Michaela McBride fell in love with calligraphy in the lead-up to her wedding in 2015. Photo / Katie Grant
Michaela McBride fell in love with calligraphy in the lead-up to her wedding in 2015. Photo / Katie Grant
What started off as a passion for arts and crafts has become an internationally successful business for a Tauranga calligrapher.
Michaela McBride started her business, Michaela McBride Calligraphy, 10 years ago after seeing a gap in the market for handwritten wedding stationery.
McBride said it was her wedding photographer andflorist who suggested the idea after seeing the pieces she created for her own wedding, encouraging her to turn it into a business.
“I started doing it on the side and pretty much right away, I had orders … Within a year, I was pretty much fulltime.”
Her work was this month recognised at the Pride in Print Awards, with her Kaya and Brian Wedding Invite Suite, printed by Studio Q / Laserfoil, taking out the Supreme Award.
Michaela McBride says wedding stationery is the first detail guests receive and often becomes a keepsake. Photo/ Katie Grant
McBride’s work has also been featured in top wedding publications, including Vogue, Martha Stewart and Magnolia Rouge.
McBride said she had always enjoyed arts and crafts and was drawn to creative subjects such as photography and graphics in school.
Art had always come naturally to her, so she taught herself calligraphy and began producing handwritten works such as signboards and place cards.
As her business evolved, she started focusing on design and illustration and now specialises in luxury printing.
This involved using specialised techniques and premium materials to achieve high-quality, sophisticated work, such as embossing, foiling, laminating and die-cutting.
McBride said she often worked with clients for several months to a year, designing wedding invitations and day-of stationery.
“I work with couples to do their wedding invitations, and then often I’ll work with them a second time to do stationery… menus, place cards, programmes, signage, itineraries, whatever they need for their day.
Michaela McBride works with materials like handmade paper and silk ribbon to create her timeless pieces. Photo / Supplied
“Often I’m working with them eight months to a year before the day, or for some slightly simpler jobs, maybe just a few months before the day.”
Although she has done work for clients in New Zealand, the majority of McBride’s clients are based overseas, mainly in the United States and Italy.
She has also done work for clients in Bali, Doha, Australia, France, UK and Ireland.
Social media helped her expand her reach and gain visibility with international clients. Her business Instagram had more than 43,000 followers.
She also built relationships with overseas wedding planners, who recommend her to their clients.
The price of her work varied significantly depending on the size and complexity of the project, but McBride said her stationery started at $3000.
She worked with a printer from Laserfoil but also did some of the foiling and embossing herself.
“It’s such a collaborative process. And often I’m sort of pushing the boundaries of what he’s even done [often] coming up with different concepts,” McBride said.
She would like take on more custom projects in the future, tailoring more to her clients’ requests and expanding her range of abilities.
Michaela McBride Calligraphy offers both semi-custom and full-custom work. Photo / Supplied
“I specifically love custom work … Those projects give me the flexibility to think outside the box and come up with new concepts.
“My goal for each project is to create stationery that offers a glimpse into their wedding day celebrations whilst reflecting who they are as a couple.”
McBride said she had considered expanding her business into a larger operation with employees, but ultimately, her work was built around her craft, so she didn’t see that happening in the foreseeable future.
