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

Margot, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

At the time (2016), I was living in Key West, which is the #2 destination in the country for weddings. I wanted to do something timeless and creative, that used my skills as an artisan- my undergrad major was in studio art, specifically oil painting, and I later attended yacht restoration school, going on to specialize in finish work such as varnishing. I never had a desire to compete with other artists for sales of already painted canvases, which is what led me to working on traditionally rigged sailboats in the first place. I like making art that has a purpose as well as a decorative function. The blank page I start with contains a built-in assignment and an overall structure.

Calligraphy seemed like a perfect foil to my other jobs as a charter boat sailor and kayak eco tour guide, which entailed constant socializing and simultaneous situational awareness. I was always keeping an eye on the weather, safety conditions, vessel operations, and entertaining a group of strangers. If it stormed outside, all trips were canceled and while a surprise day inside painting scenes inspired by the beautiful landscapes and wildlife around me was nice, it meant that I made no money from trips pay or tips. Sitting down at my desk with single focus, all of my mental energy channeled through my fingers, was both a balm to the rest of my day and – I thought- a sure fire, reliable secondary income. I envisioned never ending stacks of place cards and envelopes waiting to be addressed. Imagine if all of those brides and grooms didn’t have to ship or lug their wedding paraphernalia to the tiny island at the end of the line!

As it turned out, the majority of my first paid jobs were not true calligraphy at all but rather faux calligraphy or just plain writing neatly on a vertical surface! I hand lettered menus, specials, headers, prices, and directions on chalkboards and walls all over the island. I can’t even count the numbers of bars and restaurants I labored in close to midnight or before they opened for the day, balanced atop sticky bars (to date I have spilled only one bottle of alcohol!) and curled awkwardly around steaming, built-in espresso machines. I did a lot of event signage while continuing to develop and improve my craft at home with more traditional calligraphy tools, got comfortable adding illustrations to my work, and eventually did build relationships with wedding planners or directly with engaged couples themselves.

All along the way I’ve just been making it work, scheduling jobs around my now 2 year old son’s nap time, networking as much as I can and being open to new projects that may not be 100% in my wheelhouse but that I feel confident I can execute. I try not to get sucked into competing with people using vinyl cutting machines or offering rock bottom prices for subpar work on, say, Etsy. A willingness to embrace technology has certainly helped broaden my reach, as well as remaining flexible and putting myself out there as much as possible. I’ve been steadily building a reliable reputation in Dunedin for 3 years now and it’s so gratifying when a client tells me that so-and-so referred them to me for specific services. This is what I want to do, what I love doing, and as long as I continue to earn enough to keep doing it, I’ll keep on striving to hone my skills and ensure that calligraphy is still relevant and sought after.

Margot, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am primarily a calligrapher and that means a lot of things! I employ traditional methods to hand write special keepsakes, such as wedding vows, poems, and birth announcements on fancy paper. Sometimes I paint directly onto walls or fabrics for murals or meaningful quotes. I also combine calligraphy and watercolor illustrations for nursery walls, house portrait gifts, etc. Recently I have branched into digital line illustrations, which enable me to put things like a drawing of your pet onto a T shirt or celebratory sign, as well as digital calligraphy that someone far away can print out on their own or incorporate into another project. Lastly, I teach classes both virtually and in person to anyone who wants to learn calligraphy or just try their hand at it using something as simple as a pencil.

I pride myself on maintaining really clear, reliable communication with all of my clients. I try always to provide them with multiple options and incorporate feedback to make them feel that they have ownership in the outcome and ensure they are happy with it. Custom art makes such a wonderful gift and I love that idea that handmade, bespoke products still have a place in this mass-produced, fast-paced, world of ours.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have always been involved in teaching to some degree, whether coaching soccer in high school, putting on astronomy presentations aboard a sailboat, or leading paddle boarders into the mangroves to learn about the local ecosystem. I feel really passionately that experiential education is the most effective way to learn a new concept or skill. I began teaching calligraphy classes in 2018 after receiving a grant from the Anne McKee Artist Fund to offer free community workshops on writing thank you notes, a rapidly disappearing skill that’s important to me. Once I became comfortable teaching art, a heretofore private endeavor for me, to small groups in a hands-on setting, I made it a significant part of my business model. Enacting workshops at local boutiques, coffee shops, and breweries was a way for me to integrate into my new community after moving to the Tampa area, as well as a way to expand my reach to new potential clients. Then came the pandemic.

I’m certainly not the only person who had to pivot to virtual education but for a calligrapher it presented some extra challenges! Mirrored screens make writing strokes and specific letterforms especially difficult, and capturing the correct angle to demonstrate how to hold a pen sometimes takes multiple attempts. I can’t adjust a student’s grip or move their paper. It’s been fun learning how to describe concepts using verbal language I sometimes have to invent, or coming up with a new visual aide to describe what I mean. I’ve improved my tech skills, acquired some new resources, and gotten very good at writing upside down on a little portable white board. The silver lining, however, has been greatly expanding my reach! I have hosted online workshops for high school friends who live across the country whom I haven’t seen in 20 years, something I never even conceived of prior to the spring of 2020. I have also been able to make calligraphy far more accessible, which is very important me.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I’m by no means an internet celebrity but I do find it really interesting and gratifying to have people reach out to me from all over the world. Prior to joining Instagram, I wrestled with the idea of adding “one more social media account” to my online presence. People were always asking to see my art and telling me that my island-famous three legged dog, Fenway, should have one, and of course I like to stay connected with family and friends who live far away. In the end I decided that I just didn’t have the time or mental bandwidth to manage multiple accounts – or platforms. I have a personal Facebook page that I rarely update, a business Facebook page mostly as a resource for my contact information, and a single Instagram that I try to maintain daily with at least one action. Now that the two are connected, I can share that directly onto my business Facebook page and kill two birds with one stone. Maybe if I was rich I’d hire a dedicated social media management person or firm but it’s just not that much of a priority to me. I’d rather stay true to myself, stay away from automation, and keep my presence a little old school. You have to talk to me if you want to engage.

I have tried really hard to keep my account growth organic and do my best to ignore the fake accounts, promoters, and basically anyone who doesn’t take the time to look me up and address me by name. Inky Fingers Calligraphy is a business, yes, but it’s run by a person, and just one person. My brand is me and I strive to keep things genuine, both for my own sanity and because I hate feeling like I’m being pandered to by all of the “authentic” marketing personas out there. My feed/stories/whatever the lingo is pictures of my toddler, my art, pretty plants from our garden, and more art, all rolled into one. I think it’s a pretty honest reflection of who I am and what I stand for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.inkyfingerscalligraphy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inkyfingerskeywest/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkyfingerscalligraphykeywest