Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Hardgrave.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Julie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My grandfather and father were jewelry hand engravers. They drew letters every day. I began copying my grandfather’s letters when I was a child sitting beside him in church. Growing up in the engraving business encouraged my love of letters. I knew how to draw letters with hairlines and swells with a pencil. While in high school, I was introduced to broad edge pens. It was life changing! The pens did all the work for me. After marriage and having two small boys, I was looking for a way to earn a little money from home. I began painting for a shop in Old Town. While there, I was asked to do some lettering for a customer. That was the first time I realized that I could draw letters and get paid to do so. We printed business cards for me and put them on our counter at the engraving shop. I have been lucky enough to have a steady business from my customers and their referrals. I still work at our engraving company during the day. I have always done my calligraphy from home at night. I am a night owl!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been pretty smooth. One of my earliest customers is the base of my business. She sent my work all over the United States. So many of her relatives and friends make up my customer base. I have worked with a lot of customers from birth announcements to wedding invitations!
Working during the day while raising our four boys and doing calligraphy at night…. my only struggle has been finding time to sleep.
Julie Hardgrave, Calligraphy – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I draw beautiful letters. I started our mainly addressing envelopes and doing a few quotes and commissions. About 15 years ago, I was asked to design the lettering for an entire wedding suite of invitations. That opened new doors for me. I work with several stationers and designers. I do a few wedding a year where I draw all the wording associated with the wedding. Those weddings are a big commitment. It is normally from Save the Dates all the way through the wedding reception. I still address a lot of envelopes though!
I also draw a lot of custom monograms. A lot of time an engaged couple will request a monogram to use before the wedding and one for after the wedding. After all this time, I still love to pick up a pencil and draw letters.
My preferred style of calligraphy is traditional. The letters I grew up drawing are very balanced and clean. I can do the more relaxed style of lettering that is popular right now but my first love will always be the traditional style.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I worked on a wedding last year for the daughter of one of my favorite customers. We have become great friends over the years and I was invited to the wedding. It was so fun for me to see my work everywhere! It was on every piece of paper associated with the wedding. Then this summer, the wedding was featured in a bridal magazine. I am so proud of the work we did on that wedding.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 2148861507
- Email: lrdbmom@hotmail.com
- Instagram: juliehardgrave_calligraphy
- Facebook: Julie Holsapple Hardgrave
Image Credit:
Julie Hardgrave
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