This poem is timeless, thought-provoking and simple. I’ve written it countless times, and it never fails to make me think. This is calligraphy at its best – writing out a poem is a slow process where you have to consider the shape and flow of every word. The slowness of calligraphy lettering also allows time … Read More
This commission was a gift for Fathers Day – from a previous customer who I remember working with back in 2014! Lovely Sarah had tracked me down through various website changes and a house (and telephone number) move – and had an idea for a poem commission for her husband for Fathers Day. He’d written … Read More
Last week was a bizarre and wonderful mix of calligraphy commissions – if anyone imagines the life of a calligrapher to be all wedding invitations, it couldn’t be further from the truth! It’s one of my favourite things about Etsy: the requests for bespoke calligraphy commissions which come from all over the world can be … Read More
This poem almost had me in tears. If you’ve ever lost someone close to you, these words will resonate. Writing pieces like this in calligraphy is humbling. Every stroke of the pen has to be as perfect as I can possibly make it. To somehow do justice to this beautiful piece of poetry is a … Read More
I lose myself in writing. Pen and paper is my happy place. Many of you will too – there is often a moment, halfway through a calligraphy workshop, where I’ll look around and see a calm has settled on the class. Calligraphy kind of needs concentration and the ability to drift off in equal measure. … Read More
In my last blog post I explained about calligraphy pens, how they work and the different types. Today let’s have a look at the nib itself. Nibs are pointy little silver magic wands. A genius combination of design and gravity makes a pointed calligraphy nib one of my favourite inventions in the world. The curve … Read More
Way back in 2012 I first came across Cox & Cox‘s handmade place cards. They were beautiful, handmade paper with soft, torn edges. Cox & Cox advertised them as being ‘beautiful to write on’ – but the opposite was true! These were rough, fibrous and almost impossible to write on with a calligraphy nib and … Read More
Calligraphers are generally serious, quietly academic types. Or were, in the days of formal lettering required to be a ‘proper businessman’. However, I’m blessed with a childish sense of humour I should have grown out of twenty years ago. Still. I’m going to take you on a journey from shaft to flange, via tips and … Read More