Crossroads Calligraphy®

 

We are a calligraphy and design studio specializing in custom calligraphy artwork for gift giving. Additional services include onsite calligraphy and engraving, wedding envelope addressing, wedding stationery design, and calligraphic murals and signs. Our company is an equal opportunity creator.

Most of our clients trust us to pen text that the recipient will enjoy. Many of our pieces are giving as gifts in appreciation for the important people in their lives. There’s something timeless about the way ink, nib, and paper interact with the text.

Calligraphy makes a memorable gift. It’s something the viewer can spend time with. They’ll always remember how felt when you had calligraphy done for them.

About Renee, the Person Behind the Pen

Renee clearly enjoys her work. She is constantly deepening her studies and elevating her skills and the materials she uses. Calligraphy never gets old for her, she loves all the details — and she’s as excited about each piece as her clients are.

In 2017, Renee joined the Calligraphic Society of Arizona. In 2023, she assumed the responsibility of the Web Chair for the Guild. To learn more about the guild, click here.

You can see her diverse portfolio here or inquire with her about commissions here. Renee also teaches calligraphy a few times throughout the year. Join her newsletter to stay up-to-date on her in-person events. For a list of the classes she offers, click here.

Outside the studio, Renee likes to:

• Cook delicious meals or read about cooking
• Learn about sewing clothes
• Spend time in the garden
• Practice Yoga
• Journal
• Get sidetracked by elaborate and involved projects . . .

Why “Crossroads”?

“Renee was wonderful to work with. She added her touch to my ideas and was very flexible when my plans changed. She accommodated everything that I needed to make her work a surprise for my wife and the piece turned out beautiful. I couldn’t be happier with how my wife reacted to it.”

Shane Hause

Values

Each human being has a full spectrum of emotion, and each of us inherently deserves compassion and respect. This is a foundational and valid part of our existence. There are many paths to self-knowledge and effective communication of boundaries. To make an effort toward these concepts is progress.

Emotional Intelligence

I believe in the value of emotional intelligence in navigating this experience in relationship to self, environment, and others. When clients come to me, they’ve already given their request plenty of thought. That’s the most complex part of any communication: being authentic with expression. I honor that journey and provide calligraphy that visually expresses the emotions and energy to engage the viewer.

Effective Communication

I am as thorough as possible when sharing about my process, procedure, and methods so that you can understand what your completed piece will be like. In my experience, the better idea a person has about what the plan is, the more at-ease they feel until it’s complete.

Anti Bias Education

We are not all having the same experience in this society. The only way I can understand another person’s experience is to make the time and space to listen to it. I choose to participate in building a community that honors individuals’ experiences and needs. This means that I regularly educate and monitor myself for implicit biases. I also have call-in conversations with friends, family, and colleagues about marginalization. We can no longer avoid examining the ways whiteness plays out as violence. My anti-racism efforts:

• Monitoring myself for bias and not denying it when it comes up
• Disrupting racist stereotypes and ideologies in friends, family, and peers
• Listening to Black experience, including experiences outside of trauma
• Paying Black people who are willing to educate
• Amplifying non-white voices and businesses
• Voting

Conscious Consumerism + Sustainability

Every dollar we spend is a vote for the type of world we want to live in.

Conscious consumerism is important to me — where things are made, who made them, whether they are reusable, compostable, or recyclable. This helps to protect nature, humanity included. When shopping for supplies or services, I prioritize local businesses first, especially if they’re women-led and BIPOC-owned.

That said, I know that currently, shopping with integrity is not an option for everyone. It is not my responsibility to judge, but to educate myself and choose how to act from those intentions. Here are some of my efforts when making personal and business purchases:

• Keeping money out of companies that are racist, treat workers unfairly, or donate to bigoted organizations
• Prioritize purchasing from locally-owned merchants and promote their content
• Encourage peers to do the same

Economic Accessibility + Justice

Flexible Options

Different budgets call for different production needs. I can tailor design and calligraphy for your event or business that expresses you. I start with a base rate for everyone with payment plans available and offer customization and add-ons from there.

Workshops on a Sliding Scale

Access to learning new skills should not be limited by funds. I offer workshop prices on a sliding scale with an option to pay it forward. My teachers offer knowledge for free saying, “There’s room for everyone.” I have benefited from it first hand and it’s the least I can do to be a part of the group that invites more minds in to the practice of calligraphy.

Distribution of Funds

When one of us comes up, we all come up. I believe in leaning into the strength of the entire community, and we can only do that when we all have access to the keys we need. Each month, I donate a percentage of my gross profits to:

• calligraphy scholarships
• local funds for access to therapy
• mutual aid supporting access to food and shelter

In an effort to make learning and commissioning calligraphy more accessible, I’ve expanded payment options for my offerings.

Ascender Calligraphy Scholarship Fund

I add 2% of net sales to this scholarship monthly. This scholarship goes toward supplies and registration for classes I teach. Scholarships allowed me to take childhood calligraphy classes and study with prominent calligrapher Paul Antonio. I keep 2 spots available as scholarship positions for each class, completely confidential between myself and the recipient.

Thank You

As I learn better, I do better. Divesting thought and action from what we’re used to isn’t a linear and finite task. It’s an ongoing practice. I can’t further my work without these practices bearing on the decisions I make. Thank you for supporting my work and this vision.

Updates and Revisions

Published 8/9/2020

Revised 8/31/2020 after 2 anti-bias trainings. Streamlined each Value presented.

Revised /2/22/21 to be specific about the Ascender Scholarship Fund

Revised 8/6/2024 to be more concise