From Idea Bowl to Entrepreneur in Three Months Flat

Patricia launched her Etsy shop in the fall of 2009, being not very sure of what it might end up as. This is when the famous "idea bowl" was born- all of her creative entrepreneurial ideas were written on a card and cast into a large butter-colored bowl. She posted some Etsy listing with unique antique finds, began work on custom knitting patterns, and created one-of-kind hand-sewn wall art.

Just one of the many forward-thinking musings that ruminated in the idea bowl was contemporary calligraphy; Patricia has always had amazing hand-writing. Starting in the first grade, she would place a lined piece of paper under her blank in order to write in perfectly straight lines. Whenever people saw something had hand-written by her high school or college, they would comment, "oh my word, is that a font?" So, contemporary calligraphy seemed like a natural fit. Patricia made a few sample envelopes and listed them in her Etsy shop. Soon inquiries flooded in like the spring rains, including a licensing opportunity from a prominent letterpress printer. Her Etsy endeavor quickly became a full-time deal, and she didn't have the time to weigh out the pros and cons of leaving her full-time job earlier that summer. It seemed like there were only pros, and things were off and running. December 2009.

Soon my sister asked if I could give her a hand once in a while. With potential clients leaving convos, emails and phone calls and having no project calendar or task list (this consisted of a few scatted post-its and a brimming inbox) I set to work trying to organize her work. The following two years were ones of 80 hour work weeks complete with sleepless nights and weekends.

Along with writing hand-calligraphy for wedding invitation envelopes, creating calligraphic logos, and Patricia's other graphic design projects, Patricia her handwriting to rubber address stamps. She never expected them to take off like they did. The stamps made it on the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings, BRIDES Magazine, Town and Country Weddings, to name a few. They graced the posts of top design blogs such as Swiss Miss, Design*Sponge, and Oh So Beautiful Paper. Patricia's Simple Stamp was the first calligraphy return address stamp she designed- it's still today our best-selling style by far to this day.

In 2011 we launched our line of illustrated stationery, Fawnsberg, at the National Stationery Show in New York City. Patricia and I have always loved to write letters, but could never find writing sheets that were just right, so we set about making them. We were also looking for a way for Patricia to use her illustration talent- calligraphy was starting to take its toll on her poor hand and she aspired to create art that was more than just words. The writing sheets were a success, and at the NSS in 2012, we expanded our Fawnsberg line to contain illustrated cards and art stamps.

Along the way, Patricia's loved being an Etsy seller. There is no way she could be where she is today, working from our remote home studio, creating illustrations and writing calligraphy, (doing what she was created to do,) if it wasn't for this online marketplace catered to artists and makers. It's given her the opportunity to take risks, try her ideas on a global marketplace, and be her own boss. No one asked us to say this, we're just extremely thankful. So, thank you Etsy for giving us the chance to thrive. We love what you're doing, and you're doing it well.