If you're in the wedding industry, I know you've heard of Laura Hooper Calligraphy. If you haven't, I don't know where you've been. Laura Hooper is the super-talented & very sweet calligrapher, whose work I am almost certain you've seen. She does more than just calligraphy. She also custom designs maps, invitations, envelopes, and seriously anything you can add a personal touch to by writing on them. She is the walking, talking, & breathing definition of adding "some tradition with a modern twist". I can gawk at her work, and try to emulate it (keyword being try), but not just anyone can do what she does.
If you haven't done so already, hurry up & vote for Laura for My Fox LA's hot list! Voting ends on Friday, November 6th! I voted already!
How long have you been doing wedding & event calligraphy as a business? What motivated you to start your business? Since 2002 – I started with calligraphy only when I was “hired” by my best friend to do her wedding invitations. My writing was pretty poor back then compared to now but we thought they looked nice!
I’m assuming you didn’t grow up knowing you were going to do this for a living, what did you want to be when you grew up? Growing up I wanted to be a businesswoman. I was pretty vague about what type of business though! When I was in first grade I wanted to own a donut shop and there was a minute where I wanted to be a doctor.
How did you fall into this profession? Did you always have nice writing as a child? Yes I did have nice writing – I used to doodle in my school notebooks and use different handwritten fonts when I took notes in my classes.
How did you get to where you’re at with your penmanship? What did/do you doodle/write to “practice”? I got to where I am with a ton of practice. Doing hundreds of envelopes a week is plenty of practice. I like to think I’ve gotten better with each client that goes by because of it. I know my scripts have definitely evolved over the years as well.
Where do you get inspiration for your scripts? Do you base it on your favorite typography? Usually from my clients. If a client sends a script they love but not one I currently offer as standard I will try to match it as best I can. So yes, my scripts are mostly based on typography, and some of them such as Rosen and Ella are my interpretation of other fonts that I have made my own
Which is the most time consuming script you provide? Any of the Tier 3 scripts (Bickham Swash, Allegro, Spencerian are all pretty time-consuming, and even painful when doing them repetitiously.
Which script is so easy you can do with your eyes closed? Italic, so I don’t like to do it very often, it’s not my favorite.
What do you love most about your job? Making my own hours and not having a boss.
What do you hate most about your job? {I'm assuming hand cramps} Hand cramps aren’t too bad -- I’m pretty much used to the amount of writing I do so it’s not too terrible.I don’t usually hate my job until I go on vacation and there is some fire I have to put out at the office. Usually this will take place on a cruise ship in the Caribbean or in a beautiful Island in Hawaii, where work is the last thing on my mind. It’s hard when you own your own business because work never ends. Meaning, if you have an office job, you get to walk away at 5pm and not think about it until 8am the next day. I get emails at 3am and sometimes I even respond to them! I work weekends, holidays, even my birthday and when I am sick because if a job is due I have to get it done on time – and because it’s all hand-done, there is no one to fill in for me.
What is the strangest thing you have had to write on? Lots of things – glass, wood, bamboo, silk…
How would you describe your style? Traditional, with a modern twist.
Where do you get your inspiration? For my invitations, primarily from nature or architecture.
When you’re not writing, scripting, or creating your fab masterpieces, what could someone expect to see you doing? Going out with friends, painting, traveling, or golfing.
If you were a color palette, you would most likely be... aqua and chocolate brown with a splash of fuchsia.
If you were one of your fonts, you would be... Ella in Tier 2 - - it's fun & sassy!
What advice would you give a couple interested in hiring a calligrapher for their next event? I would recommend that anyone hiring a calligrapher be sure to familiarize themselves with all the calligrapher's policies so their order can be completed efficiently and beautifully. And with any vendor, be sure to read your contracts!
