Photo by: Kody Specker

from the love of letters to legacy keeper

I describe myself as a hand lettering artist who resides and operates in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I create signage and seating charts, perform entertaining live on-site calligraphy for high-end clients such as Patron and Ortus Club and offer workshops in Toronto to teach students basic brush pen calligraphy. 

How did it all start? 

At a young age, I remembered looking up to my peers, who have their handwriting displayed in school glass cases like artwork. "How did they write like that?" wondering what it takes to have my handwriting displayed one day.

I came to Canada in 2004 and learned English through reading and using written words to communicate. To my surprise, students here were not required to learn in cursive. We used keyboards instead of fountain pens to write our assignment. Printed Arial and Times New Roman were my to-go fonts for my school assignments. I could not care less about my scripts, as no one else did.

After 13 years in Canada, I found the answer for my interest in hand-made calligraphy when speaking to my dad in 2017. He told me about my late grandfather, a well-known calligraphy (書法) artist in the 1960s. He took care of his wife and 15 children, selling custom scripts for special events and weddings. I was inspired by the story and started A Grateful Note to continue his legacy in North America.

Be authentic, not unique

My desire to have my script displayed in front of hundreds became reality in 2018 when modern calligraphy in the wedding and event industry was in high demand. I attended workshops for entrepreneurs, got connected with many talented calligraphers in my city through meet-ups and one-on-one dinners, and even got accepted into the TDSB Learn4Life programme as a teacher for adult calligraphy lessons.

When the wedding and event industry experienced the pandemic, I wanted to make changes to my offerings. I want our clients to benefit from our digitalized products now that the world has gone digital. I have created downloadable files for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own home or anywhere in the world.

In my free time, I enjoy an adventurous hike in the woods or ice skating in the rink. I love summer and fall; I am a cat-crazy lady (like, I love cats and go crazy for them, but I promise I am not crazy); a wife to my husband of 10+ years; a future cat mom; and a small girl who has a big dream to change the world with her hand lettering and modern calligraphy, one letter at a time.