Etsy Calligraphy Shop Launch

I am (very often) driven and motivated by fear. The exact opposite emotion that should contribute to major decisions in your life. But it is, unfortunately, my reality. I have hesitated on many an awesome adventure to remain in my comfort zone (travel, studying abroad, taking risks at work and in school, pursuing my passions, moving far away). After getting into calligraphy during the past year, I have felt compelled to do something beyond doodling on every spare sheet of paper with it. But I certainly didn't feel experienced enough, good enough, or capable of opening a business. I still find a lot of my script to need improvement and drool over many skilled and experienced calligrapher's instagrams and shops. Despite my own (crippling?) self doubt, a couple of blogger friends convinced me to start an Etsy shop. 

Unlike my usual postponement of everything challenging, I actually took their advice to heart. I made an Etsy shop my personal and semi-professional goal for 2015. I shared the goal with my work colleagues, with my friends, on the blog (mostly so I couldn't back out). And, despite being afraid of launching something new, I did it! I launched an Etsy shop in early January and have since made a few sales and been busy on logo projects in the past few weeks! It has been an absolute whirlwind and 100% worth the risk, the learning curve, and the extra work every day. I actually just completed a logo for a fantastic photographer that taught me so much about Illustrator, Photoshop, vectors, scanning, file types, and optimizing work for web use that I feel like this project has made me grow 

I am finally ready to share the shop announcement on the blog (with some projects under my belt!), so without further ado... Kelsey Malie Calligraphy.