An Artist at Heart

Maria Daas | Glory Co.

Interview by Olivia Walls

Maria Daas is the owner of Glory Co. Calligraphy. As a business owner and creative, Maria intentionally finds harmony between the two mediums by staying true to who she is at heart—an artist.

You’ve been an artist since you were a young girl. How did you get into calligraphy specifically?

Actually, in college where I got my BFA in Fine Art, one of my classes was a Book Arts class. I was doing a project and decided to include a bit of calligraphy in my assignment because I had been practicing calligraphy as a fun hobby. My professor loved it, and he started talking to me about calligraphy. He encouraged me to keep pursuing calligraphy as a hobby, but it eventually became a passion of mine!

Not only are you an artist, but you’re also a business owner. How do you sustain your creativity while also managing the day-to-day tasks of running your business?

This is definitely challenging, but not impossible by any means! I am at my core, a painter. I will always love fine art and painting the most out of anything I do, however, owning a business does take up my extra time to be creative in other mediums. I actually have to put ‘‘painting and designing days’’ on my work calendar as if it is an appointment.

Balancing creativity and managing a business comes from the attention you put into your craft. You take care of business first, then allow days for shutting everything else out to go back to the reason why you own that creative business in the first place. When it comes to designing wedding stationery, I’m deeply inspired by fine art and painting. For me, they go hand in hand.

The more I keep inspiration in front of me, the more it will flow out creatively, despite the day-to-day responsibilities. When you’re an artist at heart, you won’t be able to help but keep your wellspring full; it literally flows out of you.

What are your future goals for Glory Co.?

My goals for Glory Co. are to expand the ways I’m able to offer unique and artful stationery to couples. I would love to be able to print more in-house rather than outsourcing to other printers. I ultimately want to learn what goes into unique printing processes such as letterpress printing and foiling invitations.

As my business grows, I’d also love to give back even more to global charities. A major part of Glory Co. is giving to organizations that are changing the world and bringing the light of Jesus to peoples’ lives. In the end, I want to see how I can use stationery even further as an art form and allow my creativity to discover my unique design vision within the wedding stationery industry.