Mentoring for Stationers and Calligraphers

I know first hand how easy it is to fall head over heels in love with stationery – whether it’s the hot foil, embossing and textural delights of letterpress, or the intricate inky flourishes of hand drawn modern calligraphy. However, going from beloved hobby to successful career takes much more than design skill and ability with a nib. If you’re looking to start your own stationery business, or you want to take a fledgling side-hustle to the next level, I can help.

Ink & Paper was born in 2018, and is now a thriving letterpress and calligraphy business in both wedding stationery and workshops for engaged couples and private clients. I’ve learned an enormous amount since launching the business, and have made a fair few mistakes along the way, too. Something that particularly helped me in the early stages of my business journey was the opportunity to invest in the expertise of other talented artisans and artists in my industry who were further down the road, and to soak up as much information as I possibly could from them.

Now it’s my turn to offer what I’ve learned up to you, to help you avoid potential pitfalls and get the best possible grounding as a professional stationer.

How can I help?

I’m offering a series of 1:1 mentoring sessions each month, tailored to your needs. We’ll focus on the areas you’re struggling with, and I’ll give you some focused and concrete next steps to help you push your business forward after our sessions together.

There’s not a prescriptive syllabus here – what we cover depends on your unique set of circumstances. But, below is a selection of the sorts of areas I can help you with:

• Identifying and finding your ideal client

• Streamlining processes & workflow

• Effective client communication

• Costing for stationery and calligraphy, and selling without the ick factor

• What printing press to buy if you are thinking of branching out into Letterpress

• Prepping artwork for letterpress and creating plates

• Reviewing your website/portfolio

• Honing your business mindset

• Goal setting effectively

• Upping your visibility with social media, Pinterest & blogging

• Networking and wedding fairs

Ok, I’m interested.
So, how will the sessions work?

I have four 1:1 90 min sessions available every month

Sessions are by appointment at a mutually convenient time

• Each session will focus on helping you to take the next steps in making your business both more profitable and more enjoyable to run.

• They will take place either in person in my West London studio over tea and biscuits or online via Zoom/Skype.

• We will have a 15min chat on the phone beforehand to pinpoint the key areas you need help in.

Each session costs £150.00.

I have one FULL DAY session available every month

These intensive day long sessions are spent in my West London studio, and serve as a mix of practical tuition to hone your technique, and business mentoring to help you keep the rest of those vital plates spinning with panache.

These sessions are tailored exactly to suit your requirements, however an example day could look like this:

We typically spend the morning getting hands on in the studio. We’ll tackle examples of letterpress printing on both my tabletop Adana presses and workhorse 1930’s Vicobold (he’s called The Beast, you’re going to love him!). We’ll cover how to typeset, sourcing type and presses, hand-mixing inks, plate creation and press maintenance. I also share my preferred suppliers and explain the different paper types for printing on and their benefits.

We then spend the second half of the day looking at areas such as social media, marketing and self-promotion, client liaison and any other areas you feel you need a helping hand in.

The sessions are tailored and adapted to best suit your requirements and where you are on your business journey.

Each full day session is £750, with lunch included.

Get booked in!

Booking is easy: just fill in the form below and I will get back to you within 48 hours.