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You’re Almost Ready to Start Hosting!
Once you feel ready to host a Sip & Script class, the next step is to tap into your network and brainstorm your class venues. The sky’s the limit here! You will be surprised at how many places are so open to creative and trendy events.
Remember it’s benefiting both you and the business to bring in a group of people! You want to keep in mind the Sip & Script aesthetic when brainstorming ideas. We try to stay away from large chain restaurants for example. We want to stick to small shops and boutiques to start, local restaurants or bars in your town that are independently owned and operated. We find these places not only fit into the Sip & Script brand, but also share the same mission of connecting with other small businesses in a mutually beneficial way. Hosting a private class for family and friends is also a great place to start so you do not feel too overwhelmed.
Here is our Modern Calligraphy Pre-Class Checklist:
- Paper Packs (prepped in advance, paper clipped and pre-stuffed with line guide and seasonal word list)
- Alphabet Guides (Script, Print, Doodle, Connecting Letters)
- Don’t Stop Till You’re Proud Card
- Nib Folders (pre-labeled and filled with 2 nibs)
- Pens- straight holders and obliques
- Ink
- Ink Pots + Caps
- Water Cups
- Raffle Prize
- Paper Bar
- Place Cards
- Sip & Script Teaching Board
- Optional items: paper towels, baggies for students supplies, items for sale
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”transparent” up=”20″ down=”20″][qode_accordion style=”toggle”][qode_accordion_tab title=”Day of Class Prep” el_id=”class-prep”][vc_column_text]We recommend prepping materials in advance so it’s not as much to do on the day of a class. That means, while we’re watching netflix at night, we’re stuffing nib folders, or creating tracing paper packs by the dozens so things are good to go when you need them. In general, each month we recommend looking at your class schedule and estimating the approximate number of attendees you’ll have so you know how many packs you’ll roughly need.
For the paper bar, we’ve found that bringing a mix of different items works best. This is anything from gift tags, to envelopes and cards, place cards, and card stock shapes. We recommend shopping at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and Blick, or whatever craft store is local to you. Also, opening wholesale accounts with companies like Cards and Pockets, and Waste Not Paper can be helpful (especially if you already do this for your calligraphy business!). If you cannot get a wholesale account, that’s totally fine! We’ve also had luck with ordering paper/cardstock on Amazon – just test it out with your pen & ink before adding it to your kit to make sure it’s quality paper!
Each venue is going to have a different vibe, as well as different volume level. Some restaurants and bars may be louder than private shops or homes. We’ve created a Spotify station with different playlists that can definitely help liven up a quiet space!
Class lists, place cards:
We like to make place cards for each guest at class, feel free to get creative here! You will have your guest list in advance, but we recommend packing a few extra place settings in case of any last minute sign-ups! If you go to export your guest list and you notice some tickets don’t have names, this is typically due to the person forgetting to add it. In this case, feel free to email the guest asking, or bring extra cards to write them at class.
Snacks//Drinks
If you’re going to a venue that has a bar/kitchen, chat with them to see if they want to include anything into the ticket price. For private and corporate events, the host is responsible for providing this. For small shops, chat with your contact to see if they want to provide anything, or add to the ticket. If you are bringing the beverages and snacks, we like to bring in things like sparkling water, wine (if allowed – check with your venue contact!), and light bites![/vc_column_text][/qode_accordion_tab][qode_accordion_tab title=”Class Setup” el_id=”setup”][vc_column_text]
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- 0-10 minutes: Intro
- 15 minutes: warm up with basic strokes, walk around to each student to make sure they’re holding the pens correctly, getting ink flowing, etc. Get hands on, ask to borrow their pen so you can show them the thick and thin strokes!
- 25 minutes: Have them move on to tracing each alphabet. Continue walking around to show examples, answer questions as they come up
- 10 minutes: Usually around the hour mark of class, we introduce the Connecting Letters guide and have them trace that for a few minutes, before introducing them to the seasonal words sheet for them to trace.
- Final 20 minutes of class: They continue to trace the words, start practicing writing on the real paper (cards, envelopes) from the paper bar they can help themselves! Can also pass out crests at this time, ask if anyone would like to see anything specific written down!
- Final 10 minutes of class: Remind people that their ink will take about 10 or so minutes to dry, so anything they want to take home with them they should wrap up at this time.
- Final 5 minutes of class, choose raffle winner and say goodbye thank you’s to the students and venue!
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Here’s a typical intro script. Feel free to edit or revise as you see fit! Like everything, the key is practice, practice, practice.
“Hi everyone! Going to get class started so thank you everyone for joining me tonight! My name is _____ from [your calligraphy company’s name] and I’m so happy to share my love of calligraphy and lettering tonight. My hope is that you all walk away with a newfound hobby that you can apply to so many areas of your life. Whether that is for hostess gifts, your own wedding DIYs, holidays, entertaining – the possibilities are endless. Even if I have just a couple of people over for dinner I make place cards and my guests love it. Adding small detailed lettered touches to everyday life is our goal! So let’s begin with going over what’s in front of you right now.
I always tell everyone at each class, if you can get ink flowing from your pen tonight, then you’re in good shape! Calligraphy is skilled and takes many hours of practice to get down. After tonight, we recommended practicing for a few minutes every day to see the fastest progress. It really is an acquired skill so keep at it!
The first thing I’m going to have you do is put aside your alphabet guides and take the white lined grid sheet and slide that underneath the first piece of tracing paper in your pack. You’ll also see in front of you the nib envelope, so I’ll have you open that up and take out the larger, silver nib.
A nib in the calligraphy world is the tip of your pen. There are hundreds of different kinds of nibs out there, and each one will not only feel different, but also produce different letter looks. We encourage you beyond class tonight to try as many as you can to determine your “go-to” nib. Some nibs that I use, other calligraphers hate and vis versa.”
A few other important details to include in your intro:
- Explain Nib Anatomy: the vent, the tines, the flexibility, the angle, and pressure points for going up the page versus down, nib care to avoid rust, life of a nib
- Introduce “the wave” for the first basic stroke to try
- General explanation of basic strokes
- Explain the ink pot, how to take off cover (gently) and how far into the inkwell to dip. Hold two fingers firmly on the bottom of the ink pot, with your other hand, twist the cover gently off the ink pot.
“Always be careful when using calligraphy ink! It will wash off your hands with soap and water. Your hands will get a little dirty while writing, but it comes with the territory, and keep some paper towels nearby.”
[/vc_column_text][/qode_accordion_tab][qode_accordion_tab title=”Introducing pretty paper!” el_id=”introduce-paper”][vc_column_text]The last half of the class is where we encourage students to try writing on fun card stock. This is great because they get to experience writing on nice cotton card stock, but it’s also bittersweet because their beloved letter guides won’t work with them because you can’t trace with it ☺️
This part of the class is where you offer to write on student’s paper — whether it’s their kids or dog’s names, favorite TV shows, or any wedding hashtags/future last names, etc. Many students struggle to come up with something to have you write so we often encourage them to look on Pinterest for phrases.
We set up the “paper buffet” on one table in the room to have people get up, stretch and select what they’d like to write on.[/vc_column_text][/qode_accordion_tab][qode_accordion_tab title=”Raffle” el_id=”raffle”][vc_column_text]“As a small business, we rely on Instagram and word of mouth as our marketing. We like to raffle a fun gift at the end of each class – to enter just simply Instagram a pic from tonight’s class, tag and hashtag @sipandscript and @yourbusinessname, @yourvenue. We’ll pick out a winner 15 minutes before the class ends. “
We mention this 15 minutes into the class and remind them once or twice before picking the winner 15 minutes before the end of class. The timing works out great because it’s a nice segway for guests to know to start packing up. You can also remind them at this time that their ink needs about 10ish minutes to dry![/vc_column_text][/qode_accordion_tab][qode_accordion_tab title=”End of Class” el_id=”end”][vc_column_text]“A big thank you for coming out tonight and learning calligraphy with us! We’ll be sending you an email in the next couple days with all of the tools you used tonite. We’d love to hear from you if you have any questions – email us!” [/vc_column_text][/qode_accordion_tab][qode_accordion_tab title=”Post Class Follow Up” el_id=”post-class”][vc_column_text]Following your class, we will send out an email to your class roster list with the resource guide and encouraging people to keep in touch with you via social media or email with further questions! We like to keep connecting with students after class and love when people reach out to say they’ve started their own business. We try to follow those students on social media to keep up with their progress and support them![/vc_column_text][/qode_accordion_tab][qode_accordion_tab title=”FAQ” el_id=”faq”][vc_column_text]“How did you get started with lettering/calligraphy?” talk about your business!
“How do you connect the letters to make words?” the easiest way to explain this is to show them, and explain on the letter guides there is a curl at the end of the letter, but this is just for the last letter of each word. For connecting letters, we tell them to go back to basics and think of it like the basic stroke going upwards. Encourage them to finish each letter with the upstroke, stop and regroup, to then figure out where and how they want their next letter to look like.
“Why is it that sometimes the ink comes out heavier than other times?” Encourage people to tap off excess ink, and to have a small piece of paper off to the side to draw one small line before starting their word.
“How long does it take to get good at this?” Encourage everyone to practice a little bit as often as they can – especially in the beginning to establish muscle memory. It’s different for everyone but for example Meg says it took her a good 6 months of solid practice before nailing down her own style.
“Where do we buy supplies?” We discourage people from buying ink and nib materials from places like Michael’s and AC Moore, and instead direct them to places like Blick Art Supply and online stores, and of course, sipandscript.com. Tell them they will receive an email after class outlining where we purchase things and our favorite inks, as a resource guide! Can also mention we list all our “essentials” including everything they used in class under our “Shop” page on our website.[/vc_column_text][/qode_accordion_tab][/qode_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row]