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

Roxy, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

The definition of the word “success” is entirely objective. For me, “success” equals balance between serving my clients’ needs while surpassing their expectations, managing marketing, advertising, accounting, and all of the other administrative tasks that keep a small business running, navigating unexpected challenges, generating a profit at the end of the year, and actually enjoying what I do.

Whew!

But hey, just like everyone else, I’m a work-in-progress. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve fallen down into the “comparison” rabbit hole – we all do it, amiright? What I’ve realized and still often remind myself of is that we all have our strengths and weaknesses in business, and weaknesses don’t equal failures – rather, learning experiences (which I consider successes!) and motivation to improve.

While the perfect balance remains somewhat elusive, I can say that I absolutely love my clients, I love my work, and I still derive an enormous amount of joy from both.

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

Hi, I’m Roxy of ROX INK Calligraphy…your Phoenix-based lefty scribe. When I’m not scribing, you can find me climbing rocks, wine tasting, playing volleyball or pickleball, kayaking, traveling, or doing something in the beautiful Arizona outdoors with my fun-loving husband.

2022 marks forty freakin’ years since I started my calligraphy journey. Receiving an Osmiroid pen set as a teen presented a whole world of creative possibilities for me. I started out hand-addressing wedding invitations and then I was asked to create logos, menus, signs, and more. I was no longer just writing on paper, but on wood, plastic, acrylic, glass, stone, ceramic, walls, and the list goes on. Nothing within my reach was safe from being “tagged” with calligraphy.

Hand-engraving was soon added to my list of offerings and, the truth is, I wish I had added it sooner. On-site engraving events for wineries, wine bars, pubs, and luxury brand fragrances are some of the most fun brand activation events I get to experience and I meet some amazing people.

In addition to wedding mirror seating charts, acrylic signs, place cards and all other “Day-of” details, I paint florals on fragrance bottles and lipsticks for the bridal party. Can that be more personal?! I also love creating calligraphic murals in public spaces.

Other fun public and private offerings are calligraphy and brush lettering workshops, and sign parties – perfect for bridal parties, teacher appreciation, corporate events, and a Girl’s Nite in. And if you’ve got an idea for a project or event that I haven’t done yet, let’s brainstorm and figure it out! Getting in your head to see what you’re imagining and bringing your ideas to fruition is my goal!

It would be remiss of me to not mention that we also make hand-turned pens – WHAT? Yes, my incredible husband and I work together to design and create straight pens that are available in my website shop.

One of the things I love most about my work is opportunities to collaborate with other wedding and event vendors. It’s not just because they are awesomely fun people (but, yeah, that’s definitely part of it), but constructive working relationships among vendors means a smoother, more positive experience for our clients. 100% true story. These relationships are pure gold.

I believe that much of who I am today is owed to my client-base of the last forty years. They have pushed me to continue to be the best at what I do; to deliver high-quality work, exceed expectations, and offer outstanding customer service.

My clients are everyone; the guy down the street who just wants his beer glass engraved, the couple two counties over who need their child’s favorite nursery rhyme written in calligraphy, the father who lost his wife and wants to personalize her urn for their son, the hiker who lost a friend and wants a personalized stone to mark their favorite camping spot, a bride who wants a giant leaning floor mirror seating chart for two hundred guests, and a planner who needs an acrylic welcome sign yesterday. I strive to make the process as easy as possible for my clients. Life has all kinds of stressors – the process for a creative project shouldn’t be one of them.

I continue to hone my craft – the learning never stops. Staying relevant is key, as it helps me serve my clients in the best possible way.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

When I first learned about Instagram, I laughed. This was just a clever platform for kids that was never going to last, I thought. Surprise.

When I started my creative journey, the internet didn’t exist. Marketing strategies were implemented via telephone, post, and print.

In short, I knew about Instagram, but I never dreamed that it would connect me to so many vendor partners and clients. I wish I had jumped on the band wagon a little sooner.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Several years ago, I was in a car accident. I was driving and a driver coming from the opposite direction fell asleep at the wheel and hit me head-on. I had a few scrapes and cuts, numerous bruises, and, unfortunately for me, a broken left hand. Those were the ONLY bones in my entire body that were broken.

To say that this is a disadvantage for a left-handed calligrapher is an enormous understatement. It was weeks before the cast was removed and, when it finally came off, I had to re-learn calligraphy.

I practiced daily until I was confident enough to start taking on projects again. Thankfully, now, it’s as if it never happened.

It’s a funny thing – taking something so mundane for granted and then not having it. Lesson learned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://roxink.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roxinkcalligraphy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roxink
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/roxink
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-24rLOw3g-RdFfiA4yBMNA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rox-ink-calligraphy-gilbert-2
• Other: Tiktok: roxinkcalligraphy

Image Credits
Leslie D Photography Taryn Schae Photos Molly McPhoto