We recently connected with Kelly Frega and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Initially, I did not come up with this idea myself! I had never even considered starting a calligraphy business, until a friend of mine suggested it after I hand addressed her wedding invitations. I had hand addressed my own invitations and place cards as well, a few years before. She was so encouraging and made me feel as if I could really succeed at this. After some thought and a lot of pressure and help from friends, I started a Yelp account and a Facebook business page. I had a few calls here and there. I was a little serious about it, but honestly, didn’t exactly know the steps to really get myself out there. I was fortunate enough a few years after to take some private lessons to help improve my skills, which I knew deep down I could definitely use! (Practice makes perfect) Then Covid hit. I had some time to do some research and decided to invest in a hand engraver. Best decision I could have made. I started to get really serious. I started to believe that I could actually maybe make a go of this. I took some more courses to improve my skills, and things started happening. People loved the hand engraving. I then took a calligraphy business course and decided to become an LLC. My best friend set up my website for me (I’ll be honest I’m not computer savvy) and things have taken off! I then realized that everything was starting to come together and that I could do this by offering hand calligraphy and hand engraving.

Kelly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I work part time at a local hospital in my area as a Radiologic Technologist. I graduated in 2006 and have been in the field for quite some time. I went to Baptist school as a child and in middle school, where they had us do calligraphy from time to time. In high school I took a class called creative writing, which, to my dismay, they no longer offer in schools. I picked up calligraphy again in this class and it was so different to me as an adult. I loved it! After high school, life became busy, and I didn’t pick up my pens again until I was getting married. I still had my original pen I purchased in high school, and I used it to hand address 200 of my own invitations and place cards. I was so proud of myself that I was able to do this art still after all those years! Now, years later, I offer so much more than just invitations and place cards. I work with customers to help them figure out exactly how they want to design all the special details. In addition to that, I offer hand engraving on just about any surface you can think of, and I also do live calligraphy and hand engraving events.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I treat each one of my customers not as just a customer, but as a friend. I truly enjoy what I do and the fact that they chose me to help them achieve all the details that they dream of is an honor to me. I keep in touch with many people I have worked with over the years and have come to discover that a majority of my business is now word of mouth. That is amazing to me, and it also tells me that I have left a good impression on them.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started with a Yelp account and a Facebook business page. Years later, I added the Instagram account and now a formal website which showcases my work. Instagram is a GREAT way to market yourself and get your name out there. I have made some amazing friends on there who have helped me in so many ways. The calligraphy and engraving community are such an amazing group of people. I feel so blessed to be a part of it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.calligraphychik.com
• Facebook: Calligraphy by Kelly