We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Priyanka Goyal. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Priyanka below.

Alright, Priyanka thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

I’m blessed to have wonderful heroes in my life. My parents and teachers have always played a significant role in my creative journey. My parents have always supported me in my choices in my career and I truly feel blessed for their encouragement all through. I’ve had amazing teachers who helped me reach where I am today. Fast-forward to the time when I met Ms. Ajab (@calligraphyquill on Instagram). And just like her name, she’s truly incredible! For me, she became my angel in helping me come this far. I met her as an attendee at one of her workshops, I really didn’t know back then, that this actually was a start of a beautiful journey ahead, full of new learnings, new acquaintances, new projects, and finding a new me as a calligrapher and much more. The day I met her, I was the first one to arrive at the workshop venue, those memories are so very fresh still. I grew quite inquisitive about calligraphy, seeing her scribe the place cards for all the attendees. We had a long discussion regarding calligraphy and the best part was knowing about her journey of transitioning from doing calligraphy as a side hustle to becoming a full-time calligrapher. There were not just career suggestions in there but also the decisions she took then which later on inspired and helped me in my journey…Thank you so much Ajab Di! (I fondly call her ‘Di’, which simply refers to ‘Big Sister’) Regarding learning, I learned a lot from her…from placing the nib rightly in the holder to scribing words in calligraphy. My favorite of all is learning Spencerian Script from her…She’s not only a wonderful calligrapher but an adorable person too and all the more amazing at doing calligraphy commercially. I learned how to do calligraphy commercially from her…and took forward these beautiful strokes to help people convey their thoughts to their dear ones in a personalized way…

And she was the one who initially told me to take one more step ahead and share this beautiful art with others by teaching this, passing on the legacy which I received so very lovingly from her…

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Hi there! Greetings…
I am Priyanka. I’m a Calligrapher & Graphic Designer, based in Chandigarh, India.
I specialize in ink on paper and digital calligraphy, for various occasions like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, corporate events and designing layouts & designs for wedding invitations, business logos, brand identity, all sorts of gifting, customized and personal commissions. I Love Scribing and Designing to Create an Experience! Getting a sweet taste of scribing beautiful letters by hand from a summer vacation workshop, I started Calligraphy merely as a hobby bringing me here today at willingly opting to do it professionally! And the journey all through has been really worth it!
In today’s digital era. when everyone is busy typing messages and giving printed cards to their loved one’s, getting all those emotions expressed via hand scribed notes and letters still holds a very special place, adding to those feelings of warmth and love with a whole lot of personalization.

My Story:
I knew Calligraphy just as an art of beautiful writing until I attended a calligraphy workshop back in my school days. I made new friends with ink and nibs. Further pursuing Graphic Design professionally, I came back to it for my projects. And, who knew I will form such a special bond with this hobby of mine! I didn’t even think back then, that Calligraphy would become so special for me! Doing calligraphy has always been my me time, when I’m present in that very moment wholly…Being a Graphic Designer has always been a passion for me, something which gives me new reasons everyday to see the world differently and aesthetically.

One fine day, when I was working as a Graphic Designer at Creative Gaga (a well known magazine company), I thought how magical would it be to combine both my Calligraphy & my passion! I didn’t think about it much then, but the seed was sown. And later in March 2019, I thought of giving this a name and pursuing it with the whole of me, and thus Priyanka CalliDesigns was born…’Calli’ for ‘Calligraphy’ and ‘Designs’ for ‘Graphic Design’, all under one roof! My Work has never been merely work for me, its my passion…something which drives me everyday to give in whole of my heart & soul in whatever I create. And I aspire to share this magic and passion of mine by scribing your thoughts, your words and bringing them to life. Let’s Bring the Warmth of Handmade back! Let’s Bring Personal Back!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

In today’s Digital Era, when everyone is busy typing messages and giving printed cards to their loved ones, those personalized feelings have got lost somewhere, it’s like many are passing on the same things to their dear ones. That feeling of getting something unique, taking out time from our busy lives, and making something that is customized only for our dear ones is so very rare. I feel so very blessed to be an artist, a creative that I can express thoughts in a different way. I think hand-scribed notes and letters or anything handmade still holds a very special place in everyone’s heart, adding to those feelings of warmth and love with a whole lot of personalization. That ear-to-ear smile and that feeling of being just so very special to someone is something which is desired by everyone, may it be the giver or may it be the receiver. And for me, playing that small role of creating something unique for their special one, in one’s story, is the most special, in fact, the best part of my work…

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Long back, when I got attracted to Calligraphy, I bought the available tools and scribed with them. But, I was not able to get even close to what I was seeing people creating with them. When I attended Ajab Di’s workshop, then I understood I was doing it totally wrong. The biggest realization was that I had been placing the nib in the holder itself wrongly and further the pressure putting and releasing was all wrong. And it took me one whole year to unlearn that, by much practice and her dedicated guidance. Even today, when I think back on that time, it surely brings a smile to my face that at least I got the guidance and was able to correct it, otherwise, I don’t know when would’ve I realized that! But the most important lesson in this was that one should surely ask an experienced person for the right tools, from where to buy, and before trying, the best is to learn from an experienced person. That’ll not only help you purchase the right tools, save money and above all, save you from spending time unlearning the wrong and will help you progress faster and learn better.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/priyankacallidesigns/?hl=en
• Other: Behance: https://www.behance.net/priyankagoyal

Image Credits
Image credits to all the photographers as mentioned in my respective Instagram posts.