A New Chapter for Grace & Salt ink: Returning to Calligraphy
Some changes feel like stepping into something completely new. Others feel more like finding your way home.
For Grace & Salt ink, this new chapter is both.
After many years of creating handmade journals alongside my lettering work, I have made the decision to bring Grace & Salt ink back to where it began and focus fully on modern calligraphy.
It is an exciting change, but also a very natural one. Calligraphy has always been woven through the story of the business. It was there at the very beginning, remained part of my work as Grace & Salt ink grew and is now becoming its heart once again.
Where Grace & Salt ink began
Grace & Salt ink began in 2015 with one small but meaningful modern calligraphy commission that came through Instagram.
That first order gave me the confidence to take my lettering beyond the pages of my own journals and begin creating professionally from my kitchen table. I could not have known then how much the business would grow, how many lovely people I would meet or how many different things I would go on to make.
Calligraphy was the starting point, but the business soon took an unexpected turn. Not long after Grace & Salt ink began, I discovered the traveller’s notebook system and fell in love with the idea of keeping several notebooks together inside one leather cover. The traditional sizes did not quite suit the notebooks I enjoyed using, and compatible refills could be difficult to find in the UK, so I began making my own covers to fit Moleskine Cahier notebooks. That was how the inkDori was born. What started as something I had made for myself grew into a much-loved part of Grace & Salt ink. For many years, I created and personalised leather journals for customers around the world.
Each journal would leave my worktable ready to hold somebody’s thoughts, plans, memories, sketches and stories. Being trusted to create something that would become such a personal part of another person’s life was always incredibly special.
The role calligraphy has always played
Although leather journals became a large part of the business, calligraphy never stopped being part of the Grace & Salt ink story. Many of the journals I created included a hand-lettered detail. Customers would ask me to add favourite quotations, meaningful words, song lyrics or personal phrases to the front of their notebook inserts. Those requests transformed each journal into something that belonged entirely to its owner.
Calligraphy was also part of the way I used my own journals. I would letter titles, quotations and important words across the pages, combining writing, memory keeping and creativity. I shared much of that process on Instagram, where a warm community grew around Grace & Salt ink and our shared love of putting pen to paper. Looking back, calligraphy has been the thread connecting every chapter of Grace & Salt ink.
It was there in the first commission. It became part of the journals. It found its way into my own pages and the content I shared. It continued through wedding and event projects, even while the business was best known for something else. In many ways, this change is not a move towards an entirely different kind of work. It is a return to the work that was there all along.
Why Grace & Salt ink is changing
I am still passionate about journaling.
I still believe in the value of slowing down, putting thoughts onto paper and keeping a record of the small moments that might otherwise be forgotten. My own journals continue to be an important place for reflection and creativity. That passion has not disappeared simply because the direction of the business is changing.
But businesses evolve, just as people do.
After moving to beautiful Northumberland and growing our family, I began thinking more carefully about the kind of work I wanted to spend my time creating and what I most wanted Grace & Salt ink to be known for.
Again and again, I found myself returning to calligraphy.
I love the physical process of lettering. I love preparing the materials, choosing the paper, mixing colours and considering how the shape of the letters will complement the style of a wedding, event or brand.
I love the concentration it requires and the gentle rhythm that develops as the words begin to take shape. There is something wonderfully grounding about working by hand, one letter and one name at a time.
I also love the meaning behind each project. A place card is more than a guest’s name written on paper. It is part of the welcome they receive when they arrive at the table. A handwritten envelope creates a sense of anticipation before it has even been opened. A wedding sign can guide guests while also becoming part of the atmosphere and visual story of the day. A personalised piece created live at an event can turn a beautiful object into something that feels individual and memorable.
These details may be small, but they carry meaning. They tell someone that they have been thought about and that something has been created especially for them.
That is the kind of work I want to focus on.
What Grace & Salt ink now offers
Grace & Salt ink now provides bespoke modern calligraphy services from my Northumberland studio.
I work with couples, individuals, wedding suppliers, event organisers and brands across Northumberland, Newcastle and the wider North East, as well as on selected projects further afield.
Every commission begins with your ideas. We can explore the wording, colours, materials and lettering style together so that the finished pieces feel completely at home within your wedding, event or brand.
Wedding calligraphy
Wedding calligraphy can help connect the different elements of your celebration, creating a thoughtful and consistent feel from the invitations through to the wedding breakfast.
Grace & Salt ink can create:
Handwritten wedding place cards
Addressed envelopes
Escort cards
Table names and table numbers
Menus
Welcome signs
Table plans
Reserved seating signs
Personalised favours and gifts
Memorial signs
Bespoke handwritten details
You may need one carefully created element, such as place cards for your wedding breakfast, or you may want several pieces designed to work together. Colours, papers, materials and lettering styles can all be considered alongside the wider look and atmosphere of your day.
As a Northumberland calligrapher, I am particularly excited to work with more couples, venues and wedding suppliers across the region. Wedding calligraphy in the North East and wider UK can reflect many different kinds of celebrations, from intimate countryside gatherings and relaxed coastal weddings to elegant venue styling and contemporary city occasions.
Calligraphy for private events and celebrations
Calligraphy is not only for weddings.
Birthdays, anniversaries, private dinners, parties, launches and other celebrations can all be made more personal through beautifully handwritten details. This could include guest place names, menus, signs, personalised gifts or a bespoke piece created specifically for the occasion.
Calligraphy for businesses and brands
Grace & Salt ink also creates modern calligraphy for businesses, corporate events and brand activations.
Hand lettering can be used to personalise products, gifts, packaging, stationery or event materials. Live calligraphy can also add an engaging and memorable element to a launch, retail event or customer experience, allowing guests to watch as something is created especially for them.
In an increasingly digital world, something written by hand can feel wonderfully unexpected.
Whether I am writing one meaningful piece or lettering the names of every guest attending a wedding, the same care and attention go into each commission.
What is coming next
This renewed focus on calligraphy gives me the opportunity to build on the services Grace & Salt ink already offers and develop some new ones too.
Modern calligraphy workshops in Northumberland
I am currently working on plans for modern calligraphy workshops to be held in Northumberland.
The aim is to create welcoming, encouraging sessions where people can learn the foundations of modern calligraphy, experiment with the tools and enjoy the process of making something by hand.
You will not need to arrive with beautiful handwriting or any previous experience. Calligraphy is a skill that can be learned through understanding the basic strokes, practising how they connect and gradually developing your own style.
More information about workshop locations, dates and booking will be shared as the plans develop.
Hand engraving
I am also developing my hand-engraving skills, which feels like a natural extension of calligraphy.
Engraving makes it possible to add handwritten names, words and designs to glass and other suitable surfaces. It opens up exciting opportunities for personalised gifts, fragrance bottles, candles, keepsakes, corporate events and live brand experiences.
I am taking the time to practise and refine this new skill, and I hope to begin showcasing my engraving work in the new year.
Why the journaling archive will remain
Although Grace & Salt ink will no longer be making journals, the journaling archive will remain on the website.
Over the years, I have created a large collection of articles covering journaling ideas, prompts, memory keeping, creativity and ways to make writing part of everyday life. Those articles represent an important chapter in the Grace & Salt ink story. More importantly, I hope they continue to be a useful and encouraging resource for the people who find them.
There is no single correct way to keep a journal. It can be carefully decorated or completely unpolished. It can hold long reflections, short lists, photographs, ticket stubs, sketches or a few hurried sentences at the end of the day. The value lies in creating a place that belongs to you.
Although journaling is no longer the commercial focus of Grace & Salt ink, it remains something I care deeply about. Keeping the archive available feels like the right way to honour that part of the business while allowing the next chapter to begin.
I hope existing readers will continue to return to those articles and that new visitors will discover them whenever they need a little inspiration for their pages.
A new chapter and a return home
Grace & Salt ink has changed considerably since that first Instagram commission in 2015. My lettering has changed too.
There have been many hours of practice, countless names written by hand and plenty of lessons learned along the way. The business has moved and expanded with my family, journals have travelled to customers around the world and calligraphy has become part of weddings and celebrations that I feel privileged to have contributed to.
Through all those changes, the heart of Grace & Salt ink has remained the same:
A love of beautiful lettering.
A belief in the value of things created by hand.
A desire to make personal details that carry meaning.
This new direction feels exciting because it offers room to develop my calligraphy, explore new skills and work on more of the projects I love. At the same time, it feels reassuringly familiar because it brings Grace & Salt ink back to the place where everything began.
Thank you to everyone who has purchased a journal, commissioned a piece of calligraphy, followed my work, shared a post, recommended the business or encouraged me over the years.
You have all helped shape the story so far, and I hope you will follow along as this next chapter unfolds.
How to enquire about a calligraphy project
Planning a wedding, event or special project?
Tell me a little about what you have in mind. It is helpful to include your date, location, approximate quantities and the pieces you would like to have created, even if some of the details are still taking shape.
We can then explore the colours, materials and calligraphy style that will best complement your occasion.
Enquire about your project with Grace & Salt ink.
