Goodbye 2020 (and thank you).
Well, here we are, just about to enter into December 2020. I could not have ever dreamed up 2020.
Obviously, this year was difficult as COVID-19 spread around the world. The wedding and event industry especially took a hard hit; My entire wedding season went out the window and previously built timelines became redundant. I worked on wedding seating charts the night before the wedding. Weddings of 300 guests became weddings of 30 guests. Spring weddings became autumn micro-weddings. In-store and live events were cancelled. There were months of radio-silence from clients during the initial lockdown.
But a lot of beautiful happened this year too.
I broke into the wedding invitation business, just as I wanted to. I purchased watercolour paint and started painting again. I turned my calligraphy into a font. I designed logos for small businesses. I learned how to engrave. I started to bullet journal and embraced brush-lettering. I completed the Business in The Streets business Bootcamp program. I was able to develop the signature style of Anelo. I had some wonderful business branding photographs taken by Samantha Joy. I made some friends and built connections with other small business owners. I bought a beautiful 115+ year old table-top letterpress, allowing me to launch a small collection of Christmas cards. I re-launched my website. And now, it seems that I’ve started a blog.
But the biggest accomplishment of the year has been the opportunity for some introspection. While the wedding and event industry came to an abrupt halt, I had the time to explore other projects and the time to have a good think about what Anelo is all about, what it stands for and why it exists. I quickly realized that this little business endeavour of mine had a purpose, and that its purpose was one that was beautiful.
Now, my mission statement is proudly displayed on my homepage because these few lines are the foundation of everything about Anelo:
In a world of convenience where everything is at our fingertips, Anelo Calligraphy’s mission is to take a step back and to do things with a little more intention.
It’s about going back to the basics. It’s about love. It’s about the art of handmade.
It’s about connecting us to each other in more beautiful, thoughtful, intentional and personal ways in an effort to make the world a little more brighter, a little more lovelier and a little more loving.
And now, as my city re-enters a state of lockdown, I am grateful that I have this mission to hold on to. And as I face the inevitable personal and business challenges associated with the lockdown, those little lines will be there to remind me that the very purpose of Anelo is based on humanity and thus, will always be relevant.
This blog is not something I ever intended on doing and, if I’m being realistic with myself, I likely won’t be posting on here very often. But after spending much of the year thinking and reflecting on all of the things I did and didn’t do, I thought that it would be nice to create a small space to do that, where you can follow along.