Calligraphy for Weddings
We’re getting our glitter ON this Friday in Manchester – with only 5 days to go until my Festive Modern Calligraphy Workshop the last few tickets are just £55!
You get to take home your calligraphy pen and nib, all the worksheets from the class, and some festive goodies… bauble gift tags, personalised cloche baubles which you will MAKE, and your very own, very special Christmas card!
Come and join us – last-minute tickets do tend to sell quickly and we have just four left!!
For those of you who’d like to try a little calligraphy of your own, I am running a Black Friday offer on selected modern calligraphy workshops in Manchester.
You can save 10% on FOUR of my Manchester calligraphy classes if you book TODAY*
Friday 22nd February 2019
Click for details – Absolute beginners’ introduction to modern calligraphy
Book your places
Saturday 27th April
Click for details – Wedding calligraphy workshop
Book your places
Friday 21st June
Brush lettering workshop
Book your places
Saturday 17th August
Intermediate modern calligraphy workshop
Book your places
*offer ends 26th November 2018 and is subject to availability – only 16 students per class at Manchester Craft & Design Centre, and 12 per class in the Secret Study at Ziferblat in Manchester Media City
I’m happy to say you can now book a modern calligraphy workshop with a GIFT VOUCHER so you actually have something to give on Christmas day. Just ask me when you book!
With less than nine weeks until Christmas, we’re busy making plans and stocking up (pun not intended!) on gift tags and calligraphy kits for the festive season!
I’ve been working on some exercises for those of you learning calligraphy, and shared this Christmas card design on my social media. I love it because it’s deceptively easy to write, and teaches 3 important aspects of modern calligraphy:
1 – the technique of moving smoothly from a thin to a thick stroke
2 – the trick of seeing through the window* when your ink is about to run out
3 – the importance of not rushing! (this video is a time lapse – it actually takes over 3 minutes to create this card design)
It’s also wonderfully Christmassy!
I’ll be teaching this as a practice technique AND a Christmas card design in my calligraphy class on 7th December in Manchester. There are still tickets available and I’d love to see you there!
Link for info & tickets – www.eventbrite.co.uk
Facebook group for updates on this event – facebook.com/events/2242810669287323
I really do get to work with the loveliest people! From the moment Emma emailed about her wedding invitations, every correspondence was a pleasure.
Emma and Duncan’s day was classic, beautifully styled and in a timeless colour palette. I wrote hand calligraphy in a dusky pink ink, on luxury stationery with a slight texture. Printing was in a soft dove grey.
Emma and Duncan ordered invitations from me at first, then for their reception at Cripps Barn went on to have a table plan, place names and wedding menus for all of their tables.
They styled tables with macaron favours, gorgeous table numbers and white linens with a dusky pink ribbon.
Their photographer was Dan Morris, a brilliant Cotswolds wedding photographer.
The happy couple looking absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations, Emma & Duncan!
All images by Dan Morris Photography at https://danmorrisphotography.co.uk
Once you know you’ll keep practising, it’s worth getting a few extra supplies – so I recommend making learning calligraphy fun with:
Read my article about making practice fun, where I explain a little more about all of these – and don’t be afraid to experiment!
Modern calligraphy isn’t about making the perfect shapes on your page. It’s about exploring an art form, trying something new and finding your own personality through your writing.
So if you’re a rose-gold on black kind of person, this is how you should practise… be a little flamboyant, spoil yourself, and pop to the shops with gold ink all over your hands and face! You’re a calligrapher now…
All images by Jenny Jones Photography
Modern calligraphy is harder than it looks.
But I’m confident at least 90% of people can do it – and I really do believe that you only need 2 hours of teaching before you can continue your calligraphy journey to success!
The secret is to practice – have your first practice session at home (if you drink, a bottle of wine is a lovely accompaniment and will help your lettering along beautifully!) within a week of doing a calligraphy workshop.
Calligraphy workshops are different for everyone. Imagine asking 15 of your friends to draw their very best picture of a lion. The results would be soooo varied, wouldn’t they?
My point is that we’re all creatively different. Some of us are arty; others are more careful with writing – but we can all learn lettering even if we’re starting from completely different places.
Most of my calligraphy classes have about 15 students. They’re of all ages, from all kinds of backgrounds and working in all kinds of jobs. Some are graphic designers; others are planning their weddings. Often people are crafty-creative – but that can be anything from felting to making tissue paper pom-poms or being a designer.
One constant is that my calligraphy workshops are a place where people learn. You’ll genuinely go home with a new skill – you’ll have learned how to manipulate a brand new tool (the dip pen and nib) and I hope you’ll be excited and confident about practicing more at home and getting even better!
At the end of my modern calligraphy class, you’ll be happily using your calligraphy dip pen to create smooth and characterful swells and hairline strokes with your nib.
You’ll have learned the shapes of key letters – while we don’t concentrate too much on mastering every individual letter of the alphabet, you’ll have plenty of time to experiment with each one and discover your favourites!
My next calligraphy workshops are –
Ziferblat Edge st, Manchester – 18th August at 2pm
Tickets £35 (click to buy)
Manchester Craft & Design Centre – 7th September at 1pm
Tickets £59 (includes your own calligraphy kit to take home!)
Photography credits: Zen Photo
When I decided to start a calligraphy business one of my reasons was the low setup cost. Writing costs almost nothing – the main investment is your time. But what are the very, very basics you’ll need to try calligraphy?
I wanted to write a short & sweet guide to learning modern calligraphy from scratch. I hope it might help and encourage you to dip your toes in calligraphic waters!
Day 1: your kit
If you were to start calligraphy as a brand new hobby next weekend, this is what you couldn’t do without – your most basic shopping list.
Your total spend for that first day doesn’t need to be much more than the price of your lunch.
Making those first marks on paper is simple – but you absolutely must have the right nib (a pointed one with the right amount of flex for beginners – most ‘G’ nibs are fine) – and a penholder it will fit.
I like Nikko G nibs – they’re reliable, well made and not too sharp, so they’re easy to use.
Speedball oblique or straight penholders – the black plastic ones – are affordable, comfortable to hold and easy to use.
Paper is important. Cheap papers (80 or 90gsm) will cause your ink to ‘bleed’ on the page, which is so frustrating when you’re trying to practise.
Likewise inks can cause bleed issues. I recommend Calli inks because they’re widely available even in high street craft and art shops. They’re OK quality wise, and certainly good enough for practice. Avoid cheap fountain pen inks and Indian inks though – some are very poor quality and will cause bleed on your paper.
If you’re arty and have watercolour paint or gouache lying around at home, these work just as well as ink. Mix to a runny consistency with water and off you go!
Find beginners modern calligraphy tutorials online and enjoy!
Try my online calligraphy workshop for just £30
Buy my book here… An Introduction to Modern Calligraphy
I was chatting the other day about the classroom at Manchester Craft & Design Centre where I run my modern calligraphy workshops. It’s a beautiful, bright spot with white walls and bright windows – perfect for writing.
This August I’m launching Calligraphy Summer School – a very different class at a brand new venue. Ziferblat itself is wonderfully eclectic, with a main living room full of mismatched armchairs, sofas and coffee tables. The atmosphere of the place really suits the decor… and it just feels wonderfully creative.
My Ziferblat calligraphy workshop will be held in their classroom – a properly nostalgic room filled with desks and with one of those rollover blackboards which I can’t wait to write on!!!
Join me for calligraphy summer school – a 90 minute informal class at Ziferblat Edge St – on August 18th at 2pm (tickets £35)
Or come to Manchester Craft & Design Centre for a full (2+ hour) workshop with personalised calligraphy kits for every student to take home – on September 7th at 1pm (tickets £65)
