Artists in their own words: Vanessa Herbert

Vanessa Herbert, Founder of V. Paperie. (Photos provided by: V. Paperie)

Who: Vanessa Herbert

What: Calligrapher

Where: Uptown

Q: How do you define the personality of a hand script?

VH: When I start a custom calligraphy project, there is always a time dedicated to discovering someone’s personality, and then I base the calligraphy off of that. I work with a lot of brides since I do wedding invitations and addressings, so when I meet with a bride, I observe her personality and the type of wedding she is aiming for. I know if I’m going to use a traditional or formal script, or if I am going to go more toward the fun and whimsical type of script based off of those meetings.

The funny part is, I actually have terrible handwriting, so when I first send over the contract to the bride, and she sees my signature, she is probably like, ‘This woman is going to do the calligraphy for my wedding?” [laughing]. The thing is, I work at it so hard, and calligraphy is completely different from my everyday handwriting.

Since my handwriting was always so terrible, I was jealous of these people who wrote beautifully. After college, I was working at Scriptura, so I was around all these beautiful scripts and invitations, and I knew that I wanted to learn how to do that. When I figured out that people actually paid people to do their script for them, I was determined. Designing invitations, and doing calligraphy as my job? Sign me up! I bought a book, and I taught myself calligraphy.

Every day after work, I would spend hours perfecting my calligraphy. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of time. What people don’t know is that calligraphy isn’t just writing out letters, it’s more about putting certain shapes together to form words. You are learning how to put those shapes together rather than thinking about the letters as script.

This is my inspiration story because if I can be a professional calligrapher and have the terrible handwriting that I have, let that be a lesson.

Holiday card designed by V. Paperie. (Photos provided by: V. Paperie)

Q: What smell do you miss coming from the kitchen?

VH: Being someone who can’t boil water, I appreciate any smells from the kitchen, to be honest. But the smell that first comes to mind would have to be French Toast. My grandmother would make French Toast for us every morning, and she was the cook of the family. She lived in Ohio, so whenever we would visit her, we would wake up every morning to that smell.

Q: When do you find that you are inflexible?

VH: When I’m designing. Unfortunately, I’m a very stubborn person, and when designing, sometimes, I will become stuck on a specific element in the project. I will get fixated on a certain font, or a design element, or the colors, and I will not budge on it. Oh yes, I’ll rearrange them a million different ways, but to just admit that it’s not working and start over, that’s tough for me. Some designers will be working, realize that the font isn’t working, and they’ll make the quick change of using a different font. I am not like that. Again, stubborn. [laughing].

I will keep working and moving everything else around in order to keep that font or design element. I will call my mom, and she tells me the same thing every time, ‘Vanessa, it is time to walk away. Take a nap. Go for a run. Anything. Just step away from it.’ I guess it’s hard for me to throw an idea away that I’ve spent so much time on. I’m inflexible in that way.

Q: When do you think that words matter the most?

VH: When they are handwritten. Getting a note or card from someone in the mail is a different kind of special. It’s one of the reasons I started V. Paperie in the first place, I love sending cards to my friends…for any reason. In a world full of emails and texting, sending a handwritten note to someone really does make your message that much more meaningful. It could be as simple as a ‘Hello,’ but to someone who is having a hard time, that little note may be all they need to know you are thinking about them.

How many texts do you save to read later, none. How many emails do you save to read years down the road, none. But when you get a handwritten letter from someone, you have that physical piece of paper forever. You know a little bit of extra thought went into that note, and I think that’s really special.

I have a whole box of letters from throughout my life and from my grandparents that I love going back to every so often to re-read. It opens a flood gate of memories, good and bad, and I think that is really important.

Stationery samplings designed by V. Paperie. (Photos provided by: V. Paperie)

Q: What is something that you do not question?

VH: This is a hard one for me to answer because I question everything, in terms of designing. I am a graphic designer by trade, so when I design cards or stationery or invitations, there are always 100 solutions to one problem.

Once I finish a project, I will look at it and ask, ‘Is there a better way to approach this? Is there a different placement for these elements? Could I add something, take something away?’’ There is rarely a time when I design a piece and will take the first draft. I put invitations and my designs on my wall; I let them stay there for a day; I look at them from afar; and then I start making changes.

I always feel like there is a ‘better’ factor, and if I stay with the creation for long enough, that ‘better factor’ starts to reveal itself.

This may sound like perfectionism [laughing], but it’s different. It’s more about letting the art be its most beautiful version.

…and dogs, I don’t question dogs.

You can check out and purchase Vanessa Herbert’s custom calligraphy and design projects on her newly launched store V. Paperie, which is a monthly subscription box service that delivers hand-made and designed greeting cards, paper products, and fun desk accessories every month. You can also follow Vanessa and her designs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.