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engraving drill

Engraving Drills: Brushless Motor vs. Not 0

Engraving Drills: Brushless Motor vs. Not

Angie Mendez is the event artist behind Letter This Letter That. Through live lettering in a range of mediums, Angie collaborates with teams to deliver truly personalized guest experiences.

A former classroom teacher, she understands the value of human connection and creating a warm, inviting environment. Angie is the final flourish (pun intended!) on your positive customer impressions, further fostering lasting relationships between you and your clients.

A few engravings from the Artful fragrance event a A few engravings from the Artful fragrance event at @cortemaderanordstrom last week! The holidays are coming up and personalization is the easiest way to make your gifts even more thoughtful. 

🚨 Here’s a tip: call your favorite stores and counter reps ahead of time to see what dates they’ll be offering complimentary personalizations!! 🚨

Engraving, calligraphy, heat foiling, leather debossing, bottle painting… November/December is prime time for live event artistry, so take advantage of brand activations and these free (to you 😉) services happening all around.

I’ll be back at @shopcortemadera Nordstrom on December 16, engraving for Dior from 11a-4p. See you all then!
Onsite engraving isn’t just for perfume bottles. Onsite engraving isn’t just for perfume bottles. 😉

Follow along in the recap to one of my favorite live events to date!🍷🍷 Victoria @blossomandinkstudio, I can’t thank you enough for bringing me as your second calligrapher. ♥️

If you weren’t able to make it to this sold out event, we’ll be back on December 2 for @aowinery ‘s Holiday celebration! You’ll find RSVP information at www.aowinery.com/events. Hope to see you there! 🎄

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#wineryevents #sonomacountycalligrapher #engravingartist #onsiteengraver #winecountry
Let’s talk event flow and simultaneous activatio Let’s talk event flow and simultaneous activations! 😯

Guests of the Executive Women’s Conference at @fairmontsonoma had the option of having a perfume bottle engraved, or a luggage tag heat-foiled with their names or initials. ✍🏼

When offering multiple activations— and especially at high-volume events— it’s crucial to establish your workflow *prior* to the event. In this case, our team decided it would be most efficient to have a dedicated engraver (🙋🏻‍♀️), a dedicated foiler (@blanca_lewis_calligraphy) and have one artist be the hopper (@wildflowerlettering). 🐰 

The cadence was perfect. We finished all the attendants’ gifts, plus were able to whip up a few extras for VIPs— all a few minutes ahead of schedule. 🤗

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#sonomacountycalligrapher #sonomaengraver #sonomaevents #uniqueeventidea #liveeventartist #eventtips #corporateevents #corporategifting #conferencegifts #womeninfinance
What an honor to be part of the welcome session at What an honor to be part of the welcome session at @fairmontsonoma for this year’s Executive Women’s Conference! The EWC brings together women in the mortgage lending field for a week of discussion, collaboration, and inspiration. ✨

Guests got to choose from having a leather luggage tag heat-foiled or a glass perfume bottle engraved. Safe to say the personalized goodies were a hit! 😄

As I watched these finance professionals network and build bonds with peers in their field, I couldn’t help but smile— I was sharing a mirrored experience working alongside the likes of @wildflowerlettering and @blanca_lewis_calligraphy 😱😱

Big thanks and big hugs again, Jules!! Loved being part of your team. 💛

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#corporateevents #conferenceplanning #uniqueevents #sonomacalligrapher #onsiteengraving #liveeventartist
Thinking of offering onsite wood-burning as an act Thinking of offering onsite wood-burning as an activation for an upcoming event? 🤔 Keep reading for some things to consider during the planning process!

⏰What are the time constraints?⏰

It’s vital to be clear on how many items are expected to be personalized, and have a good grasp on anticipated production speed! Discuss with your artist(s) to ensure everything you need done, gets done. 

📐What sizes will we be working with?📐

Higher word counts, bigger items, larger scripts take longer to execute. Factor this into time estimations; adjust accordingly while onsite if further accommodations need to be made last minute. 

👤Will assistants be provided/budgeted for?👤

Especially for high volume events with slower turn-around (i.e. wood burning) it’s essential to have someone onsite to help facilitate a seamless experience; someone to explain the process to guests, collect completed items, and pass favors back out. Event artists are able to absorb these duties— just be sure to account for this in any time quotes.

⚡️Is it possible to provide a product sample to test?⚡️

An actual sample of the item is always preferred, but any information regarding the type of wood and its finishing is important to provide so that your artists can practice ahead of time and be well-prepared come the day of the event.

Hope you found some of this info useful! Let me know if I can elaborate on anything for you! ✨

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#sonomacounty #corporateevents #sonomacalligrapher #onsitewoodburning #livewoodburning #customcuttingboard #personalizedcharcuterieboard #eventtips
Kind words from previous workshop students. 🥹 Kind words from previous workshop students. 🥹

Orange County!! I'll be home and teaching again at @hadleyandren in November. There are a couple spots left in each session; grab a seat (at the link in my bio) while you can! 😮

This workshop is for anyone looking to experience what it's like to hand engrave on glass— but we talk about other materials as well— whether you have a background in calligraphy or not. Wondering how we pull that off? I’d love to have you in class to see for yourself! 😉

If you're reading this and have taken the class before, it’d mean so much if you could leave a little comment to let others know what you thought of the workshop! 💛

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#alwaysbelearning #learnsomethingnew #ocworkshops #creativeworkshop #learnengraving
Created a literal buzz at the new Santa Rosa @tota Created a literal buzz at the new Santa Rosa @totalwine last night!

People followed their ears to the sound of our drills 🐝🐝 and pretty soon, the line was wrapping around aisles! @blanca_lewis_calligraphy and I engraved NONSTOP for two hours, and the event coordinators still had to turn away guests as our scheduled end time approached. 😢

So two lessons to learn here:

1) Book your artists for longer if your budget allows

2) If you engrave it, they will come 😂

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#onsiteengraving #sonomacountycalligrapher #eventengraver #experientialmarketing
@rarebeauty by @selenagomez and @sephoralife reall @rarebeauty by @selenagomez and @sephoralife really know how to throw a celebratory bash! Everything was done to the nines. And the way people rushed over from the swag bag station to the engraving table when they realized they could get their new makeup personalized?? 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏽 Talk about creating an experience!

It was incredible to work alongside talented calligraphers as a team of FIVE, engraving roughly 500 items in three and half hours (they ran out of goodie bags before the party was even over)!

But the most special thing about this event was the way it paid tribute to Hispanic Heritage Month, and how inclusive it felt. You could really see how much thought the event coordinators put into showcasing Latine culture and talent.

Growing up, I never felt like I was Hispanic enough (my dad is from Ecuador, my mom from Vietnam, I’m from the U.S.), and it’s taken me 35+ years to embrace my roots. It’s campaigns like this that celebrate everyone’s cultural experience; reminding us that claiming our heritage doesn’t lessen anyone else’s.

Thank you, @alcove_calligraphy for selecting me to be part of your team to work alongside @blossomandinkstudio, @blanca_lewis_calligraphy, and @helloabbydesigns . It will be a day I remember for a long time. 💛

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#experientialmarketing #engravedmakeup #employeeappreciation #rareconsejos #onsiteartist
Engraving powder coated tumblers is SO satisfying. Engraving powder coated tumblers is SO satisfying. I love carving past that first layer of color to reveal the shining steel beneath. 🤩

Some tips for working with this material:

👉🏽 Use an old bur! The head of an already used bur is worn down and more smooth than a brand new bur. Metal easily shows striations, so starting with a smoother bur will minimize them in your engraving.

👉🏽 Start low and go slow. I personally prefer to engrave steel in the 18k - 24k rpm range (not the typical ~35k we do with glass). I move my hand more slowly than my typical writing speed to give the bur enough time to make contact with the surface and get a good clean carve through the powder coating, to the steel underneath.

👉🏽 Tying into the two tips above, going slow through the first pass will reduce the need to go back and touch up. Engraving on metal isn’t as generous as engraving on glass, and too many strokes can affect the overall look of your work.

👉🏽 Before starting on gifts for yourself or others, practice on old bottles you (or your family/friends/colleagues) may have lying around! You can even start by engraving on the bottom side if you’re not ready to commit to the full-on face.

❕Bonus tip: uncoated/plain stainless steel is a bit slick! Especially if the item is rounded, I work even more slowly to prevent my bur from slipping.

❓ Any other tips you have to share with me or anyone reading this post? Questions I may be able to help with? I’d love to hear from you!

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#learnengraving #engravingworkshop #alwaysbelearning #sonomacounty #customyeti
The heart of Letter This Letter That is fostering The heart of Letter This Letter That is fostering human connection. Whether I’m onsite engraving keepsakes for your cherished guests, or teaching in a warm and encouraging environment, my goal is the same: make our time together a special experience that will leave a lasting impression. 💖

The most heartfelt thanks to Meagan, Rachel, Elliot, Cindy, and Eileen for joining me in my first Norcal workshop. And of course to @thehappydahliafarm for hosting in such an incredible setting. 🥹

Pictures don’t do it justice. To be out there, flowers in bloom, breeze blowing, sun shining, bees buzzing, sharing stories and smiles. It was magic. ✨
Heat-foiled these leather @callawaygolf scorecard Heat-foiled these leather @callawaygolf scorecard holders for an in-studio commission, but now all I can think about is how fun it’d be to letter these onsite at a golf event! ⛳️

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#sonomacountyevents #eventcalligrapher #foiling #experientialmarketing #pyrography
A little beginning of the week inspo for ya. ✨ A little beginning of the week inspo for ya. ✨

There's room for everyone to be incredible in their own way. You do you. 💛

During our September workshop at @thehappydahliafarm , we'll be engraving picture frames like this as one of our two class projects. Have you signed up yet?

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#learnengraving #thingstodoinsonomacounty #engravingclass #creativeworkshop #procreatelettering #goldenhour
Announced our first fall workshop yesterday and wa Announced our first fall workshop yesterday and wanted to follow up with some additional info!

Swipe through the carousel to see some FAQs answered. 😊

Send this post to a friend you’d love to attend this workshop with! 

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#learnengraving #engravingworkshop #engravingclass
📣📣 Announcing the first of the fall workshop 📣📣 Announcing the first of the fall workshop line up! 📣📣

Join us at @thehappydahliafarm for our Intro to Glass Engraving workshop on Saturday, September 23, 2023 from 10:30am-12pm. One of our two projects will be a bud vase just like the one in this reel! 

I don’t know about you, but fresh air, a field full of flowers, and learning a new art form is EXACTLY how I would love to spend a weekend morning. 😌

Register at the link in bio. Questions? Feel free to DM or comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

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#learnengraving #handengravingworkshop #engravingclasses
We're coming up on three weeks of Petaluma living! We're coming up on three weeks of Petaluma living!

Our second day here, two neighbors came to the door to hand us a paper invitation to the annual neighborhood pizza barbecue. 🥹🥹 Wholesome level 100! Love love loveeee.

Then last week I took the kiddos to explore the gardens @cornerstonesonoma and came across @meadowcroft_wines. I knew immediately what would make the perfect hostess gift! 

What other Sonoma, Napa, or Marin county places do I need to explore (esp kid-friendly ones)? Let me know in the comments, I gotta get a good list going! 📝

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#bayareacalligrapher #petalumaengraver #personalizedwinebottle #learnengraving #engravedgifts
👋🏽😁 I’m Angie, event calligrapher and e 👋🏽😁 I’m Angie, event calligrapher and engraving instructor at Letter This Letter That.

I specialize in live lettering for your guests and clients at brand activations, corporate parties, company dinners, weddings, and other special events. If you’ve got a surface to be personalized, chances are I can help with that!

Three things about me:

I’m the kind of person that feels late if I’m not 10 minutes early. 😬

… the kind of person that re-clicks through your stories to react to the one I missed. 😂

… the kind of person that will take your guests’ experience to the next level at your upcoming event. 😉

✨✨And a lil’ about the clips in this reel✨✨

1️⃣ Teaching a workshop at Paper Mint Press

2️⃣ Engraving for the 60th anniversary of Diptyque’s candle line

3️⃣ Engraving for Jo Malone London

4️⃣ IG story before calligraphy for Michael Kors

5️⃣ All safety’d out for an in-studio commission

6️⃣ Woodburning for Vertos’ Spring Social 

7️⃣ Engraving for Christian Louboutin

8️⃣ Creating a workshop sample at Hadley & Ren

9️⃣ Teaching at Casa Bloom / occupational hazards of working with Rub’n Buff (iykyk)

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#bayareacalligrapher #petalumaengraver #sonomaweddings #napaweddings #bayareaevents
#experientialmarketing #sanfranciscoevents #northbayartist #onsiteartist #learnengraving #engravingworkshop 

Cover photo by @bykarissamraya 
Last photo by @emilybphoto
🤔 Did you know? Different woods burn in diffe 🤔 Did you know? 

Different woods burn in different ways, at different temperatures!

This was the last commission I took on before we moved this summer. I set my pyrography tool to 45V for the first charcuterie board. 

I was able to achieve very dark, smooth strokes. And I had to move the wand quickly, because the material burned FAST.

For the second board, I had to turn up the machine quite a bit, *plus* move more slowly to give the tool enough contact time to mark the surface. It didn't turn out as bold as the first, but I do still feel both are beautiful. 

I was given complete artistic freedom with this project, but if there is a specific expectation for the items being personalized, it's strongly recommended to provide your artist with a sample of the product beforehand.

This way, your artist can be best prepared and there will be no surprises as to the final outcome of work done for you and your guests. 🤗

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#woodburnedgifts #petalumaartist #northbayeventartist #petalumaevents #marinevents #sonomaevents #sonomacalligrapher #sonomawedding #napaweddings
Happy Birthday, @diptyque candles! 🥳 This July Happy Birthday, @diptyque candles! 🥳

This July, Diptyque's candle line turns 60. They had me onsite at their South Coast Plaza Nordstrom counter on Saturday customizing match boxes, notebooks, and candles for their big birthday celebration. (and an extra special surprise for me? I ran into an old friend I haven't seen in 15 years!)

Live event artistry is a captivating way to share an experience with your guests. Let's chat about how we can create a memorable event for your own clients! Reach me via email at hello@letterthisletterthat.com

And as always, such a pleasure @sundreamsproductions @nordstromscp @southcoastplaza. Thank you for having me!

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#eventcalligrapher #onsitecalligraphy #liveengraving #onsiteengraver #bayareaartist #bayareaevents #petalumaevents #sthelena #marineventplanning #sonomaeventplanning #experientialmaketing #brandactivation #aapismallbusiness #latinxsmallbusiness #weddingideas #norcalweddings #cocktailhourideas #weddingfavorideas #bridalpartygifts
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