After a while, I have another career inspiration interview prepared for you. Please meet Joyce from Artsynibs. Last week I have also attended one of her calligraphy workshops (follow to check next upcoming posts). She is such a lovely person with a great talent, explore what it is to be like a calligrapher...



1. Introduce us a bit about yourself and your background.
I’m Joyce and I’m originally from Singapore. Prior to starting Artsynibs, I was an English teacher in both Singapore and the UK.

2. Are you a full time calligrapher or freelancer?
Since Artsynibs is (slowly) taking shape, I basically work at it all day, 7 days a week. So, I’d say I’m a full-time calligrapher.

3. Tell us more about how and what driven you into calligraphy.
My husband’s a fountain pen enthusiast and he would always get me to test his new pens, inks and papers. That was what sparked my interest to explore calligraphy more. I’ve always loved writing and lettering, but never found a hobby that could satisfy both interests until I was introduced to calligraphy. Because calligraphy isn’t something you can rush through, I thoroughly enjoy the process of slow writing and pondering over my words at the same time.




4. Where have you learned and developed your skills in calligraphy? How long did it take you to the stage as you are now?
I’m self-taught. With a fountain pen lover as a husband, I was fully equipped with all the basic tools I needed get started. I watched videos, read all the materials I could, and now, I’m constantly learning from my talented friends via the Internet. From the time I began up till now, it’s been 2 to 3 years. Frankly, to get to what I am, it takes a lot less time if you’re diligent. I fell in and out of love with calligraphy a few times during these period, which explains the slow progress.






5. Where do you seek for inspiration? / What / Who inspires you?
My faith and literature inspire me. Not to mention, coffee inspires me greatly! As for people, I’d say my mum. She’s always been an entrepreneur, so I guess that where my business-minded blood comes from.

6. What do you do besides calligraphy?
Besides working on commissioned projects, I run a calligraphy and lifestyle blog at artsynibs.com. I
don’t actually do calligraphy per se, but that’s where I share my journey as a calligrapher, entrepreneur and wife.

8. When running your own workshops, do you find that everybody is capable of doing calligraphy? What are the hard things about it?
Is everybody capable of practicing yoga? Definitely! It just depends on how diligent you are and of
course, some learn faster whilst others, slower. But at the end of the day, I believe everyone’s capable of picking it up. The hardest thing about calligraphy is unlearning our bad writing habits and learning the proper postures. I still struggle with this. Also, persevering through the slow progress is tough. Many people tend to give up along the way but the truth it, things like this really require time and patience.



9. What do you enjoy the most from being a calligrapher and what are the most stressful things?
I enjoy creating letterforms. I guess that’s my form of artistic expression. Just the thought of making this a business is already very stressful to me. I’d say Artsynibs is my first venture that I’m so invested in; hence, the stress comes naturally.

10. Any work/projects or collaborations that you are proud of?
Being sponsored by Pentel and Cultpens.com are definitely Artsynibs’ two biggest milestones, of which I’m very proud.

11. Are you planning anything big with your calligraphy career/hobby?
At the moment, my main focus is rolling out calligraphy workshops in Manchester. I guess the teacher in me seems to be steering the brand towards this aspect of the business. A few collaborations are in the pipelines, but nothing’s set in stone yet. But, don’t be surprised if you start seeing my calligraphy at events or anywhere around town.

12. Any inspiration quote or message you would like to share with readers?
There’ll come a stage in your planning where you can plan no more except to simply dive in and see what happens. I’ve come to realize that with every start up, it’s 1 part skill and a whole truckload of tenacity. But that’s the same with every mountain in your life that you want to conquer. Keep going, keep adapting, and keep believing.










Follow Joyce on her blog and facebook to catch up will all of her and workshops she is preparing! xx
Thanks Joyce for her time to do this interview, was really interesting to read and hear her story and I am so glad that I met this inspirational person. Anybody here tried calligraphy before?

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