photo by Jen Huang
Karla Lim of Written Word Calligraphy has graced the wedding world with her uniquely styled hand calligraphy in the form of
Custom Wedding invitations, Semi-Custom Wedding Invitations, and Personalized Stationery (just to name a few of her offerings!). In addition, she offers her talents to aspiring calligraphers in the form of workshops and calligraphy tools to get you started! To see the full range of Karla's offerings, visit Written Word Calligraphy.
Tell us a little bit more about yourself and your path to finding calligraphy as an art form? What other kinds of art do you find interest in?
Hi, my name is Karla, and I'm the owner and founder of Written Word Calligraphy and Design. As a young child, I was very interested in drawing, sketching and painting. I loved working with my hands and learning all sorts of crafts. I personally enjoyed varying my letterforms throughout my childhood. When modern calligraphy came along, I was immediately interested and picked up the pen and started learning. I also enjoy acrylic and watercolor painting, sketching, pottery, playing the piano.
Written Word is more than just handwritten calligraphy. We’re so inspired by the many different aspects of your business. Tell us a little bit more about the different areas we can experience through your company. What came first, and how did you decide to branch out?
Written Word started off with prints and day-of details for weddings like signage and place cards. Then, my wedding clients decided that they wanted a cohesive look starting from the beginning, such as save the dates and wedding invitations. From the wedding invitations, we continued to refine our process by introducing semi-custom invitations alongside our custom invitations offering, as our portfolio expanded and people wanted more of the same style. More and more people wanted to learn about calligraphy so we started teaching calligraphy through workshops. With that in mind, we expanded our product line to include wax seals, calligraphy practice pads, and calligraphy pens.
What tools do you use to help you stay organized?
My email inbox, calendar, and planner/notebook, and a series of online applications to ensure everything is moving along smoothly.
Tell us about your day to day operations? Do you have a team and if so what are their roles?
I start my day by checking through my to-do list created the day prior, work on my email list, then get to working. My team consists of my studio manager and an operations assistant. My studio manager works primarily on our inquiry inbox and deals with our semi-custom invitation clients, and my operations assistant works on getting all of our orders out in a timely manner. Both help me during assembly of invitations. I work on the strategy for our business, custom clients, and dealing with escalations and new product developments.
You created a digital font inspired by your signature lettering style for Rare Bird Fonts. Tell us more about this collaboration process. Do you anticipate making any more digital fonts in the future?
Working with Rare Bird Fonts was amazing, I would absolutely love to create more in the future.
Being a business owner and mom must have its challenges. What's your magic recipe to balancing your work and family life?
I don't have a magic recipe at all! I just work when I can, and I have help some days in the week, and that's when I work. I've learned to accept that being a mom is 24/7, and in this crucial time, I have to pause my career trajectory to focus on my family until my little one is a little bit more independent and going to school.
We are honored to carry the beautifully illustrated BOTANICAL WAX SEALS by Written Word Calligraphy! Wax seals are a wonderful way to seal your wedding invitations, thank you cards, party invitations, Birthday cards, or a handwritten letter to your special friend!
For larger projects, we have you covered with the
Written Word Calligraphy Glue Gun Sealing Wax.
And for the aspiring calligrapher, check out the
DUAL PURPOSE PENS by Written Word Calligraphy.
