Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Wilkins.
Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey began in England, as I am British! I’ve always loved beautiful paper and making cards for friends and family. Even as a child, I was drawn to things that felt personal and thoughtfully made. I love receiving something in the mail that has clearly been chosen with care, whether it’s a handwritten note, a beautifully designed card, or a piece of artwork that feels meaningful to the recipient. There’s something special about the tactile experience of holding a piece of paper that someone has taken the time to create or select just for you.
That love of paper eventually led me to a small shop in Oxford, where I picked up my first calligraphy tools. I was immediately drawn to the slow, meditative nature of putting pen to paper, and what started as a hobby quickly became an obsession. I spent countless hours teaching myself calligraphy, experimenting with ink and nibs, developing my own expressive style, and later incorporating illustration and meaningful botanical details into my work.
That fascination naturally grew beyond calligraphy into the world of fine stationery, letterpress printing, gold foil, and paper craftsmanship. Over time, what began as custom calligraphy evolved into a much broader creative practice.
Since those early days, life has taken me across the Atlantic and through several moves, from England to Michigan and now to the Appalachian Mountains of Maryland. Along the way, my work has grown from focusing primarily on typography to creating highly personalized artwork and stationery for weddings, events, and brands. Today, I spend much of my time designing custom venue illustrations, decorative borders inspired by architecture, meaningful botanical artwork, and paper goods featuring techniques such as letterpress, embossing, debossing, foil, and die-cutting.
One of my favorite parts of the process is finding ways to make each piece feel deeply personal. Whether I’m drawing inspiration from a historic venue, incorporating meaningful details into an invitation suite, or creating artwork that reflects a couple’s story, my goal is always the same: to create something that feels unique, thoughtful, and worthy of being kept long after the event itself.
The business has grown almost entirely through word of mouth, which is something I’m incredibly grateful for. Looking back, it’s amazing to see how a simple fascination with pen, ink, and paper grew into a career that allows me to create meaningful, lasting pieces for people all over the world
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. One of the biggest challenges was simply learning the craft itself. Calligraphy looks effortless when it’s done well, but it took me years of practice before I felt truly confident in my work. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and painting, but calligraphy is a discipline of its own, and I had to be willing to spend a long time as a beginner before I could develop my own style.
In the early days, I also had a tendency to want to do everything myself. I became fascinated with all aspects of the stationery process and even invested in equipment to experiment with techniques like gold foil printing. At one point I was trying to learn everything from design to production and even paper making. Eventually, I realized that I didn’t have to do everything myself. Some processes are best left to people who have spent years mastering their craft, and learning to collaborate with talented printers and makers allowed me to focus on the design and creative side of the work that I enjoy most.
Like many small business owners, finding those first clients was another hurdle. My very first customer came through a friend who was getting married, and from there the business gradually grew through word of mouth. Building trust and a reputation takes time, and there were plenty of moments where I simply had to keep showing up and doing the work without knowing exactly where it would lead.
More recently, becoming a mother has brought a whole new set of challenges and lessons. Balancing creative work, business ownership, and family life requires a different kind of flexibility and patience. In many ways, though, it has also helped me become more intentional with my time and more appreciative of the opportunity to build a creative business around the life I want to create.
Looking back, I think the common thread through all of those challenges has been learning to be patient—with the creative process, with building a business, and with myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Today, Silkpen specializes in bespoke wedding and event stationery, creating everything from save-the-dates and invitation suites to day-of pieces such as menus, place cards, escort cards, and signage. While weddings make up much of my work, I also create custom stationery and artwork for corporate events and special occasions.
Every project begins with getting to know my clients and understanding their vision. I love hearing their story, learning about the venue, and getting a sense of their aesthetic through conversations and mood boards. From there, I develop custom artwork and concepts that feel personal to them, refining the designs together until they feel just right.
Much of my work incorporates hand-drawn botanical elements, custom calligraphy, venue illustrations, and decorative details inspired by architecture, landscapes, and meaningful personal references. I enjoy weaving these elements into a design in a way that feels thoughtful and subtle rather than overly literal. My goal is always to create stationery that tells a story and feels unique to the people receiving it.
I work with a variety of printing techniques, including letterpress, foil, embossing, debossing, and custom die-cutting, which allows us to create pieces that are not only visually beautiful but also tactile and memorable.
What I’m most proud of is that almost all of my work is custom. Rather than selecting from templates, my clients receive artwork created specifically for them. I love taking inspiration from a venue, a meaningful location, a favorite flower, or an architectural detail and transforming it into something that feels personal and lasting.
I think what sets my work apart is the combination of custom illustration, calligraphy, and design. Because I create both the artwork and the lettering myself, each project becomes a truly collaborative and personal process. My clients aren’t simply choosing stationery – they’re commissioning something that reflects their story, and hopefully becomes a keepsake long after the event has passed.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Without question, the person who deserves the most credit is my husband. He has been there from the very beginning, long before Silkpen became a business.
He was with me in Oxford when I bought my first calligraphy nib, and he’s been supporting my creative pursuits ever since. In the early days, when I became fascinated by every aspect of paper and print, he happily followed me down countless rabbit holes. He even helped me experiment with paper making and joined me on a course to learn gold foil techniques. While many of those experiments eventually taught me the value of leaving certain processes to the experts, he was always willing to encourage whatever creative idea I wanted to explore.
Today, he’s still my biggest supporter. He proofreads proposals and website copy, offers a fresh perspective when I’ve been staring at a design for too long, and has a surprisingly good eye for the small details that can make a project stronger. Running a creative business can sometimes feel quite solitary, so having someone who genuinely believes in what I’m building and is willing to help in both practical and emotional ways has been invaluable.
I’m also incredibly grateful for the talented printers and craftspeople I work with. Over the years I’ve learned that the best results come from collaborating with people who have spent years mastering their own skills. Their expertise allows me to focus on the artwork and design, while trusting them to bring the technical side of the process to life with the care and precision it deserves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.silkpenstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silkpenstudio?igsh=MXY5NWU3bTYwcjFweg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
