Hi, I’m Molly Suber Thorpe.
I design custom lettering for brands and individuals around the world, digital assets for artists, and bestselling books for calligraphers.
I’ve helped thousands of letterers hone their skills, opening doors to new creative opportunities and careers.
Since 2009, I have worked with clients including Google Arts & Culture, Michael Kors, Martha Stewart, Lonely Planet, and Fendi. My work has been featured in such publications as The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Martha Stewart Weddings, Los Angeles Times, and Buzzfeed.
I’m the author of five books about lettering.
Modern Calligraphy (2013) is a beginner’s guide covering the basics of pointed pen script.
The Calligrapher’s Business Handbook (2017) is a guide for crafting a thriving freelance career out of hand lettering.
Mastering Modern Calligraphy (2019), picks up where my first leaves off. It is an in-depth guide to modern calligraphy, and the perfect companion for pointed pen and digital calligraphers alike.
Decorative Alphabets (2021) is a coloring book for learning new lettering styles by tracing the exemplars, or just having fun coloring the ornate illustrations.
Modern Cursive Handwriting (2022) is a comprehensive guide to script penmanship for adults and teens, with beginner-friendly directions and guided practice pages.
I love to teach!
My pointed pen calligraphy workshops are always small, emphasizing focused, individual attention. To date, I have taught over 700 students at my workshops, private lessons, and lectures around the United States and Europe.
In addition to my in-person workshops, I am honored to bear the badge of Top Teacher on the Skillshare platform, with over 40,000 students and 1.5 million minutes of watch time.
My lettering toolkit is a free resource bundle that’s always growing.
Subscribers to my newsletter get lifetime access to all the downloads, then get more free products straight to their inbox as I release them.
The bundle includes modern calligraphy practice sheets, Procreate brushes and workbooks, printable guide sheets, and more.
I also design digital assets for lettering artists.
My lettering work isn’t only hand lettering. I love to design digital lettering brushes and ligature-rich fonts, too, many of which have a handwritten look and feel.
Giving back to the lettering arts community is very important me, so I have created a number of resources for lettering freelancers to grow their businesses.
In 2016, I founded Calligrafile.com, a free, curated database of trusted tools and resources for calligraphers, hand lettering artists, type enthusiasts, and creative freelancers.
I also design brushes and digital art tools for lettering and illustration. These are tools I originally created for myself to use in my own work, and have made available to other artists and creative freelancers.
My background
I graduated from UCLA’s Design Communication Arts program (Los Angeles, California) in 2009 with a concentration in typography and layout design. Prior to that, I studied art history, comparative literature, and creative writing at The American University of Paris (Paris, France).
Press
Los Angeles Times
Modernizing her Ps and Qs: Calligrapher Molly Suber Thorpe
USA Today
21 of The Best Gifts for Artists
Paper & Ink Arts
Review: Mastering Modern Calligraphy
The Wall Street Journal
Pens for Better Penmanship
The Guardian
Worth Its Weight in Paper
Creative Empire Podcast
Episode 99
Voyage LA Interview
Conversations with the Inspiring Molly Suber Thorpe
Buzzfeed
20 Thoughtful Gifts For The Bookworm In Your Life
Uppercase Magazine
The Calligraphy Issue (No. 23)
Bound & Lettered
A Personal Pointed Pen Style
The Postman's Knock
Review: The Calligrapher's Business Handbook
The Postman's Knock
Review: Modern Calligraphy
Design*Sponge
DIY Save the Date by Molly Suber Thorpe
Ellsworth American
Artist Shares Passion for Art of Calligraphy
Select Clients
Google Arts & Culture
Martha Stewart Weddings
Michael Kors
Fendi
Alfred Coffee
GoDaddy
Lonely Planet
J. Jill
Victorio & Lucchino
AARP
Neenah Paper
Tv Only International
Vogue Footwear
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
Koei Tecmo
Education
University of California, Los Angeles
Design Communication Arts
Los Angeles, California
Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics
Prose Poetry
Boulder, Colorado
The American University of Paris
Art History, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing
Paris, France
Awards & Recognition
Lempicka Typeface named a MyFonts.com “Expert’s Choice”, 2020
Included in the 20 on the Rise list from Honeybook and Rising Tide Society, October 2019
Awarded the badge of Skillshare Top Teacher, with 1.5M+ minutes of watch time
The Calligrapher’s Business Handbook a #1 Amazon bestseller in two categories: Calligraphy and Business of Art, 2017
Modern Calligraphy named an Amazon.com “Favorite Craft Book,” 2013
AIGA (Re)design Award for Cultural Responsibility
First in three categories in collaboration with Softfirm Studio, 2011
Highlights
Founder of Calligrafile.com, the largest resource of its kind for lettering artists
Graphic designer of Google Arts & Culture's mobile app launch print graphics
Guest lecturer on graphic design and its intersection with hand lettering, University of California at Los Angeles Extension
Guest lecturer on digital applications of calligraphy, The University of Southern California’s Roski School of Fine Arts
Languages
English (native) • French (fluent) • Greek (basic)
