Let’s Talk About Calligraphers! This Week’s Vendor Spotlight focuses on Julia Kay Calligraphy- a Calligrapher (who focuses on invitations & more) local to Pennsylvania that has been working with clients since 2018. She is an LGBTQ+ inclusive business which makes me only love her more!
When I spoke to Julia earlier this week she was kind enough to shed some light on her business & what you as a client can expect from her if you decide to book with JKC.
Tell me a little bit about you & your business!
My name is Julia + I started Julia Kay Calligraphy in November of 2018! It wasn’t until March 2019 that I actually became a real business though. I started out creating day-of signage for weddings + events because lettering was my true talent which is where the name Julia Kay Calligraphy comes from. I didn’t stick with signs very long because I realized I wanted to learn how to design wedding invitations!
Fast forward to January 2020 and I had booked my first 3 custom invitation clients. My business grew tremendously in 2020 and when the pandemic began I realized I needed a shift in my business if I was going to survive. I decided to create a product line of greeting cards, stickers, + art prints to keep me afloat during Covid-19.
Now in 2021, I recently launched pre-designed invitation suites for brides who are looking for affordable + high quality wedding invitations. Launching this collection was HUGE for me and my business because it’s important for me to be able to work with all couples no matter their budget!
Tell me about your newest products
The Julia Kay Calligraphy Invitation Shop is my newest release + was launched on January 5th! This Invitation Shop features 10 pre-designed, high quality, eco-friendly, 5-piece wedding invitation suites.
Each invitation suite comes with an invitation card, details card, rsvp card, outer guest envelope + return rsvp envelope. All invitation suites can be easily ordered right from my website but what’s different from other websites + companies is what happens after you place your order.
After you order, you work directly one-on-one with me to ensure that your invitations are everything you’ve dreamed of! You can even decide to have the color scheme of any invitation suite changed to your wedding colors. I design your invites + then email you digital proofs to review and approve before anything goes to print.
It’s really an unique + fun process which is exactly what I want my clients to experience. You essentially get the opportunity to work with a professional invitation designer but at a very reasonable + affordable price.
When do you suggest couples book you for their wedding?
If a client is interested in fully custom invitations I recommend booking 6-8 months prior to your wedding. For a client interested in purchasing a suite from my Invitation Shop, I recommend doing so at least a month before you’d like to send your invitations out.
What is the average investment for your wedding clients?
Fully custom invitation suites range from $1,000-$3,000 for 100 invitation suites. Invitations from my Invitation Shop range from $310-$405 for 100 invitation suites.
Do you offer other services aside from wedding invitations?
Yes! My two biggest services are envelope addressing + custom watercolor bouquet art prints.
For envelope addressing, you book me to take care of your envelope addressing in which case you simply just mail your envelopes to me, provide me with your address list + I beautifully write your addresses in calligraphy!
However, for custom watercolor bouquets, you provide me with a photo of your wedding bouquet + I create it into a beautiful watercolor art print for you!
Finally, for envelope addressing booking, there is an inquiry form on my website and for watercolor bouquets, you can purchase them directly in my website shop!
What is something that isn’t common knowledge about calligraphy/invitations & your industry?
PRICING! Almost every calligrapher gets scared sending clients pricing because so many clients are scared away when we send pricing. A lot of people assume “Oh, it’s just hand lettering it can’t be that hard”. But no one truly knows, except the artist, how much time and materials go into a single piece.
When you ask for pricing from a calligrapher or designer, you need to realize that the pricing they are providing you is what they have decided their work and time is worth and honestly that shouldn’t be questioned.
The prices they provide you are for their education, their experience, the money they’ve put into courses + classes to learn everything they know, their expertise + knowledge, their design skills, their eye for detail, their materials, their time, and so so much more.
Thank you so much Julia!
Interested in learning more about what Julia has to offer? Please check out her website below:
Julia Kay Calligraphy Website
Instagram
Facebook
Until then- check out a few of her favorite sets below!
Our First Vendor Spotlight focused on Taryn Blake Events and you can find that here!
