Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leah Brower. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Leah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s one of the most important lessons you learned in school?

As a full-time calligrapher, I am often asked I if I went to school for art and while I did go to a liberal arts school, I didn’t take any art classes. Instead I pursued my undergrad in their psychology program and went on to their grad school for my masters in counseling and human development. In the last 8 years of owning my small business I have learned that it is just as important to understand people as it is to understand the art of calligraphy. I am constantly in communication with such a wide array of individuals at different phases of their lives looking to use my services for their event. This includes first time brides, second time brides, mother of brides, wedding planners, venue managers, a sister throwing a shower, a company rep planning a corporate party, a retail store manager interested in my services for their next marketing event, etc. The things I learned in school about understanding people has helped me tremendously in the communication side of my business which ultimately helps me to fulfill my client’s vision or execute a seamless installation.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I originally started LeahLetters as a creative outlet for something I loved to do, lettering. In the beginning, my client’s mainly consisted of friends and family and they would provide the surface (envelopes, place cards, mirrors, chIalkboards) because I offered only the service of calligraphy. As I began to get exposure in the wedding industry, I soon saw an opportunity to start a rental inventory which allowed me to curate a collection of surfaces I felt complimented my calligraphy, were easy-to-write-on surfaces, and would be good visual additions to the events they would be displayed at. Along with my rental inventory came the delivery, set up, and tear down service which has been a very popular add-on for couple’s from Washington, DC to Charlottesville, Virginia. A trend I have been enjoying in the wedding industry is custom escort displays where instead of choosing from my inventory, my couples will work with me to create a completely custom built display to allow their guests to find their seats in a beautiful, creative, interactive way that is often reflective of the couple. I always feel immensely honored to provide a service that helps my couple’s communicate with their guests in an elegant and personal way on their wedding day.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Anyone in the wedding industry will tell you it’s about team work, it’s always a vast variety of vendors and teams coming together to achieve the vision and fulfill their contracts with the couple. I was the calligraphy vendor for wedding that had a large escort wall display involving 4 other vendors. The planner had the creative vision for the wall, the stationer was providing the printed escort cards, another vendor was providing the wall itself, the florist had a large arrangement being attached to one side and I was to paint the header in calligraphy directly on the wall the night before the wedding at the rehearsal dinner. It was a few days before and I was totally prepared, I had all my painting supplies, the couple had approved my lettering mock-up, I knew my measurements of where the header would go and my timeline I’d be working with, the only thing I wasn’t prepared for was the wall-builder to go into labor early leaving us with no wall! The planner called to chat though some options as everything else for this design was complete and not having a display at all wasn’t really an option. We decided to do an 11th hour pivot and I would build the wall myself and letter it at my studio instead of on-site which actually worked out better!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Reliability and flexibility! Smoothly ran events fully depend on reliable and flexible vendors, the best advice I can give for building a good reputation in the event industry is to be punctual and ready to propose solutions when met with the unexpected. Just as quality of product is key to any business succeeding, so is quality of the individual behind the business. Respecting the event timeline, approaching the event as a member of the team, and acknowledging every vendor as a valuable part of the vision will foster a great reputation in the industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.LeahLetters.com
• Instagram: @leahletters_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeahLettersPage/

Image Credits
Photo 1: Kir Tuben Photography Photo 4: Alicia Lacey Photography Photo 5: Liz Fogarty Photography