26 | MAY 20 • 2021 

E

lana Hopman has always had a love 
for printed goods. A self-proclaimed 
“paper nerd,
” the 37-year-old West 
Bloomfield resident grew up with a passion 
for beautiful stationery and letters. It’s a 
love she carried with her throughout her 
adult life, eventually making the art of print 
her full-time career.
The owner and founder of the calligra-
phy and stationery business Annabel Reese 
didn’t always have her eyes set on working 
with printed products. In fact, after moving 
from her hometown of Farmington Hills 
to New York City to attend college at New 
York University, Hopman began to work in 
digital content.
She spent long hours at her desk, often 
staring at a computer. It didn’t feel artistic 
enough for the digital content strategist, 
who began to turn to calligraphy classes as 
a creative outlet. “I fell in love with it,
” she 
recalls. “It was like a meditation for me.
”
Hopman says calligraphy was sooth-
ing and calming, a hobby that helped her 
unwind after a long day at work. Though it 
started as a passion project, she soon found 
herself sending letters to friends and creat-
ing calligraphy for their weddings. Other 
people began to take notice of Hopman’s 
work, and she started to develop a side 
business of creating printed products.
In 2014, a year after moving back to 
Michigan with her husband, Bret, she had 

her first child, Annabel. “
After having her 
and working in the corporate world, I knew 
I needed a change for my own mental 
health,
” Hopman says. She felt it was best 
for her growing family, which soon includ-
ed her second daughter, Reese, to take her 
side calligraphy and print business full 
time.
By 2018, Hopman made her dream a 
reality and launched her calligraphy and 
stationery business Annabel Reese, named 
after her two daughters. Hopman now has 
a third child, Andrew, who she says isn’t 
in the name but is an “active participant in 
everything else.
”
“It’s part of the reason why I have the 
business,
” Hopman says of her three chil-
dren. “It’s to show them that you can do 
something that you like and that brings you 
enjoyment and income.
”
She draws inspiration from her children 
as she creates a variety of handmade prod-
ucts. Hopman’s services at Annabel Reese 
include invitation design, signage, envelope 
addressing and onsite services (like live 
calligraphy events at high-end retail stores 
such as Burberry), the latter of which 
Hopman says have temporarily stalled due 
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her invitations come in letterpress, foil 
and digital formats, while signage includes 
welcome signs, bar signs and seating charts. 
Hopman’s work aligned perfectly with 

weddings, which she says helped grow her 
business and scale it out to include other 
services. Now, as many weddings are post-
poned or smaller in size, she’s focusing on 
building the wholesale side of her brand.

CELEBRATING JUDAISM
Hopman has a variety of card lines, but one 
of her biggest draws is a line that celebrates 
Jewish culture. “I felt that there was a gap 
in what was available for Jewish-themed 
cards,
” she explains. “They were either 
super religious or over-the-top kitschy. I 
wanted to create something that was in-be-
tween.
”
Meeting in the middle, Hopman created 
beautiful Jewish-centric cards that featured 
common Hebrew phrases written out in 
English so they could be more accessible for 
a variety of Jewish audiences. “It brought in 
the Jewish culture that I grew up with,
” says 
Hopman, an alumna of Hillel Day School, 
“and combined it with my calligraphy.
”
Most of her cards feature her own hand-
writing mixed with different fonts and illus-
trations. “I have a ton of Chanukah cards,
” 
she explains. 
Hopman’s bestseller in the Jewish-
themed card line is a simple card made 
with marble and foil print. “I really like 

high-quality paper,
” she says. “I appreciate 
stationery that feels good and is easy to 
write on.
”
 In a world that has become increasingly 
more digital, especially during the pandem-
ic as many services and businesses went 
online, Hopman says receiving tangible 
paper and printed goods is a heartwarming 
feeling.
“I think there’s just something really spe-
cial about a handwritten note,
” she explains. 
“Everything is digital, so it’s special when 
you do receive something in the mail that’s 
not just a bill or a magazine or a catalog. 
That’s something that really stands out in 
your mailbox.
” 

OUR COMMUNITY

Mom’s homespun 
calligraphy business 
includes a loving 
touch.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mom’s homespun 
Mom’s homespun 

 on
Paper

Elana 
Hopman

ERIN SCHMIDT PHOTOGRAPHY

