About Me
KARLA LIM, owner of Written Word Calligraphy and Design, author of Creative Calligraphy Made Easy
Hi there! Welcome to my studio. I’m Karla, a modern calligrapher, designer and calligraphy educator. My studio specializes in 3 things: custom and semi-custom calligraphy wedding invitations, modern calligraphy supplies and tools, and online calligraphy courses. All my life, I have pursued various forms of art. I’m so blessed to have found calligraphy and illustration as a meaningful and mindful space where I can express myself, touch people’s lives and create beauty in the simplest of things.
I currently live in Vancouver, Canada with my husband Clement and son Chase, and I love that my work can travel all over the world. If I’m not busy
working away, you’ll find me and my little family on a little outdoor adventure, in parks or hikes, and I’m a bit of a night owl - I love riding my Peloton bike and watching anime for relaxation.
Story
The Story behind the name “Written Word”
As a follower of Christ, I have experienced profound meaning while dwelling in God’s Word. When I was starting out in calligraphy, I often found myself reflecting and meditating on God’s Word by writing out verses that are impactful to me, and put them up on the wall. It is very easy for me to get distracted, so writing helps me stay mindful and focused, and these handwritten bible verses became a constant reminder of the lessons I’ve learned. On one of my drives to work, God impressed this name, “Written Word” to me. I immediately remembered this verse in 2 Timothy and knew that this had to be my business name.
“There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (The Message)
My prayer is that I may use this gift of calligraphy to glorify God in every single way - whether it’s through writing bible verses in calligraphy, to creating custom wedding invitations, to crafting new calligraphy tools and sharing His gift to me through teaching.
Custom Wedding Invitations
Curating custom wedding invitations is my passion - I love creating minimal and modern wedding stationery that tells your love story with meaningful and tasteful details, designs that elevate your overall wedding style, with intention and elegance - invitations that your guests will never forget. I love incorporating various textures, such as letterpress printing, foil printing, minimal and cohesive color palettes that complement the other wedding vendors such as florals and foliage. I believe that wedding invitations really set the tone for the wedding as it is the first piece that your guests receive. Over the years, I’ve specialized in destination wedding invitations, and wish that I too can travel to all these beautiful venues my invitations get to be part of.
While I love creating our bespoke wedding invitations, I’ve also loved curating our semi-custom wedding invitations where you have flexibility in choosing certain elements while keeping the same design layout for the design. Our semi-custom collection features timeless wedding invitation designs that have stood the test of time - they’re our most popular ones. We curated cohesive color palettes and chosen some of our tried-and-true add-ons to create memorable wedding invitations without going the full custom route.
Invitations
Modern Calligraphy Supplies and Tools
In my love for design, I have also curated a line of modern calligraphy supplies. From mid-century modern wax seal designs that feature botanical illustrations and monograms, to calligraphy practice pads, to handmade calligraphy pens and modern inkwells, to my best-selling beginner calligraphy starter kit that has all the supplies and tools you need to get started in calligraphy - my intention is to add beauty and function to your budding calligraphy journey. I am so passionate about creating and curating tools with beautiful packaging, so I hope you will enjoy our line of modern calligraphy pens and tools.
To complement our online calligraphy courses, we also created digital calligraphy worksheets that you can print at home, so that you can continue learning and practicing. We have printable calligraphy worksheets in our three signature calligraphy styles,
Lissome, Gossamer, and Halcyon, as well as Psalms calligraphy worksheets and Isaiah calligraphy worksheets.
Modern Calligraphy Online Courses
In 2020, I launched my modern calligraphy school, called the Written Word Academy. Prior to this, I had been teaching a lot of in-person calligraphy workshops, locally in Vancouver and occasionally when I traveled - but I wanted a way for me to continue to share this gift of calligraphy to more people all over the world. So, my beginner calligraphy course, Creative Calligraphy Course was born. I wanted to replicate the experience of an in-person workshop and translate it into a 90-day program online, to make it personal and memorable. One of the key features of our online calligraphy course is our homework/feedback. Each student gets careful instruction and feedback whenever they submit their homework, so that they can get personal attention, as if I was there with them in real life.
Our calligraphy starter kit was crafted to match our Creative Calligraphy Course. We know everyone learns a bit differently, some people like to learn on their own, so in 2020 I authored my first calligraphy book,
Creative Calligraphy Made Easy, which is a written instructional book with worksheets and calligraphy projects that is perfect for beginners.
Intermediate Calligraphy Course
To continue their journey, I then launched our intermediate calligraphy course, Signature Styles. The beauty of modern calligraphy is its freedom of expression - every person can express themselves differently by developing their own calligraphy style. This course details the process I take whenever I create a calligraphy style, from the concept, all the details on how to make a calligraphy style cohesive, and then into how to make the calligraphy style stick.
In 2021, I introduced my first masterclass course, Invitation Design Bootcamp, a graphic design course for calligraphers, so that they can learn how to create wedding invitations. This comprehensive calligraphy invitation design course details all the process I personally take to design wedding invitations from concept, to calligraphy, to graphic design, and to print and assembly. It’s perfect for calligraphers and illustrators who don’t yet have the graphic design skills to complement their calligraphy skills.
Services
I am a Calligraphy Instructor and Business Educator that creates helpful, empowering online calligraphy courses for beginners, intermediate workshop to discover your own calligraphy style, and am currently developing our calligraphy masterclass courses to help a budding calligrapher learn how to design wedding invitations, and how to start a successful calligraphy business.
So that my students can effectively learn calligraphy online, I also have a shop that offers calligraphy supplies, modern calligraphy printable worksheets, calligraphy practice pads, and a calligraphy starter kit that has everything you need to get started in calligraphy. In 2020, I wrote a book called Creative Calligraphy Made Easy, which includes worksheets as well as 30 creative DIY projects that you can use with your newfound calligraphy skills.
I am also a Vancouver Wedding Calligrapher that specializes in creating fine art calligraphy wedding invitations. I am known for incorporating various textures, illustrations and inspiration from venues and cohesive color palettes into my minimal and timeless wedding invitations. I offer two main options, custom calligraphy wedding invitations that I tailor to your wedding design and style, and semi-custom wedding invitations, which allow you to have a general idea of what the final design would be like, and give you options for color palette, calligraphy style, printing methods and the like. We only take day-of details clients with our custom and semi-custom clients.