Betty Soldi calligraphy workshop at The Hive
Never underestimate the power of a creative getaway! I’m back from The Hive blog conference in Copenhagen, and I love how my weekend went. Not only did I get to do what I was looking forward to—meet friends, take it slow, wander and discover—but I’m buzzing from a boost of creative energy.
One of the most inspiring parts of my weekend was the calligraphy workshop by Betty Soldi. I try not to abuse the word inspiration, but in this case it’s perfectly justified.
Betty Soldi is a calligrapher and graphic designer who has worked with luxury and retail brands such as Hermes, Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose. After living in London for 35 years, she returned to her roots in Florence and opened &Company, her shop and creative studio where Florentine artistry meets refined British style.
As it turned out, Betty’s personality is as delightful as her creations. What a pleasure it is when someone so ridiculously successful and talented also turns out to be warm, funny and friendly. And what a delight it was to enter the workshop and find ourselves in Betty’s whimsical world.
A piece of Tuscany in Copenhagen: the scent of lavender; pops of bright, fresh green; butterflies and doves cut out from old maps and books…
plus some of Betty’s own creations from her shop in Florence. How’s that for getting in the mood to create something beautiful?
“You won’t be writing like me after just one hour, I can tell you that,” Betty promised. “But you will learn to love it.” Here are a few things I picked up from the wonderful Betty Soldi.
Imperfections are beautiful. As we inked Betty’s distinctive alphabet to get warmed up, she encouraged each of us to let go of perfection and not sweat the small stuff. She herself likes to keep little imperfections in her script rather then edit them out, because they add character.
“Don’t worry if it doesn’t look like mine,” she said. Point made: we weren’t to aspire to be copies of her, but to express ourselves as individuals.
Making it my own: the Filipino word for butterfly is “paru-paro.”
Creativity is play. Just when I’d gotten comfortable with my metal pen, I got handed a big, hefty white marker. It was intimidating at first, but Betty reminded us that it was okay to make mistakes. Creativity isn’t about the narrow confines of perfection, but allowing yourself the space to play, experiment and have fun.
“Practice, practice, practice. And if you don’t like it, just cut it up!” Betty said. Which brings me to…
Do more than what you intended. It wasn’t enough to just fill sheet after sheet of paper with letters. We also ventured into a bit of paper cutting and turned our practice sheets into butterflies and flowers.
“Do something more with what you’ve written,” Betty told us. More is right; this one-hour workshop was just not enough. More calligraphy, more inspiration, more Betty Soldi, please!
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