Our story
A studio that started with one small table.
Setajo Waxute began as a series of evening sessions for a handful of neighbours who wanted to learn calligraphy without buying a full set of tools first.
Where it started
Why teach beginners specifically?
Most calligraphy classes available locally assumed some familiarity with a dip pen already. That left a gap for people who were curious but had never actually held one. The first sessions were run around a single kitchen table in Innsbruck with borrowed nibs and a couple of ink bottles, mainly for people who worked nearby and wanted something to do after work that did not involve a screen.
Word spread slowly, mostly through people bringing a friend along. The table grew into a small studio space, and the informal arrangement of laying out pens and ink before anyone arrived became a fixed part of how sessions are run. It removed a barrier that seemed to stop a lot of interested people from ever trying it: not knowing what to buy, or being unsure if the money spent on tools would be wasted on a hobby they might not continue.
Teaching one script at a time
Rather than covering many scripts loosely, each course format focuses on one hand or style at a time. Foundations comes first, and other formats build outward from the strokes learned there.
Kept deliberately small
Group size has stayed limited since the first sessions. It is easier to notice when someone is gripping a pen too tightly, or holding it at the wrong angle, when the room is not full.
The aim was never to produce finished calligraphers in one evening. It was to give someone a real, working sense of the pen, so they could decide for themselves whether to continue.
Today
What has stayed the same
Small groups
Sessions still take a limited number of participants, matching the original table-sized setup rather than a lecture hall format.
Materials included
Nothing needs to be purchased ahead of time. Pens, ink and paper are still part of every course price.
Local, single location
Sessions run from the same address in Innsbruck rather than a rotating set of venues.
No assumed skill
The foundations format is still designed around people who have never done any calligraphy before.