Today we’d like to introduce you to Sierra Jones.
Sierra, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I can trace my love of handwriting back to being a first grader. I don’t think I would necessarily label it as being a perfectionist, rather just loving that my handwriting was so pretty to look at.
It was one of the few things I enjoyed about school; getting to take notes, filling out homework assignments, and then the long-awaited day arrived when it was time to learn how to write the cursive alphabet. Granted, it only lasted a couple of weeks, and I already knew most of the letters because I begged my mom to teach me, but it gave me a reason to be excited about school.
Fast forward to my senior year in college, when all the late-night studying and stress-filled sleepless nights led to me finding a fascinating video of someone doing brush lettering. At that moment, I could feel my anxious college heart find a glimmer of peace in the sea of textbooks, notes, and exams. A simple click to follow that calligrapher was the beginning of my journey.
Initially, all I did was watch and observe. I honestly did not think I was capable of doing it myself. I was simply captivated by every move of the calligrapher’s hand, the way the tip of the pen bent with every turn of the letter, and the occasional squeaky or scratchy sounds the pen made on the paper.
It was my hypnosis, and it kept me sane during my final days in school. One day, I was nonchalantly telling my husband about my newfound obsession, and he made the crazy suggestion, “You should try it” and added the extra “I bet you would be good at it” just to make me question the possibility.
At first, I brushed it off, but after a few attempts to convince me, I decided, ‘What could it hurt?’. We scrounged up a few dollars (married college kid life) and placed an order on Amazon for a few simple black brush tip calligraphy pens.
Honestly, before putting those brand new pens to paper, I thought it was going to be easy; that I had watched enough calligraphy videos to practically be an expert. Excited, I pulled out a notebook from one of my classes, pulled the cap off the pen, and let my mind attempt to tell my hand how to move it across the paper to say the word “Hello.”
After the first brush stroke up for the “H,” I realized two things. One that I sucked and two, that I loved it. It didn’t even matter to me that my word was quite possibly the ugliest thing I had ever seen, I loved holding the pen, I loved the way it felt to write my ugly hello, and I loved that I loved it despite being terrible at it.
I was hooked, and at that moment I was determined to work hard to become excellent at calligraphy. Graduation came and went in a flash. My husband and I moved from the small town of Stephenville to Plano for amazing job opportunities.
In the beginning, it was really fun because everything was new and exciting, but after a few months of the fast-paced city life, I felt the stress of adjusting to this world, working in a corporate job, and being away from my family fall over me like a heavy blanket.
As an outlet, I would do calligraphy in the evenings after work, and in those moments, the stress of my new life was replaced by the freedom of creativity. Like a child hanging their artwork on a fridge, I began sharing my calligraphy with friends on social media.
I would always get fun and encouraging responses, but it wasn’t until November 2017 that I received a response from a friend that would change everything. A simple request to address friend’s holiday cards was all it took.
Without a second thought, I started Euphoria Calligraphy, named for the euphoric feeling I get when I am doing calligraphy. From there, it has been a whirlwind of building up the business and keeping up with client requests.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has certainly not been an easy one. My very first client request from my friend to do her holiday cards, which involved designing the card as well as addressing the envelopes. I started out thinking I would do the watercolor and calligraphy for each card and envelope individually (face palming myself right now for ever thinking that was possible) and ended with a card design in Photoshop and several… I mean, SEVERAL different trips to the printer for reprints.
I still can feel a terrible headache caused by crying many frustrated tears from that first project. Luckily, my friend was super gracious and allowed me room to learn from those beginner mistakes and grow in my knowledge and understanding. I really couldn’t have asked for a better client to be the first for Euphoria. In the end, her holiday cards went out, and she received positive feedback from her recipients!
Overall, I think learning about the complexity of owning a calligraphy business has been one of the greatest challenges. Despite was I thought in the beginning, it is so much more than writing pretty words. But, even though it’s not as easy as I thought it would be, the combination of my entrepreneurial spirit and love for calligraphy keep me excited to face the challenges head-on with a mentality that is ready to overcome all the obstacles.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Euphoria Calligraphy specializes in offering clients services ranging from wedding envelope calligraphy to designing a logo for your business.
The beautiful thing about calligraphy is that each calligrapher offers their own style. I like to think Euphoria’s small town; southern, Texas roots give our calligraphy style a little sprinkle of southern charm with scripts in both classic and modern.
My passion lies in business, design, and calligraphy. I love that I get to blend all of these ingredients together by offering a variety of services like addressing envelopes, designing wedding invitations, and creating a business logo. But that list does not define our limits.
I enjoy taking on new projects and listening to creative ideas from clients to continuously add to that list. December will be the one year mark for Euphoria, but this is only the beginning. I see the business expanding to offer more design services as I continue to gain experience from both my full-time gig as well as my side hustle.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas has all the opportunities in the world! Although my husband and I did not move here because of Euphoria Calligraphy, we moved here because we saw the endless horizon of opportunity that awaited us.
The Dallas-area market offers a vast sea of clientele in which businesses big and small alike can cast their net into and always reel in a netful.
Pricing:
- Outer Envelope Calligraphy – $2.70
- Outer/Inner Envelope Calligraphy – $3.50
- Return Address Calligraphy – $2.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 3700 Mapleshade Lane Apt 2028 Plano, Texas 75075
- Website: https://www.euphoriacalligraphy.com/
- Phone: (254) 485-5077
- Email: sierra@euphoriacalligraphy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/euphoriacalligraphy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/euphoriacalligraphy/?ref=bookmarks
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/euphoriacallig?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/euphoria-calligraphy-plano
Image Credit:
Mordi from Mordi Photography, Chelsea Rousey from Chelsea Rousey Photography, Victoria Selman from Victoria Selman Photography
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