Amy Nicole has always been fascinated by calligraphy. As a child, she would find feathers in the garden and fashion them into quills. Little did she know that this would lead, years later, to her own calligraphy business taking flight. Here’s her illuminating story.
A (pen) stroke of genius
Running her own creative business was something that had always been scratching away at the back of Amy’s mind. When she left school, she dabbled with creating artwork commissions, but wasn’t yet ready for the challenge of running a fully-fledged business. Instead, she took on an Apprenticeship in Engineering as this seemed like a more secure career choice. But, the desire to pick up the calligraphy pen and paintbrush never went away.
Finally, in 2019, Amy decided it was time to take the dream that had been with her since childhood and put it down on paper. And so Amy Nicole Design was born!
As Amy herself puts it: “It's so relaxing to sit with the pen and let it create beautiful strokes across the page, and fine stationery has been something that I have truly fallen in love with.
“The best part of my day is having the freedom to create! Engineering is a very by-the-book sort of job, so it's amazing to have this space where I can create watercolour paintings and calligraphy pieces.”
And, of course, creating cards for special occasions and wedding stationery doesn’t just make Amy happy, it fills her clients with joy, too.
“I like to think that I'm in the business of happiness.” Amy explains. “That might sound super cheesy, but no one's ever really buying the wedding stationery that I create because they have to. They're buying it because they want stunning artwork and amazing bespoke invitations to wow their guests - after all, it's the first hint of the wedding to come that most of them will see, so you might as well knock their socks off!
“I love the giddy excitement that comes with hearing about my clients' weddings and creating stationery that's really individual and speaks volumes about their love stories. The end result of a happy couple and gorgeous stationery really does make it all worth it.”
Taking her linework online
She was having so much success practicing her calligraphy, designing cards and wedding stationery, that it wasn’t long before Amy realised she wanted to take the next step with her business. A website was the perfect place to display her full range of designs and services.
As Amy says: “My website was definitely the push that I needed to start taking myself more seriously as a business owner and it has helped me to get when I am today.
“I chose GoDaddy because it had everything that I needed to begin putting my business online, including domain names, a user friendly website builder and, importantly, it was all at a reasonable price for someone who was just starting out.”
When you're starting up a business, you can have so many thoughts whirling around your head, you barely have enough time to do all the research you need, create content, build a following and, of course, actually practice your craft. Amy wanted a website builder that didn't add too much to her workload and she found it with GoDaddy Website Builder.
“This is where GoDaddy really helped me out! I'm not amazing with computers, I'll admit, but the website builder tool was really simple to navigate, and there wasn’t too much jargon. It was so great not to not feel too overwhelmed if I needed to put on a sale, or if I wanted to shuffle my portfolio images in the gallery! This was essential for me since my business is growing, which means my content is always evolving while I discover my brand-style!”
Pushing the envelope
At GoDaddy we’re all about helping people to take their dreams and turn them into thriving businesses. All you need is the confidence to take the first step.
As Amy would advise: “It seems really stupid but... just get started! Begin by putting pictures of your work out there on social media, then buy your business domain name and start thinking about how you want your business to be perceived! There's no point in it all just being some thought in your head that might one day happen.”
And the important thing, Amy has learned, is that you learn by doing. “How are people going to buy your products if your business only exists in your head? Your first product photo on your new Instagram page doesn't have to be perfect, but at least it’s done, it’s there. You can only get better from here!”
There are several ways you can check out Amy’s calligraphy and design work. Her full GoDaddy website is here, or you can visit her Facebook page here, while her Instagram profile is here.
Here at GoDaddy, we love hearing about your success stories. In fact, we want to shout about them! Get in touch with us on social media and share a link to your website and we may well be in touch to feature you on our next Customer Spotlight blog.
