Meghan Markle Once Did Calligraphy as a Side Gig — So Can You
Future royalty — they’re just like us!
Before she landed a role on “Suits,” Meghan Markle, the soon-to-be member of the royal family, had a side gig: calligrapher.
Between 2004 and 2005, while Markle was working towards her big acting break, she taught calligraphy, gift-wrapping and book-binding at a Paper Source store in Beverly Hills.
In a 2013 interview with Glamour magazine, Markle revealed that she attended an all-girls Catholic school that taught penmanship classes. In true Penny Hoarder fashion, she turned that skill into extra cash.
“When I was auditioning at the onset, instead of waiting tables, I did calligraphy,” Markle told the magazine.
On top of her part-time gig at the stationery shop, Markle also did freelance calligraphy work such as wedding invitations. Her most famous client? None other than the famous “Blurred Lines” singer Robin Thicke.
And while her upcoming nuptials have not required her calligraphy skills — thanks to the royal warrant held by London-based printing company Barnard & Westwood, which printed the invitations — it’s pretty cool that she could have done them herself.
With the average price of wedding invitations ranging from $2 to $5 dollars an envelope, it’s difficult to deny that calligraphy can be a pretty lucrative side hustle.
Maybe you’ve always had neat handwriting or you’re looking for a creative outlet that will earn you some extra cash. If so, channel your inner Markle and give calligraphy a try.
You can check out this post to learn all about the ins and outs of adding calligraphy to your list of side hustles. It will tell you all about supplies, how to practice and ways to grow your new-found business.
And if you’re skeptical that you could ever become a paid calligrapher, don’t take my word for it — take Markle’s.
She told Esquire that the number one thing when learning calligraphy is taking your time.
“Just do fluid strokes, you don’t have to have a fancy pen by any means,” Markle told the magazine. “And here’s the other thing, you have to write in a way that’s authentic to you.”
After all, if Meghan Markle, a part-time calligrapher turned actress turned future Duchess (Princess? Lady? Who knows?) can do it, why can’t you?
Kaitlyn Blount is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Since she doesn’t have a royally appointed printer on call, she might take up calligraphy just to avoid paying $5 a pop for her upcoming wedding invitations.
