Slinging Ink®️ Calligraphy & Engraving

The sporadic thoughts and work of a passionate calligrapher & engraver

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Fragrance Bottle Engraving - Houston

Engraving fragrance bottles onsite around Houston was not something that I initially embraced over a decade ago. As an introvert, it was not an activity that I saw myself doing. Frankly, I was still developing my skills (and confidence) with engraving and having that out in the open for all to see was intimidating to say the least. The first time that I engraved for a fragrance company was actually not planned. I referred the event to another engraver and they cancelled at the last minute so I was asked to engrave in their place. That was the start of my fragrance engraving career in Houston. True story….

However, what I learned, and what I tell new engraving and calligraphy students, is that confidence comes with time and exposure. I also learned to not take everything so seriously. There are no glass engraving police. They don’t exist. Well yes, you may be engraving a $5,000 bottle of Louis XIII cognac (I’ve engraved quite a few of these over the years) or a $4,000 bottle of Screaming Eagle wine (last Sunday) that you weren’t expecting. But, glass is glass…for the most part. And actually the expensive glass is easier to engrave :). Just whatever you do, do not think “Don’t mess up.” Just do what you always do and keep it moving. It’s just glass.

Cheers!

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Anniversary - Houston Engraver

an·ni·ver·sa·ry

/ˌanəˈvərs(ə)rē/

noun

1. the date on which an event took place in a previous year

Anniversaries are those occasions that we celebrate every year to commemorate some special event. Some of those events are joyous such as a wedding anniversary and some of them may be more solemn such as a cherished person’s death. All the same, they are important to us and they warrant our attention.

This bottle was engraved at a wine bottle etching event in Clear Lake. A lady was passing by my table and stopped with curiosty as she was unclear as to the purpose of my presence. She asked what I was doing and I informed her that I was engraving wine bottles. She gave me a puzzled look as engraving wine bottles was a foreign concept for her. That’s understandable as it is not exactly a garden variety activity. I pulled up a few pictures on my phone and provided examples that I had etched days before. The concept still really didn’t make sense for her. I asked her if she had friends that enjoyed wine and if she had an upcoming event. She mentioned that she had friends that were having an anniversary party the next day. I told her that there were wine bottles in the store that would engrave beautifully and would make an easy gift to take to the party. She settled on the bottle featured in this picture. Once she saw the process and the end result, she bought 2 more :). I hope that the anniversary party was a splendid time and I am delighted that I helped to solve her gift conundrum. Cheers!

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Royal Wine Company Bottle Engraving Event

HEB

4955 Beechnut St

Houston, TX

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OND in Wine and Spirits - Houston Engraver

In the wine and spirit world, there is something that is referred to as “OND”. This stands for October, November, December. For people that work in wine and spirits, it is the busiest time of the year. You figuratively tell your friends and family “good-bye, see you next year”. It is just an insanely busy time as that is when people not only drink and are merry, but they may also very well give wine and spirits as gifts.

When I started out as an engraver, it didn’t really occur to me that that shift in sales involved me. However with each passing year, it became clearer that during OND I was telling my family “see you next year”. My daughter has experienced OND since she was a baby. Funny enough, now she just knows that during November and December she will see a babysitter more than she will see me. It is an insanely busy time for onsite engraving. I usually engrave 2, sometimes 3 events a day, everyday just about 6 weeks straight……and I love it. This year was a first as I am currently in graduate school at the same time. Between grad school, running my business and my daughter, it was ……insane. But it was great and I am grateful. I was able to see clients for whom I have engraved over the years at those wine bottle engraving events. I am honored that they remembered me as I know that I am only a blip on their radar screen of life.

Now in January, life is “normal” again. Normal until OND 2022 :)

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Funny Message Engraved in a Wine Bottle - Houston Engraver

As I am often asked what are some of the funniest messages that I have engraved in wine bottles at events around Houston, I thought that it might be easier if I began to show you. Take a peek!

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Rombauer Wine Bottle Engraving Event

HEB

9710 KATY FREEWAY

HOUSTON, TX 77055-6209

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Chanel Fragrance Bottle Engraving - Houston

Chanel is one of those brands that just stays with you. It is not ostentatious. It is not overstated. It does not apologize for its air of exclusivity. It provokes this slightly elusive demeanor. It just is….and everyone knows.

I have worn fragrances from Chanel for as long as I can remember…since my 20’s for sure. At this point in my life, it is the only brand that I wear. I’m a creature of habit. I have an affinity for Chanel Beige during the day and Chanel Gardenia at night. They have definitely become my signature scents. So when a Chanel fragrance arrives at my table for an engraving event, it holds a special place in my psyche.

There are 2 aspects (as far as I know) that can instantly transport a person to particular memories: music and scents. When I smell honeysuckle, I am immediately transported to my grandparent’s farm as that was where I first remember experiencing that scent. Scents transfix our minds in a way that no other concepts have the capacity to do. I digress…

This frangrace bottle of COCO Mademoiselle is nearly an engraver’s dream. It has a flat surface (like most of the Chanel bottles) and the glass is nice to engrave…minimal resistance. I hope that Charlotte is pleased. Cheers!

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Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Baccarat Rouge 540 Fragrance Bottle Engraving - Neiman Marcus Houston

Interestingly enough, I have engraved a fair amount of bottles from Maison Francis Kurkdjian during events at Neiman Marcus here in Houston. However, it has always been so busy that I have not yet had the opportunity to enjoy scents from this company. What I have, however, enjoyed is the ease with which these bottles are etched or engraved by hand. It is so evident that the glass is crystal by Baccarat. It engraves like silk. There is no resistance and it does everything that you want it to do. Nonetheless, here is little information about this scent:

Baccarat Rouge 540 eau de parfum is born from the encounter between Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Baccarat to celebrate the crystal manufacturer’s 250th birthday. The woody scent releases a poetic alchemy, a highly condensed and graphic olfactory signature. Breezy jasmine facets, radiant saffron boost the ambergris mineral notes and the woody tones of freshly-cut cedar. Bright and sleek, Baccarat Rouge 540 eau de parfum caresses the skin like an amber and woody floral whisper.

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Amouge Fragrance Engraving Event

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Jo Malone London Fragrance Engraving Event

Jo Malone London

River Oaks District

4444 Westheimer

Houston, TX 77027

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Dolce & Gabbana Fragrance Engraving Event

Macy’s @ Baybrook Mall

500 Baybrook Mall

Friendswood, TX 77546

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Maker's Mark Bourbon Whiskey Private Selection Engraving - Houston

Once upon a time when I enjoyed whiskey, I was introduced to bourbon. I quite recall enjoying it immensely. However, interestingly enough, I don’t believe that I had ever had Maker’s Mark. In my 20’s, it seemed to be one of those drinks that you had to mentally prepare for on some level. In my 30’s, I had become enraptured in scotch so it wasn’t on my radar so much. By my mid 40’s, nothing was on my radar anymore :-). With that said, I have engraved a fair amount of Maker’s Mark over the last year. It’s really a cool bottle to engrave…especially the “46” bottle. For us engravers, it’s almost a gift. The bottle designers have graciously provided all of this empty real estate and these particular bottles were presented with the labels removed. Even better.

On this bottle, I was asked to etch first and last names for an event. I had initially planned to go with my usual size of script lettering on wine & spirit bottles with the x-height at roughly 1/6”. However with all of that space dead center in the middle of the bottle, I thought “no, if we are going to do it, then let’s do it.” I decided to make the x-height closer to 1/4”. I think that that was the right call. It gave the lettering a slightly bolder look to go with the feeling that this brand evokes.

So of course, I knew nothing about the Private Selection prior to engraving these bottles. I found a little information about it on their website:

Maker's Mark® Private Selection

At Maker's Mark, our wood-finishing series was created to explore new, unique expressions of our signature whisky. Beginning as fully matured Maker's Mark® at cask strength, Private Selection is created by adding 10 custom wood finishing staves to each barrel. It's then aged in our limestone cellar to extract a unique, flavorful taste profile. Participants in this special barrel program get their say in the selection of these wooden staves. The finishing staves can be any combination of five flavor profiles chosen especially for this program. With 1,001 possible stave combinations, each expression of Private Selection has a customized finish and taste profile that is unique, yet undeniably Maker's®.

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Send a letter - Houston calligraphy engraver

Oftentimes these days if I am writing, it is actually engraving in glass, wine bottles, fragrance bottles, spirit bottles, mirrors etc. However, this is how it all started. I simply wanted my written correspondence on paper with friends & family to be beautiful. I began to take calligraphy & Spencerian classes around the country like an obsessive along with becoming curious about engraving and here we are….. a full-grown calligraphy & engraving business.

It is so easy to fire off a text, a tweet or an Instagram post. The recipient reads it and understands the message as it is conveyed. However when you send an actual handwritten letter, there is a shift in the perception of the recipient. That person understands that time was set aside specifically for them to convey this message. It doesn’t have to be written in calligraphy for the recipient to love it.

I have a neighbor who has become a dear friend. He has no cell phone, let alone a smartphone. All of our correspondence is outside as neighbors, via his landline telephone or (yes, you guessed it) mail. Actual letters in the mail. He will send a note simply to tell me about someone he met while walking or the happenings of his day. There is something nostalgically beautiful about that that I absolutely adore.

Next time that you want to say hello to a friend, take the time to write a letter. Obviously not everyday, but just try it. They will love you for it. Cheers!

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Maker's Mark Bourbon Whiskey Bottle Engraving - Houston Engraver

I have engraved a fair amount of Maker’s Mark Bourbon bottles over the years. The glass bottle itself is really simple to etch as the bottle is made of solid quality glass and poses minimal resistance. The label designers were also kind enough to provide plenty of space for engraving. However, I stumbled across the website and learned a bit about the brand and their mantra. We have something in common. We both believe in quality over quantity. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Here’s how they put it:

Making Maker's Mark® Bourbon

There's an old joke at the distillery that goes, "If we could make it any faster, we wouldn't." Because at Maker's Mark, it's one bottle at a time. Every time. That's as true today as it was when our founders filled our first bottle. And since then, it's been a widely held belief around here that character isn't made by machine.

Love it. Cheers!

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Austin Hope Wine Bottle Etching - Houston Engraving

This bottle of Austin Hope has a mildly funny story behind it. I was engraving at an event and interestingly enough and a wine company representative that was working in the store at the time mentioned that he had a family reunion approaching and how it would be great to give his siblings Austin Hope bottles with the location of the reunion engraved as keepsakes. This sounded like a great idea so we etched the wine bottles with the message. Later that night, I received a text that he needed another wine bottle engraved with the same message as he sent a picture of the wine bottles to his wife and she reminded him that he was a sibling shy in his count. Oooops…. So the next day he met me at a completely store that happened to have the same bottle and we engraved a few more. I love it. Cheers!

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JNSQ Wine Bottle Engraving - Houston

The wine bottle that I engrave in this video is by JNSQ. This bottle is honestly one of the most beautiful bottles that I have seen along with being an engraver’s dream. The shape of the bottle makes it easy to maneuver for engraving. The near flat & wide surface is incredibly close to the same feel that you would experience with engraving on flat glass. There is not much to it. Cheers!

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Cartier Fragrance Bottle Engraver - Houston Engraving

When someone offers Cartier, the answer is always yes.