The newest Instagram sensation, Sanjana Chatlani, is creativity and passion personified. She is a young calligrapher, designer, entrepreneur, and founder of “The Bombay Lettering Company ”. She has 42.5k followers on Instagram. Sanjana has been creative from her childhood. She was always the over-enthusiastic child who always wanted more out of life. As a joke, parents in her neighborhood used to call her “Daredevil Sanjana”. She always loved to take charge; she wanted to be at the top of everything.
Sanjana Chatlani never thought she would turn art into her profession when she went to the UK to study business management. But it was only within a year, that she understood she needed to do something more creative. She then came back to Mumbai and joined a Media and Communication course at Mumbai University. Sanjana always believed in following her heart and did just that.
It was her family who supported her passion for calligraphy . She inherited her creativity from her mom, who is a fashion designer and although nobody in her family is an artist, they supported her tremendously. Her father is in the automobile industry and brother in the stock market but that never stops them from constantly encouraging her and taking a keen interest in her love for calligraphy.
But building a career in calligraphy was not easy for her. Initially, people did not understand what she did or how calligraphy as an art form was so vast as a profession. When she started in 2017, people were both confused and intrigued! There was barely anyone in India who was building a business in this form of art. It was strenuous for Sanjana to show people and explain to them what could be done within this beautiful world. She had to create a market that did not really exist and create a demand for a service that people knew little of.
Slowly, things changed for our young Instagram inspiration. She is the first in the country to have an online store for calligraphy tools and one of the few to work with celebrity clients, luxury brands and companies in the country. Sanjana always wanted to become a thought leader, and with the help of social media, digital platforms she’s reaching an audience that truly appreciates what she does!
Her mentor from Italy, Barbara Calzolari, told her that one could become a professional only when he or she was a pro in that field. Therefore she constantly learns and invests in herself, to make sure she’s upgrading her skills, her knowledge, not just as a calligrapher but as a creative entrepreneur as well.
Sanjana Chatlani has many inspirations. Traveling and meeting people from different fields and cultures is a big inspiration for her, books and online courses on calligraphy and designing are also her inspirations. Calligraphy has changed her a lot as a person – she has become more calm and composed and definitely sees it trickle down into all aspects of her life. As calligraphy is a technical art form, it has made her more meticulous and attentive to detail.
Sanjana enjoys collaborating with brands and individuals. She has always placed collaborations over the competition and community over competition.
A big part of The Bombay Lettering Company is workshops and Sanjana teaches a style called Copperplate Calligraphy. Apart from her own offerings, she hosts various workshops by well renowned calligraphers across the world.
Sanjana’s advice to the young aspirants of calligraphy is to study the artform sincerely before diving into it professionally. Be realistic about your passion and how you want to convert it into a profession. Sanjana also advises building a holistic presence across various platforms and not depending entirely on one social media platform. You need to strike a balance, be creative, network, learn, grow, and build the business you envision for yourself!
