About

Em Dash Paper Co. isn’t really a “co” at all, but a single person — me, Emily Poe-Crawford. Hi!

I live and work in a little old bungalow in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, making the paper goods and other gifty-type things that you'll find in the shop. Em Dash products, like the person who creates them, are both earnest and ridiculous, light-hearted yet deeply felt. There's nothing that delights me more than joyful profanity written in a fancy script. 

Every design starts as a pencil sketch, sometimes quite rough, drawn completely by hand. As soon as the scribbled garbage first draft looks like something I'd feel okay sending to a friend, I refine it on paper and then create a digital version, usually with iPad and Apple Pencil. The companies I partner with to produce my work are right here in the USA, chosen based on their excellent print quality and use of eco-conscious materials and practices.

Completely self-taught, I opened my calligraphy shop on Etsy in 2011 (pour one out for Sparrow Nest Script) and have been lettering professionally ever since. Every year has brought with it new product ideas, improved design techniques, and added insight into running a small business.

You’ll find updates and peeks behind the scenes over on Instagram, where I’m forever battling the algorithm and trying to remember to post more often.

If you have questions or suggestions, just holler: emily@emdashpaper.co