Live Calligraphy at CommunityAmerica Credit Union Branch Opening in Des Peres
The Client: CommunityAmerica Credit Union
The Event: VIP Reception for Business and Community Leaders
The Venue: CommunityAmerica’s new branch in Des Peres, Missouri
The Item: Bonded leather keychains branded with CommunityAmerica’s logo
The Method: Silver hot foil of names and initials
The Outcome: 70+ hot foiled keychains in a 1.5 hour event
How It Started
When the marketing team from CommunityAmerica bank reached out with a request for a live calligrapher for their VIP bank opening, I was thrilled. Live calligraphy is such a powerful add on to an event, and I knew it would be the perfect fit for the event that the team had described. In the initial inquiry, they were interested in having leather keychains customized for guests and were curious about the booking process.
In my response, I requested a guest count (always helpful when planning events) and preliminary suggested gold hot foil to match the hardware on the bonded leather keychains. Hot foil is an excellent method for high volume, high impression events. It dries quickly and leaves a gorgeous lasting impression. The only “downside” to hot foil over using a standard pen or ink is that it does require access to an outlet. But thankfully, that wasn’t an issue here.
After confirming guest count, I sent over a few photos of other leather keychains I’ve foiled in the past to give the client an idea of what their item would look like. I quoted my rate for the event, the client accepted it, signed the contract, paid the deposit, and were were good to go!
The type of inquiry that makes me a little
giddy as a live calligrapher:
“We’re hosting a VIP reception, and we’re looking to add one more element. We really want to make it stand out and feel elevated.”
The Material Test
The client was ordering bonded leather keychains with their bank logo pre-imprinted. They had sent me the material specs from the source’s website, which is so helpful in determining how an item will be personalized. When the keychains arrived to the venue the week of, I picked up a few to create material tests. Just as I had suspected, the leather foiled beautifully and I snapped a photo to send to my client. Bonus of creating a material test: we then had samples to display for guests at the event!
On left: the photo the client had sent me of the item along with the material specs.
For the material test itself (far left), I sampled multiple different types of foil plus a blind debossing, where I press a heat tool into the material. Because this was bonded leather and not genuine leather, I didn’t recommend the blind deboss.
After I knew the material would perform well, I went on to testing a “menu” of offerings for the guests. For high volume events, I always recommend limiting options as much as possible for guests. For this, I suggested either initials on front alongside the stamped logo, or a first name on the back next to the hardware.
I sent the options to the client to bring back to their team. They chose silver foil to match the hardware and the result was gorgeous!
The Big Event
I arrived at the venue half an hour ahead of my contracted start time to set up and make sure everything was ready for the personalization. Thankfully, my station was all set up and I had plenty of time to greet the team and get prepared. For live foiling, the only setup is plugging in the heat tool (it takes about 30 seconds to warm up).
I greeted guests as they trickled in ahead of the start time. The CommunityAmerica team made a great use of their live calligraphy investment and positioned the hot foiling station immediately inside the doors. Guests were greeted by this elevated offer of a custom keychain, some guests being baffled by the idea that it could be done in such a short amount of time, and by hand (always a fun myth to bust!).
This event was for business and community leaders, and it was wonderful to chat with guests as I was hot foiling their keychains. The station was a hit!
The Guest Reaction
I personalized over 70 keychains (each takes less than 30 seconds, with no dry time) in the 1.5 hours I was on site.
Some of my favorite remarks:
"WOW that was quick!"
"You did that so fast!"
"You can customize it right here?!"
"I don't really need another keychain but can you put my granddaughter's name on it? She'll love this!"
"Wait you're going to do that by hand?"
"This is really neat. I've never seen this done before!"
"This is SO cool!"
This activation pulled double duty as a guest favor and entertainment, as guests stopped to watch their gifts being created and natural network and mingling ensued. Alongside a traditional gift bag, a special appearance by Masyn Winn, and refreshments, these custom hot foiled keychains were a natural fit for a premium guest experience.