Pen & Ink

 

I have been thinking about this post for a long time - I actually took most of the pictures over a year ago on a visit to the Bay Area. It finally seems the perfect time to share them since I took a calligraphy refresher class over the weekend which inspired me to hand letter a few (yes, only 3!) special Valentines this week.

 

My mom has always appreciated fine papers, fountain pens, inks and pretty handwriting. Maybe that is why she enrolled me in a calligraphy class at the Capitol Museum in Olympia when I was in the third grade, the same year I learned and loved (and excelled) at cursive handwriting. With the ubiquity of pretty fonts and lettering available via our computers, I appreciate even more the labor of love put into hand lettering.

Here I share with you some of the most beautiful calligraphy I have ever seen, by Michele Papineau of Papineau Calligraphy in the Montclair District of Oakland, California.

 

 

 

 

 

Another favorite place to visit in the Bay Area is Castle in the Air, a delightful little shop overflowing with fine European papers, calligraphy supplies, beautiful fountain pens (this is where we shop for my mom!), sealing wax, greeting cards and inks in every color -- all of my favorite things!

ink cartridges

 

 

ink wells

 

and more ink

 

pens

 

and more pens







I leave you with a look at my practice sheet from my calligraphy class on Saturday.... Believe me, it's harder than it looks!

 

And a look at the very special Valentines I made.

 





What is your labor of love?

 

xoxo.