Helloooooo! I’m Emma, you will see my face plastered all over the site as I am the hands behind the appropriately named Written by Emma!

I have a habit for making a long story longer, and an ADHD diagnosis to explain why I do that, so I’ll try to fight my impulses to save you the pain of the early years! I’ve gone from Manx to Manc - left my quiet Island life in the Irish Sea for a faster pace on the mainland (that’s what we call it on the Isle of Man, or even better - ‘across’).

I taught myself calligraphy and bought a letterpress on a whim after my husband Matt proposed to me in 2016. I wanted letterpress invitations and couldn’t find anything that matched up to the vision I had in my head. So off I began on a mission to get good at both practices. I’ve always been creative and think that having vision in this way is a superpower I’ve been blessed with. I sometimes joke that it’s a good job I had the patience to put the hours into calligraphy and become professional before having children (BC, if you will) - because after children, there wouldn’t be a hope in sticking at a medium long enough for it to become my profession!

Since we got married, we’ve moved to Manchester and have welcomed three beautiful tiny souls into our lives, joining Nero to complete our family. Becoming a mother made me appreciate even more how privileged I am to be able to work for myself. I am able to be at every assembly and sports day - drop off and pick up, weeks on end spent with them in the Isle of Man ensuring they keep their Manx roots. This is a thing I do not take for granted.

My business began in the wedding realm and weddings will always be my ‘first love’. Designing a suite of invitations which screams personality and reflects the couple as individuals as well as their relationship is always a challenge I love jumping into. Choosing papers, picking wax seal colours, letting my imagination run away with itself to create magic on paper for you is my duty and honour!

Since I’ve had the children, I have reduced the amount of weddings I take on to ensure that the work/life balance is never tipped too much. It’s hard to loosen your grip slightly on your passion, but necessary. In light of this, I’ve found the business naturally moving towards corporate work. Whether it be demonstrating how to hold a calligraphy pen for Erling Haaland’s monumental contract renewal at Manchester City FC, writing hundreds of name places for the National Television Awards, creating logos for new businesses or facilitating lovely lunchtime wellbeing workshops in the workspace - my corporate work is fast becoming a delightful mix of work that I love taking on.

Hopefully if you’ve found your way here, you’ll already know that my style is modern and design-led. Calligraphy, typography, illustration and unusual materials. Tactile and interesting.

Being a creative Virgo I’m a stickler for details. Every. Detail. Matters. That’s my mentality and I’m always in pursuit of perfection. I don’t settle for anything that isn’t up to my own standards, as no customer should.

If you would like to chat about a project, wedding, brand activation or even a tattoo! Get in touch and let’s see what we can do.