Hate your signature? Try plastic surgery for autographs

NEW YORK (AP) — Doctors, lawyers, celebrities: There's a new cosmetic surgery, of sorts, that has snared them all.

By that, we mean handing over money to hire a calligrapher for a fresh take on writing one's own name in cursive. With a pen or another writing implement. On paper.

A corner of TikTok, Instagram and other social media is dedicated to signature design, and it's keeping practitioners busy.

Priscilla Molina in Los Angeles does a minimum of 300 custom signatures a month, offering packages that include up to three ways to sign, limitless drafts or a new set of initials. She charges between $10 to $55, using the motto: "Where originality meets legacy."

Molina said her Planet of Names clients include professionals and famous people in search of new ways to sign autographs, though her lips are sealed on the identities of highprofile signature seekers.

In general, Molina said, people come to her for signature makeovers for a simple reason: They're tired of the way they sign their names.

"They're not happy with their signatures. They don't relate to who they are. They don't give the message they want to convey to the world," she said.

Molina and other signature doctors promise a range of styles. For Molina, that includes but is not limited to elegant, subtle, dramatic, sharp, classic, artistic, condensed, curvy, legible — or even illegible.

She and others offer templates and stencils, encouraging clients to practice their newfound John Hancocks, with results in a short couple of weeks if they put in the time.

John Hancock, for those light on U.S. history, was president of the Continental Congress and affixed his large and flamboyant signature to the Declaration of Independence when it was signed in 1776.

Fast forward to 2023, where — despite the rise of digital alternatives — signatures, to some, still matter.

Sonia Palamand in St. Louis, Missouri, began noodling with calligraphy in middle school. She drums up business on TikTok, charging $35 for three signatures while promoting herself in videos that have her designing free of charge for select commenters.

"It's a way for people to reinvent themselves. The way that you present yourself on the outside can affect how you see yourself on the inside. I think with signatures, it's adding some intentionality," she said. "It's also an artistic pursuit."