When I started my calligraphy business, live calligraphy events (aka onsites) were not on my radar. I envisioned a work life awash in wedding envelopes, place cards, and mirror signs—which I certainly get enough of. Over the past few years, though, onsites have steadily taken up more of my work portfolio.
I’ve learned plenty through the years of onsites to help me refine my process for these events—things that help me specifically as a live calligrapher, things that help me as a general worker on site, what to pack, etc.
In this post, I’m going to share tips that help me as a lettering artist:
Stick to 1 or 2 lettering styles, tops.
Onsites can get very busy, very quickly. When a line of requests starts to build, you don’t want to spend precious minutes going through the lettering options with everyone, only to hear most say, “I don’t know, you decide,” most of the time. Plus, it’s easy to get tripped up when you switch between styles quickly—which is why, if I’m prepared with 2 scripts, they’ll still be a bit similar.
Determine lettering style(s) ahead of time based on the event’s details.
A little research can go a long way. Some things to consider:
- What’s the event? I have what I call my “default hand”, or go-to style, for any event; but I’m likely to get more “flourishy” for Galentine’s Day and keep it simpler for Father’s Day stuff (a nice block/sans serif font may be good to have in your back pocket for those).
- What are the products being customized? If I’m engraving for a specific brand, I browse their line of products. Some things I look for: bottles with very little real estate for lettering, best spaces to letter around a label, fragrances with back-of-the-bottle potential, items with surfaces that might not be engraving-friendly. Knowing these things can help avoid hiccups, and maximize the impact of the lettering done.
Get or bring samples
Get product samples ahead of your event whenever possible. It may not happen If you’re personalizing a variety of items for a luxury brand (such as fragrance bottles); but if you’re working on gift-with-purchase swag, like tote bags or gift boxes, this could save you!
Here are some pics of jewelry cases to show you what I mean. The first jewelry case has a textured finish, which shows that foil lettering (which the client wanted) was not a great option for the box. I tested a few different gold paints/pens, which worked better. After seeing this, my client found a more suitable jewelry case for foiling, as seen in the second pic.
I also like to ask for samples at the event. In my experience, many retail workers have been happy to bring tester bottles or cosmetics for me to work on. This is great for several reasons:
- Customers can see your work.
- It can help the salesperson make a sale—it’s easier to sell free engraving when customers can see your work.
- Sometimes traffic is slow—working on sample bottles has kept me busy…and being in the act of calligraphy or engraving draws more customers than sitting there does.
- It’s an opportunity for more practice.
You can bring your own samples (blank, unbranded items) for display purposes. If you’re working for a brand and happen to have one of their products, bring that along if you like. Confession: I fell in love with Gucci Flora and bought my own bottle after an onsite; I engraved it and brought it to every Gucci Beauty onsite since. Make sure to label your own stuff, though, so people know your bottle isn’t a tester.
Spot test before giving it a go
This is particular to engraving, especially on bottles with a painted or coated finish. Some bottles appear to be colored frosted glass, but are actually coated with a delicate, easy to chip paint—it’s scary to find this out after the bur touches the bottle, in the middle of engraving a word…and a hairline is marred. Ughhhhh. My shoulders still tighten thinking about it. When I’m not sure about a bottle’s surface for engraving, I just engrave a little dot or dash on the bottom, just enough to feel it out and see if there’s chipping. If there is, and if I’m not certain adjusting the engraving speed is the solution, then I go to a backup medium (often a paint pen) and let the client know.
Take notes and take pics
No matter how many onsites I’ve done, I view each event as a learning opportunity. I go back to my notes and photos to study after an event and think about how to make the next one better. Live events are ever-evolving, which is a big reason why I find them so fun!
