FEATURE FRIDAY
With a strong adoration and admiration for the wedding industry and all that it inspires, Claire White loves to create handwritten memories that her clients will cherish for a lifetime.
Claire is a rare Nashville native, and grew up in the Brentwood/Crieve Hall area. "Go ahead, call me a unicorn," Claire exclaimed. She practiced calligraphy for four years before starting White Ink Calligraphy just over a year ago.
"Four years ago, I took an Intro to Modern Calligraphy class, and the rest just fell into place," Claire said. "I put my practice sheets and work on social media, and slowly started picking up clients here and there - starting off with my closest friends, of course!"
We first started working with Claire in 2016. As an esteemed calligrapher, she has helped us set the tone with beautiful calligraphed invitation suites and original custom pieces, ensuring no detail is overlooked and with flawless execution. With whimsical handwritten text in a variety of styles, themes, colors and textures, Claire exceeds her clients expectations every time. We caught up with Claire for our February Feature Friday.
What's your favorite part about your job?
The people I get to work with! The couples that hire me, the planners I get to work alongside of, and all the other creatives in the wedding industry. Other wedding professionals are truly inspiring when it comes to their trade or skill.
There’s nothing like the excitement of a bride seeing all the pieces of her wedding come together – and most of the time that starts with the calligraphed paper goods. Getting to be a small part of one's wedding day makes my heart smile.
What are some of your favorite custom pieces that you've made?
I’m a huge fan for creative seating charts or displays. My favorite chart to date would be the one I did for an Infinity wedding at The Bridge Building! The Event Specialist, Brittany O., provided me with an inspiration photo. I had the wood cut, and I personally sanded and stained the pieces. I found the vinyl records at a local shop in East Nashville, spray painted them (sorry!), and installed them onto the wood after lettering the names for each table on each individual record. I hand painted the title and then put the individual guitar picks (which were the food indicators) next to each name. I’m also a huge fan of any calligraphy on a mirror!
Furthermore, I love vows! The first wedding anniversary gift is paper – so I absolutely love it when my clients reach out to me to have their vows handwritten for framing. It makes the sweetest gift and is something you’ll cherish forever.
What's a fun fact about calligraphy that most people don't know?
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s fiancé, used to be a freelance wedding calligrapher!
Do you have a favorite color that you like to use?
I have super eclectic taste, so my color palette is all over the place. However, a light color ink on a dark envelope is always a favorite of mine – even though it doesn’t make the post office too happy!
Any advice for aspiring calligraphers?
Practice not only makes perfect; but the more you practice, the more of a distinct style you’ll develop. Not all lettering is the same, and calligraphy is an art. You want clients to look at your work and know it is yours!
More by White Ink Calligraphy:
Stay tuned for Claire White's guest post next Friday on the blog!
