Jeannette Mokosch
Calligraphy artist book author encourager
INTERVIEW
Throw blossoms around you,
When our second concept album early music bird was to be released, one thing was clear: the lettering for the title ‘early music bird’ had to be written by Jeannette Mokosch.
We have so much in common with Jeannette. Anyone who is lucky enough to attend a workshop with her and get to know her personally knows that you learn far more than just beautiful writing from her. Jeannette is now a multiple book author, an encourager and an expert in enchanting everyday life and real life into something wonderful, or as she would put it: making it blossom. But “enchant” is not the right word. Because her tips, thoughts and approaches are profound, grounded and concrete. And her poems, like this one above (which also adorns our office and is available as a print in her shop), show that it takes both: The good earth and the big dream.
Jeannette Mokosch
One night I had this voice in my head, in a half-daze, telling me “buy a pen and write like the poets of old“.
How did you get into calligraphy?
I actually dreamt about it. It was very crazy. I used to sell poems on a handmade platform. But somehow they weren’t really sensual and lovingly presented.
One night I had this voice in my head, in a half-daze, telling me “buy a pen and write like the poets of old“. Before my eyes I saw an old writing desk and thought it was very crazy and I knew that this was a moment in my life when I had to follow the voice. The next day I went out and started calligraphy. So, it was all a very strange start.
You do much more than “just” calligraphy. You write poetry, illustrate, hold regular workshops, write online courses, encouraging newsletters and have also recently launched “My Blooming Home”.
Jeannette, please tell us: what do you do and, above all, how do you manage it all? After all, there are only 24 hours in a day?
This question makes me smile. Yes, it is an art.
There are two phases in my life, with and without a child.
I need very strict routines to somehow manage everything. Before I became a mum, I had a fixed daily structure, even if the structures of an artist sometimes look a bit strange, but I had adopted a fixed weekly and daily routine.
The weekly structure was, for example, that on Mondays and Fridays I only took care of customers and organisational matters. Tuesdays and Thursdays were production and creative days and Wednesday was a content day where I consciously invested in my readers via social media and my newsletter. That way, I always knew what was going on. But I also had a fixed structure in the day itself, where I always planned in the evening: “What’s the first thing to do the next day?” and had to figure it out bit by bit. Because you don’t wake up one morning and know how to structure yourself as a self-employed person.
Having a child – which is why there is a new section – marked the start of a completely new chapter. I realised early on that I wasn’t getting nearly as much done as before. It still seems like a lot to outsiders, but for myself I know that I only have two to three hours a day at most in which I can complete tasks. I had to make decisions about what to outsource and I was rigorous about it. For example, I hired someone to write my emails and looked for someone to help me with orders in the online shop.
It’s always a bit of a pain because I can no longer personalise every parcel. But I just realise that this is now the next step and every day I myself have to categorise anew what’s burning but unimportant and what’s burning and really important.
”I trust that I do my best, that I stand by what I believe and am blessed in my work, and I can simply confirm this over the last few years, that God has never let me down and has brought clients to me from all different corners.
Jeannette MokoschCalligraphy & encouragement

You’ve been self-employed for …. years, and with such great success: what drives you?
Wow, thank you so much for the compliment, for associating me with success. I love what I do and I just see a deeper meaning in my work, which I think is important for artists. Because quite often you’re not really showered with enthusiasm when it comes to certain works or artworks.
Sometimes you make a post that doesn’t get a lot of interaction, you bring out a product that doesn’t make everyone shout “yay, I want that” and then the big “why am I doing this?” always helps me. My why keeps me going every morning. I believe it’s completely normal to stumble with some of the ideas you have. And to be afraid to simply try some things again. Many give up along the way because they don’t have a strong why. Since I have also publicly professed my faith in God, which is of course now my very individual story, since I’ve also made myself known as a Christian in the business world, with my values that form the core of my work, I have experienced great favour in my actions. In a broader sense, I see myself as a packaging artist, I package messages with sensual art and design, and I always want to convey an encouraging message.
I trust that I do my best, that I stand by what I believe and am blessed in my work, and I can simply confirm this over the last few years, that God has never let me down and has brought clients to me from all different corners.
Jeannette Mokosch
“Since I have also publicly professed my faith in God, which is of course now my very individual story, since I’ve also made myself known as a Christian in the business world, with my values that form the core of my work, I have experienced great favour in my actions.”
Childhood dream: was there a dream job as a child?
As a child, I told everyone everywhere I went that I would have two jobs: I would be a teacher in the morning and a confectioner and make chocolates in the afternoon. I don’t know why, but I’ve always seen myself as a multi-faceted person who does several things at the same time – and my teacher back then said “You’re crazy! You can’t do two jobs.” The fact is, I’m now a calligraphy teacher and I make sweet works, albeit in a different form, but, yes, I said that everywhere back then (laughs), I just had to smile now when you realise it like that.

Jeannette Mokosch
“But I want to move forward as much as I can in my vocation, so that’s the encouragement, that’s the calligraphy and the ‘making someone bloom’ on my different channels.”
What are your next big (small) goals?
They’re a bit different this year. I set myself goals every year, but this year I want to promote more community, now, in 2021, because that fell so short last year. Firstly because of our baby, but also because of all these coronavirus measures. And one big goal is definitely to outsource work as best I can within the financial framework I have. But I want to move forward as much as I can in my vocation, so that’s the encouragement, that’s the calligraphy and the ‘making someone bloom’ on my different channels. I realise that there are so many things that get in the way of that, like administration, bookkeeping and so on.
And that is now my big task, to outsource tasks in small steps or to find ideas on how to make good decisions. I’m working on that right now and thinking about it.
”I don't think you should give up just because a goal hasn't been achieved in the year you set out to achieve it. There's that wonderful saying about being overwhelmed when you see the goals you set yourself for a year, but you're amazed at what you've actually achieved in five years. And that's exactly the case for me.
Jeannette MokoschCalligraphy & encouragement

Do you have a morning ritual? What is an essential part of a successful morning?
That’s easy, because I love morning rituals. I differentiate between my morning ritual “before child”, which consisted of reading and prayer, and the flexible arrival into the day with child. Quiet time today can sometimes look like singing a song or standing at the window and simply thanking God for what He has done for us. When I really get “quiet time”, when my husband looks after the little one in the morning, I read the Bible, which gives me strength for the day. What I don’t do is check my mobile phone in the morning. This is always authorised later in my working day. Quiet time naturally involves a coffee and always being in the same place. I like it when things – what do you call it? – are recurring. It gives me peace in this disrupted world. I like it when things are the same.
Even when I’m on holiday, I sit down in the morning and spend the first few minutes praying or pausing. And if things are going well, a good morning also includes a bit of reflection so that I can write something down in my notebook. Because in the process of writing, you can let go of so much, you can organise yourself. Of course, that doesn’t always work.
That’s why I occasionally write in the evening. A strong evening ritual can also be very effective. We should never forget the joy in all of this. My evening pleasure is called solving Sudoku, (laughs) because it’s offline. I don’t have my mobile phone in my bedroom. I prefer to solve Sudoku and jot down thoughts and notes in the small margins, emptying my head in the process. What I have to think about when I have an idea for a blog post. Ideas usually come to me when I don’t want them to, for example in the evening when I’m doing Sudoku puzzles.
Are you a morning grouch or an early riser?
Am I a morning grouch? Definitely! My best time is actually in the evening. But at the moment I’m so tired because of our child, which means I have to work in the morning and don’t have a chance at all. I think these are all “seasons”. If I could decide freely, I wouldn’t work until 11.00 a.m. and I’d use the morning for myself, my equipment, community and health. A slow start to the day is a gift. That’s what I used to do, work late into the evening, it was part of me, actually. But everything is different now.
Jeannette Mokosch
“
In a broader sense, I see myself as a packaging artist, I package messages with sensual art and design, and I always want to convey an encouraging message.
”
What time do you get up and how do you wake up – mobile phone, alarm clock, cock crowing?
That’s a great question. I’m currently woken up by my baby. I have the luxury of not having to set an alarm clock because I have a baby. Before that, to be honest, I didn’t have an alarm clock either. Since I’ve been self-employed, I’ve tried to listen to my body and it wakes up after eight or nine hours, which is a lot of sleep. I definitely don’t have that now, but it’s still an incredible luxury not to be woken up by your mobile phone when you don’t have it with you. I bought myself an alarm clock so that I can be in my bedroom without my mobile phone. But it’s never on, it just shows me the time and now with the child we have a very strict rhythm, so she just sets it and wakes up at 8am, half past 8am, 8am if I’m lucky, half past 9am, but that’s her time and then we’re off.

Your favourite breakfast?
I love scrambled eggs with lots of fresh chives and fried onions. It’s not often, of course. But if I could choose, I wouldn’t like anything dry. So even if there’s a bread roll, it has to have a cucumber on it, it has to slide somehow. During the week, we eat muesli or the leftovers that my baby has left on the plate.
Your tip for a good start to the morning that works for you?
My tip for a good morning – plan the day in advance in the evening and then decide what you want and need to do when you have little time. My reality at the moment is that I work for one and a half to two hours a day, and if I know that I want my day to be successful somehow, then I have to cancel my mobile phone altogether, put all social media activities to one side for the time being, including emails, and do what’s most pressing. Eat the big, disgusting frog straight away (laughs) to make the day better.
That works and then you can really get on with the important tasks. Emails and things like that are currently only answered on Mondays and Fridays or late in the evening. I’ve realised that I have to be realistic about how long it all takes in the morning before we actually get started.
In other words, how long it simply takes to change your child, wash them, have breakfast together and get ready. I try to simplify as much as possible in the evening, for example, I’ve already showered, I’ve laid out our clothes, I already have an idea of what I’m going to cook that day. All the things where you can make progress with fewer decisions in the morning, it’s still an art.
The more decisions I’ve made in advance, the less of a headache I have when planning the day. I’m also being kinder to myself right now – I just know that hey, it’s going to work out somehow and I’m making progress despite the chaos of a small child, that’s the beauty of it. Even with an hour or two of effective work a day, you can really create something beautiful if you don’t waste the time. You can really do a lot in two hours.
Jeannette Mokosch
“
Even with an hour or two of effective work a day, you can really create something beautiful if you don’t waste the time. You can really do a lot in two hours.
”
Your (life) story is so encouraging. What is your recipe or tip(s) for achieving heart goals, including when applied very specifically to “daily life”?
How can you make your dreams come true, even in small steps? For years now, I’ve been taking time in January to take myself out of the whole hamster wheel in which we run and look back at what we’ve really achieved. So it’s not just about performance, but also about what you’ve done, what you’ve experienced and what you’re planning for the new year. I’m in favour of setting goals every year and over the years I’ve seen how setting specific goals has enabled me to work on these things. Little by little, goals were realised. Sometimes differently, sometimes surprisingly: I always wanted to be a mother, for example, and now we are on the way to adopting a child. This goal took over ten years, but it became a reality. I don’t think you should give up just because a goal hasn’t been achieved in the year you set out to achieve it. There’s that wonderful saying about being overwhelmed when you see the goals you set yourself for a year, but you’re amazed at what you’ve actually achieved in five years. And that’s exactly the case for me. I always find it hard to believe what has happened in the last five years. Every year, when you look at your goals, you think you’ll never achieve them. But setting goals is so important. And having it visually in front of you. I don’t think it’s enough to just have a goal, I think you should have it in front of you every day – I wrote it down on a postcard in my Bible. Ideally supported with pictures so that you can really feel your way into it and be reminded every day of where you want to go.

Thank you for the inspiring conversation, dear Jeannette!
Web: jeannettemokosch.com
Instagram: instagram.com/jeannettemokosch/
Jeannette regularly dedicates her time to personal, encouraging words from life, about adventurous self-employment as a mum, calligraphy and the secrets of a successful life and shares them via her newsletters. She has 2 extensive gifts for her newsletter readers:
1. a materials list “The best materials for a successful start with the pointed nib!”
2. an e-book on the topic “Let your finances flourish”, exclusively for newsletter readers.
Interview led by Maria Weiss
Copyrights of the photos on this page, in order from the top of the page to the bottom:
Header: Jeannette Mokosch | Photography © Iris Domikowsky
Fullscreen slider: Jeannette Mokosch with calligraphy pen and products from her online shop | Photography © Iris Domikowsky
Photo right with quote: Jeannette Mokosch | Photography © Timo und Gella-Scheven
Photo: Jeannette Mokosch with calligraphy pen and products from her online shop | Photography © Iris Domikowsky
Photo right with quote: Jeannette Mokosch | Photography © Timo und Gella-Scheven
Photo: Jeannette Mokosch, portrait with calligraphy pen | Photography © Iris Domikowsky