012 • 0 comments
Meant To Be Calligraphy Chalk Work for Salt & Sundry

MEANT TO BE CALLIGRAPHY

I had the pleasure of creating a little bit of chalk work featuring my Glade and Bradley lettering styles for this weekend’s holiday gift pop-up at Union Market’s new shop, Salt & Sundry. The soon-to-launch store is giving shoppers a preview of the gorgeous goods that will be lining its shelves, all of which have been curated by owner Amanda McClements. I got to peek at some of those offerings earlier this week and I was wowed – so much prettiness! The pop up will take place today through Sunday. Don’t miss it!

Gaga for Gowns

Posted by Michele • October 2, 2012 • 0 comments
Hitched Sample Sale

Courtesy of Hitched Salon

Have you heard? Hitched, our favorite source for unbelievably gorgeous wedding gowns, is having a sample sale this week! Click here for all of the deets.

Real Wedding: Carolyn + Colin

Posted by Michele • September 13, 2012 • 0 comments

When Carolyn got in touch with me this spring to ask if I could address the envelopes for her Baltimore-based wedding, I was thrilled. And although the distance between Baltimore and DC meant that we did not have the chance to meet in person, I still felt delighted every time I saw her name pop up in my in-box as we moved on from envelope addressing through to some of the fun calligraphic details she and Colin chose to incorporate into their Big Day. In addition to seating cards (as seen below in the midst of these gorgeous shots by one of our favorite photogs, Abby Jiu of Abby Jiu Photography), I also created some fun signs for the reception as well as a custom “Carolyn & Colin” stamp that the couple used to adorn gifts for their guests (all in my Glade lettering style, which was Carolyn’s favorite from among our offerings).

Carolyn has such a sparkle to her personality and it is evident when you look through the photographs that she and Colin are head-over-heels for one another (shots from the entire day are shown on Abby’s blog and they are truly must-see!). I could not be more excited for these two and feel so honored to have had the chance to add a little of my handiwork to their wedding preparations. Thanks, Carolyn and Colin; here’s to many years of happiness for you both!!

 

Real Wedding: Anna + Matt

Posted by Michele • September 7, 2012 • 0 comments

Amber Karson Events

We were so excited to see our clients Anna and Matt appear in the Washington Post yesterday, when the paper featured their sweet love story and photos from their beautiful National Cathedral wedding. I had the opportunity to create lots of hand-lettering in my Beckett lettering style for the couple’s reception at the Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, including seating cards and personalizing each guest’s menu (as shown on the bride’s own menu in the fun collage above). The wedding, which was planned and styled by the amazing Emily Butler and Amber Karson of Amber Karson Events, was filled with gorgeousness, from Anna’s exquisite gown, which she found at Hitched Salon and the incredible flowers from Amaryllis. To see more images of the wedding and to read about how these two, a book editor and a presidential speech writer fell for one another, pop over to Ellen McCarthy’s story in the Post. We wish this happy couple our very best!!

 

Chalk It Up

Posted by Michele • September 6, 2012 • 0 comments

Meant To Be Calligraphy

To my delight, I am often asked to create chalkboard signage for wedding and events. I always enjoy the process of designing and executing in chalk and chalk ink, whether it be to create a seating chart (as I did for Shannon + Dave), bar signs (like those I created for Kelly + Kevin), welcome greetings (like the board I wrote out for Heather + Patrick) or a menu, which is what I created most recently for bride Tori’s wedding to groom Christian this past weekend.

Tori was referred to me by event designer extraordinaire Laura Ritchie of Events in the City and, in addition to creating adorable little hanging seating cards (shown below in a collage Laura shot during Tori and Christian’s wedding reception), Tori also asked me to use my Glade lettering style to write out a menu of the delicious meal in store for the couple’s guests. To me, the only downside to working on menus is that inevitably the mouth-watering descriptions end up making me hungry and just a tad bit jealous of the lucky guests! In any case, this particular menu was very fun to write and I am thrilled to have been able to assist with the wedding preparations for this sweet bride to her groom. Cheers, Tori + Christian!!

Events in the City

Mirror, Mirror

Posted by Michele • September 5, 2012 • 0 comments
Amber Karson Events

Amber Karson Events

Thanks to the lovelies at Amber Karson Events, I recently had the pleasure of creating “Day Of” calligraphy in my Rockwell lettering style for bride Courtney and her groom Moshe. In addition to a passel of pretty table markers and some gloriously large place cards (both shown above right on this fun collage Amber shot during Courtney and Moshe’s wedding reception), I also wrote out a large-scale seating chart on a mirror (shown both above left and, in a close-up, below). Seating charts can be challenging because unless everything lines up correctly and looks straight, they can look like a hot mess. Writing one out on a mirror adds an extra layer of complexity because as you write, you see the writing tool twice – once as it really is and then again in the mirror. The results, however, are so lovely – especially when set against gorgeous flowers and the glow of candlelight, which is how Amber and Emily styled this particular setting. We were so honored to play a small part in such a beautiful and momentous day for the happy couple – here’s to many joyful years for Courtney and Moshe!!

Meant To Be Calligraphy

Meant To Be Calligraphy

 

Sweet Soiree Signage

Posted by Michele • September 4, 2012 • 1 comment

ExPats in Paris – 5th Annual end of the of summer party from Thomas Bowen Films

Last week three of our favorite event stylist and planning firms – the ladies from Atrendy Wedding, Engaging Affairs and Simply Chic Events – came together to host a fabulous end-of-summer party and they asked Meant To Be Calligraphy to create some fun signage to be displayed throughout Josephine Lounge where the event took place. So, using my Durham lettering style, I created a couple of messages on mirrors, including the large “thank you” sign below and one luring guests to try some of the being-made-on-the-spot caramelized doughnuts (which you can see in the very fun video above by Thomas Bowen Films), plus some bar menus featuring the night’s signature cocktails and (also shown in the video) an oversized sign to welcome all of the guests. A good time was had by all and so just thought I would share a little peek at my handiwork here.

Meant To Be Calligraphy

Meant To Be Calligraphy