Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the Life of Letters, a podcast exploring the history and future of calligraphy, handwriting, type design, and all things lettering. Join me, Laura Edrilyn, a London based calligrapher, as I connect with artists, historians, stationery experts and more from around the world to uncover the stories behind the letters and the journeys of those who bring them to life.
In today's episode, I'm delighted to be speaking with Marie Coleman Johns from Made in September.
Marie is a calligrapher and live event artist who helps brands elevate guest experiences through on site personalization.
Formerly in marketing, she teaches other artists how to grow their businesses through her course beyond the Nib, which covers marketing, pricing and booking clients with confidence.
Basically everything a professional calligrapher really needs. Marie, firstly, a huge welcome to the Life of Letters podcast. I'm so, so excited to be talking to you.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Oh, Laura, thank you so much for having me. I'm equally excited to be talking with you as well.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: It's so great and it's lovely that we can do this. Even though we're at other ends of the planet and different time zones and, and we're still. It's not, it's not the middle of the night for somebody or.
Yeah, exactly.
So I've been following you for quite a while as a calligrapher. It's such a lovely space on Instagram, I think, particularly in that sort of visual arts field where lots of calligraphers kind of follow each other or lettering artists, and it's just such a lovely space. Everyone sort of cheers each other on and inspires each other. So. But I don't know a huge amount about your story, so it's lovely that we get to have a bit of a chat and explore a little bit more about who you are. And as a sort of starting point, could you tell us a little bit about how you got into calligraphy and where the name Made in September came from?
[00:01:58] Speaker B: Yeah, so I'm going to try to do the short version of it because I could probably spend the whole podcast talking about it, but so I kind of have two entry points into calligraphy. So. First started when I was about 13 years old and like a lot of girls that age, I was kind of obsessed with my handwriting and would just, you know, just practice. Like I wanted to have really good handwriting and I would like, practice probably instead of paying attention in class, to be quite honest, and doodling in my notebook.
And I think my, my practice probably got onto like some documents at home that I probably shouldn't have been scribbling on and writing on. And so my mom, you know, was trying to channel this creative energy into a better outlet. And so for Christmas, she had gotten me a calligraphy set.
I think it was like one of those broad edge, you know, ones that you would get at like, Michael's or craft store or something like that. And she had told me a few times, like, growing up, oh, you would be. You would probably love calligraphy. And I was like, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know what that word means. But once she got me that calligraphy set, it kind of clicked and I really did love it.
Now I was 13 years old, so I didn't take it super seriously. Like, I wasn't sitting there reading the book and, like, trying to practice the strokes. I was just looking at, like, sort of the exemplar and just trying to, you know, sort of figure it out and learning how to use the pen and everything.
And then when I was. When my sister was getting married in 2008, she asked me to do her envelopes and again was trying to dust off that old broad edge pen and, you know, did an okay job. I think at the time we thought it looked really nice. Looking back at it now, I'm like, oh, this is kind of cringey looking, to be honest.
And then fast forward again to 2016, 2017. So I got married in 2016, and. And I wanted my envelopes to look like what I was seeing on Pinterest. And it wasn't broad edge calligraphy, but I didn't know what it was called at the time. I just knew it looked really pretty. And so I'm trying to mimic what I'm seeing on Pinterest, and my nice handwriting is just not. It's not doing it. And I couldn't figure it out. And so, you know, I had to send out the invitations anyways. But after we got married, I was like, you know, I really want to actually sit down and learn this. And. And it was a good time because, you know, the wedding planning was over and I needed, like, a new creative outlet. And I knew that I had an interest in calligraphy, so I ended up buying a book off of Amazon. I got a couple brush pens and started learning modern calligraphy and then discovered the calligraphy community on Instagram and just kind of grew from there.
So, yeah, those are sort of my two entry points into calligraphy.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: I love that. I love that that spark was there from such an early age. But actually, you kind of go off and get distracted by lots of other lovely things, but it kind of then comes back and you. Oh, yeah, I remember I was really interested in this.
So what about the name Made in September?
[00:04:51] Speaker B: So Made in September was actually the name of a blog that I was going to do with one of my best friends. So she and I, both of our birthdays are in September. In fact, they're only a day apart. And when we were still in our 20s and blogging was, like, very big back then, you know, we had talking, oh, we should do, like, a fun lifestyle blog. And we. We were thinking of names, and she actually came out with the name Made in September because of the time we were two maidens, two single women who were made in September.
I know.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: So clever. So clever.
[00:05:22] Speaker B: Yeah. And the blog never came to fruition. We never ended up doing anything with it. But when I was starting my Instagram account for my calligraphy, I remembered how much I just loved that name. And I was like, hey, do you mind if I steal this name? And she was like, go for it, take it. And so I've had it.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: Wow. Yeah, that's brilliant. Oh, that's lovely. And that journey as well, of. Of obviously, you two and all the things, like we were saying, sometimes, you know, you start something. I know you've started a podcast before, and that's kind of come and gone, and there's all these little elements kind of dipping in and out of our journeys Right. As we come through. So you do a sort of modern calligraphy. Would you describe it as a modern sort of brush script?
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I do modern calligraphy. I've kind of evolved a little bit into, like, copper plate. I don't know if I will ever be, like, a full traditional script person. I really do love modern, but I noticed that the calligraphers whose modern script I admire the most had. Have influences from copper plate and from Spencerian. So I've started learning copper plate over the past year and tried to take it seriously, but I'm always, like, kind of adding my own adaptation on it a little bit. So I would say right now it's a blend of modern and copper plate. I don't know. It's like a mishmash.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm with you. I. Yeah, exactly. It's a sort of strange description of kind of what the styles are that you do when you've got so many lovely influences and you're sort of like, do I make up a new name for this?
Yeah, Modern copper plate.
Yeah, but it's beautiful. And you do lots and lots of different things, right? You create on site calligraphy for brands, you do live experiences for customers coming through. What, what are these events? Like, what are some of your favorite events that you've done?
[00:07:12] Speaker B: Oh, wow. I mean, I've been so fortunate to do a lot of different type of events.
So one of my really great clients is Maker's Mark and they do bourbon dinners in the, in within our region. And so these are usually like 30 to 40 person events. So they're pretty intimate and it's a very manageable event to do on my own over the course of like three hours. And it's just really great. Like one they, I've worked with them so frequently that my contact has become a friend at this point. And the events are just lovely. Like you get to come and learn about how the bourbon is made and you're having this incredible meal at like a great restaurant and then you have this obviously this live art experience. And I really, one of the things I love most about those type of events is because I will go around to each table and I'll talk to, you know, the guests. And you know, I don't want people to just think I'm like a pretty face or I'm just not a pretty face. But you know, I'm just there to make things pretty. Like I, yeah, I really want this to be as much of an immersive experience for me as it is for them. And the client has really loved that I've had this sort of hands on approach. So that's been a really great event.
I would have to say though, my absolute favorite events are the ones that I get to do with other clients, calligraphers and artists. Like multi artist events. It's just so much fun getting to work with your colleagues, so to speak, and get to meet them in real life. And then usually those events are like high volume events. So you're just like cranking out the work and I don't know, it's just, it's so much fun. You're like in this whirlwind for a few hours together and it's just wonderful to get to actually meet the people that you talk to on Instagram in real life. So those are my absolute favorite events.
[00:08:53] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. And it brings that community of artists so much closer. Right. Because you're as somebody who's sort of, you're running your own business, your calligraphy is quite a solo, you know, activity. You're kind of at home on your own a lot of the time. So you haven't got this huge team of people around you. You're not going into an office where that you're sharing that space or ideas or conversations. So when you get to do those things, I bet it's just so lovely because you've got. You're surrounded by people who talk the same talk or geek out about inks and pens and, you know, surfaces and things like that. Talking of surfaces, could you tell us a little bit how you got into engraving letters? Because you do engraving as well, right?
[00:09:38] Speaker B: I do, yeah. Yeah.
So, yeah, I had seen, like, a lot of people doing engraving kind of over the pandemic as well. Like, people I had been following, following for a while. And I knew it was something I wanted to try out. And so I finally bought myself a drill. And I practiced at home for at least a good six plus months, you know, practicing on wine bottles and things like that, and just wanting to feel really confident in my skills. And then Was it early 2022? I was like, okay, I really. I think I'm ready to, like, do my first live event and wanted to start marketing myself as a live event artist. So updated my website, you know, took photos of some of the work I did in studio, and then finally landed that first gig.
And, you know, it was. It was such a great learning opportunity. One I. I realized I'm like, okay, this is what I really want to be doing, because I'm kind of exactly what you just alluded to a moment ago. Calligraphy is sort of a very individualistic, you know, art form, as a lot of art forms are, if you're just in your studio. And I think because I'm such an outgoing person and we were just coming, you know, at that point, it was like two years into the pandemic. I was like, I gotta get out of my house. I gotta get my art out of the. I was like, if I do one more in studio gig, I'm gonna go crazy.
So doing the live events has been a lot of fun for me, but it was also very intimidating doing engraving. Like, not just calligraphy, but you're taking this, like, drill. It's kind of like a weapon almost, and you're etching on, you know, somebody's very expensive perfume bottle in front of them for the very first time. It's like, I don't think enough people talk about it. It's scary. Like, even for somebody outgoing like me, it's scary.
[00:11:21] Speaker A: I mean, it's scary just doing pen to paper in front of people. I mean, Let alone, you know, final pieces in studio stuff, it's like, you know, at least you haven't got eyes on you. But doing engraving on glass, it's just like the whole idea of it makes me feel like I couldn't do it, but so many people do, and it's such a fascinating process. Right. Could you tell us a little bit more how you do it? So are you.
Are you actually drawing them out first with a diff. With like a pen or pencil? I don't know what would come up on the glass?
[00:11:57] Speaker B: No, that's a really great question. So it depends on the event. So let's say if I'm in like a department store and it's not super busy, I will take my time and draft it. So I usually use either a micron pen or a Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip pen to draft it because it comes right off like your, you know, you don't even need to like spray it or anything. You know, your finger, it will wipe off the, wipe off the ink. So I'll draft and then engrave over it if I have the time. If it's like, you know, a high volume live event and we're like, you know, you just got to turn them out. I go freehand.
Yeah. Which is. It's scary because you don't have that draft to sort of rely on. Sometimes I don't even have time to draw the baseline.
So you've got to be like extra careful about making sure your, you know, letters don't trail off.
But I actually practice that at home because that's something that is happening more and more is like these live art experiences are becoming more popular. More brands and more marketers are starting to incorporate them into their events. And especially when you have a high volume event, you know, you need to maintain the quality of your art as well as the speed. So I try practicing at home, like doing things quickly and without drafting it so that when I do get on site, I can just be, you know, as polished as possible with, with my calligraphy.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: My God, that's amazing. So what happens if you make a mistake on glass? Yeah, it's just, I mean, sometimes you can salvage something, right. With a calligrapher's eye, but.
[00:13:28] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it depends on what the mistake is. So sometimes, yes, you can salvage it. There have been like, especially if it's like kind of like a tchotchke or like a branded giveaway. You know, usually there's extra.
So if you really like, you know, you totally Misspell someone's name, you can grab another one and start over. And that's the reason why, you know, clients, at least I encourage my clients to get a few extra, because mistakes happen. It just. We're humans and it happens.
I'm trying to think if I've ever had that happen with, like, a perfume bottle or something. I don't think I've had, like, that. I've definitely, like, started, you know, veering off and caught myself before I, you know, make. Because it's very easy to, you know, you're so focused on whatever it is that you might misspell a word that you know how to spell. You know, you might.
Actually. I did. I did one time, now that we're talking about it, there was one time where I had an event, and it was a perfume. It was a cologne bottle, actually. And the person's name, it wasn't a traditional spelling. Like, it was like Alex or something like that, but it wasn't like Alex. It was like two A's or something like that. And I just wasn't paying attention. It was written in front of me, and I'm just, like, focused on something else. And I misspelled it. And I was like, oh, my God.
Luckily, like, when you're in store, they can just, you know, use that as, like, the tester, you know, so they can.
So they can. What are they, like, not discard it, Damage it. Like, damage it. So the tester. So fortunately, I don't think I've had anything where it's, like, completely irreversible and it's like, one of a kind.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: Yeah. I reckon you must just get so good. Like, that's. That focus level just switches on, doesn't it? And you've got something vibrating in your hand. So it's very hard to really think about much.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: People are talking to you, you know, that's the other thing. People are talking to you, and that's. That's part of the experience is being able to converse while you're paying attention. It's a lot of things to mentally juggle.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: And then do you wipe on. I've seen from Instagram reels and things? Like, you kind of wipe on a kind of gold ink or something that sits within the engraved line.
[00:15:30] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So again, depending on what it is, if it's like a perfume bottle or a spirit, you know, wine or spirits bottle, you can typically, it's. It's rub and buff or gilding wax is what you would use. That's the.
The stuff I call it, like, when I'm referring to it to a client, I just call it metallic fill because I don't know if they would know, like, you know, those jargony type of terms.
But yes, you can rub that on. If it is drinkware or anything that would be like, consumable, you do not want to use it because it's. It's toxic. And even if you run that glass through the dishwasher, you just don't know what can, you know, the chemicals that are coming from it could, you know, get onto the other items. So I always steer my clients or anybody away from using rub and buff or any kind of metallic fill on drinkware, but as long as it's not something that you're going to be consuming, yes, you can absolutely use the, the rub and buff and, you know, gives it really nice sheen to it.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Yeah, lovely. It's so nice that you can do so many lovely things with it.
[00:16:26] Speaker B: It is, yeah.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: In terms of, I guess, both sort of sides of the engraving or even, you know, just. Just writing on surfaces, are there particular types of materials that you really enjoy writing on? Are there kind of. I know there's like ceramics and obviously leather goods and things like that. Are there any that you've done that you're like, oh, that was really exciting.
[00:16:50] Speaker B: Well, as far as leather goes, anytime you're writing or foiling on real leather, like authentic leather, that's the best. Especially if it's high quality like that. It does make a difference. You know, it can be smooth as butter or sometimes you end up with what they call it, I guess, pu leather, which is essentially like either a vegan leather or like a polyurethane.
Those not always, like the greatest. I mean, you can make it work. But yeah, when you have like a nice buttery, smooth leather, like, there's nothing like that. It's just. Yeah, your letters will look amazing on it.
[00:17:24] Speaker A: Amazing. And you do hot foiling on those, did you say?
[00:17:26] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can do hot foiling or you can deboss it, which is basically using that heat tool without the foil. And it kind of brands the leather. So that's like a really. Almost like it looks like the. Similar to like wood burning, basically. It has a very similar look. So you could do either way, either the foiling or debossing. And. Yeah, it looks really nice.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: Wow. Is there anything that you don't let her on? It sounds like incredible because you do. You do windows and mirrors and all sorts of different things. And I've done mirrors before and they're really hard to do. Right. Because you've got the reflection back and any moment. The same with windows slightly because there's a, there's two surfaces, isn't there? So it's sort of like, you know, the second you move one angle of your head, you've got a different. Yeah. Perspective.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: No, yeah, you're absolutely right. And not all mirrors are the same. Some do have more of that reflective.
Not like the same like reflection, like in terms of mirror, but the glass will give you sort of that double paned effect that you're kind of talking about.
I noticed that with like a lot of like antique mirrors. So I've had like clients like will bring antique mirrors for me to let her on, which is great. Great. I love doing that. But yeah, you get that double paned perspective. And it can be really tricky getting, you know, your letters just right. So I am. Grid lines, guidelines. Those are, those are my training wheels. Like I, I need those, especially if I'm doing signage.
[00:18:50] Speaker A: Yeah. And is that, do you. Are you using like a chalk pen or a chalk on the. Because it's. You've got to have it super fine. Right?
[00:18:58] Speaker B: Yeah. I use a Stabilo pencil is what it's called. And they're great because you can get them in red, white and black and they work on just about surface.
And they write really well on glass, which is nice. And it kind of has like, sort of like a waxy kind of feel to it. But what's really nice is that if you use like an oil based paint pen, like a Sharpie paint pen, when you wipe away the, the, the Stabilo marks, it won't wipe away your oil based marker.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: Amazing. But then if somebody wanted to change what was on the mirror, they can then wipe off the paint pen with like a window cleaning.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, exactly. Like a Windex or acetone nail polish. Those usually work. Well, occasionally you might need to use something like a coconut oil. Believe it or not, it's really good.
[00:19:49] Speaker A: For removing coconut oil. I've also recently heard about with the pointed nib and ink that you can clean the nibs with potatoes, which I hadn't heard about. This is the sort of stuff that we need to spread the word about.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: These kind of tips like that I geek out on them so much like. And there'll be things like I'll be practicing sing and I'm like, oh my God, I just figured out something and I'm like, oh, I need to like tell somebody about this tip. Like a really big deal.
[00:20:15] Speaker A: Yeah, always Tell me, tell me and we'll fit it into the podcast somehow.
No, it's great. And I think when you're using so many tools, so many different on different materials and different surfaces, I mean, there's some. At some point you probably get so used to working with different things that it becomes, you know, second nature. But I think when you're trying lots of different things and you're coming back to them, or you'll get clients that book in with you, and then, you know, maybe you don't do the kind of windows for a long time or you don't do that kind of surface for a long time, and then you've got to come back to it and it's all sort of.
It's remembering all these little tips and tricks, isn't it? And having them up your sleeve.
And I think that's a really interesting thing to mention because I know I've spoken to a few calligraphers as well who experience lots of ADHD traits. And, and I think when you really struggle with some of those things, having something like calligraphy can maybe just calm your mind down a little bit.
[00:21:23] Speaker B: Absolutely. I found for me, it's been obviously very meditative and it's a great way to slow down and calm down my brain. I'm like, I think just like a lot of women in general have like a million tabs open and it can be, you know, ADHD is one of those things where it's hard to focus, but also you want to hyper focus too. And so having like having a hobby or having an art skill that you really enjoy allows you to hyper focus into something that you really enjoy, which is like the great side of things. On the other side, it. It's really nice because it does sort of take you away from the stress of, you know, day to day life. And you're focusing on those individual letter forms, you're focusing on tiny little strokes. And, you know, I've worked in like, very high pressure jobs and very high pressure corporate situations where, you know, you're. You have to make a ton of decisions and you've got to move really fast. And it.
Calligraphy has been so helpful for me to sort of decompress from the stresses of the day. And the other thing I want to say is that one of the reasons why I think I was really drawn to calligraphy is that to me, it is the most approachable fine art form because everybody knows how to write, everybody knows how to hold a pen, and everyone knows how to write letters. Now you Don't. You may not have great handwriting, you may have horrible handwriting, but you know how to write letters. You know how to write words I don't like. I'm not a very good drawer, and I have to practice drawing over and over for it to, like, really stick for me. And obviously you have to practice calligraphy to get really good at it, but I just find that it's so approachable. And it's one of those things that, like, when people say, oh, I'm not creative, start with calligraphy, because I guarantee you actually are creative, start with calligraphy because it's not, to me, as intimidating as some other type of fine art forms.
[00:23:13] Speaker A: I totally agree.
Oh, my God, this feels like it could be a whole nother episode.
I totally agree. And I was thinking about this earlier today. I do a little bit of watercolor. I try and create other art things, but I stare at a blank piece of paper. I've got 300 ideas, and I just think, I don't know which one I'm going to do and which style I'm going to do. And is the leaf going to be this green or that green? And it's sort of slightly overwhelming. And I don't.
I can't get onto paper the whole picture of what I want to do when it. There isn't like a format to it. Whereas with calligraphy, there is, you know, the foundations, the. You you're building, you're writing words, you're creating words, you're constructing them out of these rules, and then you can get creative from there. Right?
Yeah, it removes a lot of that overthinking and overwhelm, I think that lots of people suffer with.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: That's a really great way to put it. It does remove a lot of that overthinking. And even if you're struggling with, like, what do I start writing? Just write your name Start.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:24:18] Speaker B: Always build on from there. But, yeah, that's a really great point.
[00:24:22] Speaker A: And our theme for this series is all around community. Community. And I know that not only do you support other calligraphers to kind of level up their business with resources, but you're also a big part of the calligraphers of color community that we've got fellow calligrapher Amanda Reed started, who was. It was all about highlighting more diversity within the calligraphy world. Right. Can you tell us a little bit more about the community? Because you've got quite a strong part to play in it.
[00:24:51] Speaker B: Yes. So big shout out to Amanda Reed, who started Calligraphers of Color and started the community.
It's been a really great way to connect with other calligraphers from different backgrounds. And a couple years ago, I want to see. It was like, two years ago, we updated the website, so we have a really great website.
And then we also have a black calligraphers directory. So Amanda was getting contacted from different brands who, you know, especially coming out of, like, the Black Lives Matter protest, you know, wanted to diversify their suppliers and vendors. And so she started the black Calligraphers directory, which is, like, a really great opportunity to share that with brands who, you know, specifically are looking for black and brown artists to partner with. So, yeah, it's been wonderful to be part of this community, and it's. It's really cool because it's a great way to get introduced to calligraphers and artists who you might not necessarily know about, especially if they have, like, smaller, you know, smaller followings on Instagram, but have a lot of talent. So it's really great way to, you know, get to meet other people and just, you know, know that there's people who look like you who are also doing this type of work. So it's been really wonderful, 100%.
[00:26:05] Speaker A: And I know, you know, when you start exploring all these different areas, especially when you've got maybe more traditional societies or maybe people of older generations, which may not be kind of representative of the. The actual diverse kind of artists that are out there. And I think it's really great that there are these platforms, and hopefully it's giving a little bit more awareness and bringing those people through.
But also it's. It's another community, isn't it? It's another space where we're, you know, it can be supporting each other and you can be sharing all these geeky, lovely things about how to do things, but. Yeah, exactly. It's. It. It's the same as when you're on, you know, Instagram and finding other people who do maybe things that you're interested in or maybe do things that you haven't learned before. And it's following those people who aren't just, you know, the huge numbers, but maybe doing something with great talent. And that's the great thing about Instagram as well, isn't it? It's got such a visual side and you can get to connect with these people.
No, that's. That's great. And it's. It's a brilliant platform. And I've been on the website and it's. It's great because you've got A lovely directory and you can kind of see where everybody's from. And there's a huge selection of lots of different people. So, yeah, hopefully that's g.
Lots of.
Lots of people. More options, I think.
[00:27:36] Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah. It's, it really is like just so great. And you know, I, growing up, I, you know, I'm a light skinned black woman. And so growing up I went to schools that were predominantly white. And I remember being like a little kid in school and I would like count the other like black kids, you know, and usually I could count on one hand like how many other black kids were in the school. And so I kind of felt that way when I entered the calligraphy community. You know, I was seeing a lot of, you know, either white artists or I was seeing a lot of like, Asian artists, but I wasn't seeing a lot of black artists. I wasn't seeing a lot of Latino artists. And so it's been really great, you know, for. Especially for Amanda to have had this brainstorm to, you know, create calligraphers of color and bring it to fruition and make it into something that has become just this very multiethnic and wonderful community where we can, you know, get to know each other and, you know, applaud one another and see that there is so much diversity in our industry. So I, you know, it feels very personal to me, obviously, but it's just really been so great seeing like, how many people have also embraced the community.
[00:28:44] Speaker A: Yeah, that's great, that's great. And, and hopefully much more of it. And I think as well, it's, it's having those people championing, championing this because it's a lot of work just getting the website and between you all, you've got things running in the background and it's, it takes time and it takes effort and it's incredible to have people doing all this work. So, yeah, it's a great space. People should go and check it out. You also have a new course as well, beyond the Nib. So can you tell us a little bit about that?
[00:29:19] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So I guess I should start by saying that, you know, I have a deep marketing background. I've worked in corporate marketing for 18, 19 years. Actually.
I'm aging myself and I started doing, doing social media for brands in 2010. So like, literally, like the infancy of social media, you know, Instagram was just becoming a thing at that point.
And so I had built my career doing, you know, marketing and social media and started applying like, what I was learning through work and through the Campaigns that I was supporting, started applying that into my business and really started seeing results. Especially in 2023 and 2024, I got promoted at work, which was a great opportunity, but it also meant I did not have as much time or frankly energy to devote to like growing and scaling my business. But I wanted to keep doing these live events, like I absolutely love doing them. And so I really leaned into actually building out the SEO on my website, just building, building up my brand presence too. I did like a brand photo shoot for the first time.
I updated my website and then, and then focused on SEO and that those things along with like just really focusing on like what my brand messaging was and then also doing some networking kind of on the back end of things, those things have really helped sort of catapult my business. So that in 2023 and 24, you know, when I was frankly very stressed out in my new role as like a new people leader and in my new promotion, I didn't have to worry about growing my business business. My business was passively growing with me barely doing, you know, anything to maintain it. So I've seen how marketing and developing, doing business development like strategically can work for your business. And you know, people would reach out and ask me questions and for a little while I was doing like one on one, sort of like coaching sessions, like more like strategy sessions.
But I just didn't, I didn't really have the time to devote to doing it, like continue doing one on one. So I didn't really actively promote it. Like people would occasionally be like, maria was on your website and I saw you had this like hidden thing. I know, like, well, here, let's have a conversation but don't tell anyone about it because I don't have time to like do it one on one for everything.
And so many people be like, you should come out with a course, you should do a course, you should do a course. And so I left my job last year and really want to just kind of, kind of take my time to like figure out what I want this course to be.
Because marketing is a huge world. Like there are courses about very individual things. You know, within marketing, there's courses just about Instagram, not even like social media, just Instagram. There's courses that are just about SEO. And so I really wanted to take my time to figure out, okay, what, what is the most important information and impactful information that I can put in the course that's also not going to overwhelm people because I am very, very prone to burnout. I have adhd.
I struggle with an.
Obviously I want to continue growing my business, but it can feel very daunting if you feel like, oh, I've got to be on this channel and I've got to be posting this and I have to have an email newsletter and I have to, yeah, it's a lot. And so I built the course with very specific information that is very easily. You can easily apply to your business and you can pick and choose. You don't have to do everything all at once. You can just focus on, okay, I'm going to take what I've learned in this lesson and I'm going to apply it.
And then once you're ready, you can come back to a different lesson and you can take that information and apply it. So this isn't like a sprint, it is a marathon. This is long term.
And so it's built with sustainability, sustainability in mind for. For my students.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: That's great. And, and I presume aiming it at.
[00:33:08] Speaker B: Calligraphers or I guess calligraphers and live events artists. Yeah, yeah, I'm a calligrapher, so that's what I kind of focus on the most. But I know there's a lot of people who do like bottle painting and fashion ill and other live art. I had somebody who does embroidery reach out to me and she does it for live events, which is really cool. So I focus. I say I use calligraphy as like a reference point, but, you know, it's for live event artists. You don't have to be a calligrapher to. To do the course. It's not as much focused on weddings. It's really focused on like, brand and like corporate events and, you know, if you want to grow that side of your business.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: Yeah, amazing. So that, that course is going to be up on your website and if you're following Marie, then you'll see hopefully lots of lovely stuff on Instagram and we can share things as well. So.
Well, I just want to say a huge thank you for joining me today because it has been an absolute delight meeting you and especially I think you were one of the very first calligraphers when I started my calligraphy journey that I followed. And so I know, well, we're all sitting there, right, thinking, what.
But it's, it's. This is what it's all about. It's about inspiring other people and hearing other people's journeys and just getting to. To meet fellow calligraphers and fellow letter lovers in whatever, in whatever way that comes out. So yeah. Thank you so much. And to find out more about Marie, we're going to put the website up, but it's Made in September. Maiden.
[00:34:46] Speaker B: Yes, like a single woman. M A I D E N Made.
[00:34:51] Speaker A: In September dot com. But it's also your, your Instagram handle as well, so you can find it there. And we'll put everything in the, in the show notes.
You're on LinkedIn as well, which is a great place to be, I presume, when you're doing live events and brands and things like that. So.
But yeah, such a pleasure.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: Thank you so much, Laura, thank you so much. And thank you for creating this place for us to gather and geek out and nerd out talking about all things calligraphy and letters like there just aren't enough, you know, opportunities for us to learn from one another. And so I feel really grateful that you have created this format and I hope everybody enjoys these conversations. I certainly have been.
[00:35:30] Speaker A: Oh, thank you, Marie.
Thank you so much for listening. If you're enjoying the podcast, please subscribe, leave a review or share it with a fellow lettering enthusiast. Enthusiast. And for all the details to connect with us, check out the show notes. A huge thank you to my producer, Heidi Cullop, for ensuring this podcast reached your ears. And finally, to all the guests featured in this series. Go check them out.
