So surreal thinking it's been four years since I left my Events job and started inkscript studio with no idea about how to run a business or even that I was going to call it inkscript!
Read all about my modern calligraphy journey in my blog from 2020...and part two which I wrote last summer.
So how did I even start my business back in 2019?! Long story short, after flourishing as a hobby since 2016 and designing our wedding stationery in 2018, I decided to take the plunge and try it full time. The full story is in my calligraphy journey blog but I wanted to talk through how my brand came to life and the many many mistakes I made even as an ex-Graphic Designer!
I knew I wanted to spend some time coming up with a name that I loved and brain storming is one of my favourite activities...I just wrote down some words to do with calligraphy - ink, flourish, lettering, script, type, write, the list went on. Then connecting some words together and I wanted to use studio on the end so it wasn't too wedding focused in case I changed what direction I went in.
So then inkscript studio was born! I also love a bit of alliteration :)
My first logo was just black and white and I had barely any branding, I remember I used a nice sunshine-y yellow as an accent colour so that it wasn't too 'wedding-y' again but it didn't feel very me. I created it to be more 'generic' which sounds crazy now as the brand should reflect me and my work! So during lockdown, I rebranded and I created a warm, nude palette not dissimilar to all the lovely Farrow and Ball colours I was using in our renovation. This felt much more comfortable and I still love it now! I also wrote 'inkscript' again in my evolved calligraphy, with more of a handmade edge on it.
Some more mistakes I made:
I also made the mistake of getting overexcited and getting hundreds of business cards printed! I still use them occasionally now (the rebranded ones) but it's not a necessity. And stickers...
I sent out dozens of samples of my work to people I knew in the Events industry, realistically I should've spent longer honing my craft first.
I spent lots of money on materials and stationery that weren't necessary to start with.
Four years sounds like a long time but sort of doesn't, with lockdown and Covid in between, I still feel like I'm learning so much everyday. I've also evolved from wedding stationery, to designing my own stationery selling at markets to now teaching workshops so the process and things like marketing have also evolved! Digital marketing is definitely something I'm focusing on this year without relying too heavily on Instagram and all of it's algorithms. I'm also really enjoying writing these blogs and sending out a monthly newsletter.
I can't wait to see what the next year will hold, thank you for supporting my little business to date, it truly means the world!
Jen x