Topics

1

Favorite Resources / Supplies in Australia (Melbourne)

« on: October 03, 2016, 11:06:21 PM »

Hello everyone,

We have a new online calligraphy store and we are now supplying calligraphers and artists with quality calligraphy and art materials. We stock the fundamental items plus a full range of calligraphy tools and supplies for both broad-edge and pointed pen calligraphy.

Our aim is to provide a specialty shop for calligraphy lovers and artists.

We ship worldwide from Melbourne, Australia.
We accept PayPal, Visa, MasterCard and Bank Transfer.


Shop: Not Just A Card
Website: www.notjustacard.com/shop
Email: [email protected]

For all orders the cost of postage will be determined by the volumetric weight of the parcel. During the checkout process, the website will automatically calculate the volumetric weight of the parcel.


Our wide range includes:

Penholders
Nibs
Graphite Pencils
Finetec Colours
Walnut Crystals
Inksticks
Inkstones
Dinky Dips
Water Brushes
Calligraphy Markers
Fountain Pens
Sumi Ink
Luthis Pens
Glass Jars
Japanese Gouaches
Calligraphy Writing Pads
Gum Arabic
Genuine Bonefolders
Dappen Dishes
Dr Ph. Colours
Parallel Pens
Metallic Ink
Higgins Eternal Ink
Bleedproof White
Ziller Ink
McCaffery's Ink and many more....

2

General How To's & Projects / How to post videos on Instagram/Fackbook

« on: November 01, 2015, 09:58:54 PM »

Hello Calligraphers!

Does anyone know what's the best app/software for video editing?
I normally post pictures directly from my mobile phone, I know there is an in-built Instagram app to take a video, but it's only 15 seconds and you cannot fast forward it, stuff like that.

I know you can use iMovie if you are on a mac, but what about PC? Any idea?
By the way, how does everyone set up your camera/phone? do you use a tripod?

Thank you in advance.

Cheers,
Cyrus

3

Kind Critique / My website

« on: October 18, 2015, 08:31:07 AM »

Hello everyone.

I have just completed my calligraphy website and would like to get some feedback from you guys.
All comments are welcome. 

Thank you.

Website: http://notjustacard.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/notjustacard
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustacard.au


-Cyrus

4

Tools & Supplies / Issue with mixing Sumi + Silver ink

« on: October 01, 2015, 08:22:49 PM »

Hi all,

Moya and I ordered two bottles of the Moon Palace sumi ink from Japan. I tested the sumi ink last night and it works well, I'm happy with the result. Will test it tonight to see if it's really 'water resistant' or not. (has anyone tested if this Moon Palace is water proof or not?  )

Last night, I was working on a project which requires black sumi ink only but while i was about to start the project I had an idea in my mind that I want to add a bit of shimmer to the sumi ink.
So I grabbed a small 30ml jam jar, and poured some sumi ink to the bottle, placed it on my magnetic mixer (set to low spin) and then added some silver ink to it.......2 seconds later, the 'ink' became like jelly form and even the magnetic bar stopped spinning!!! My heart just completely sank!!! Turned the mixer off and grabbed a satay stick to stir the jelly~ I started to blame myself to come up with such a silly idea.

i mixed acrylic ink with silver ink before (with the same brand) (Art Liquid Spectrum - it's an Australian local brand) and it worked perfectly so I thought I would do the same last night which ended up with a nightmare. 

Has anyone here mixed shimmery sumi ink before?

5

Calligraphy Book Reviews / Alphabet Stories: (Zapf) A Chronicle of Technical Developments

« on: September 29, 2015, 07:09:18 AM »

See Herman Zapf book at John Neal



I would like to get a copy of this. Has anyone got this book? Any idea if it's good or not?
Thanks.

6

Show & Tell / tape nib practice

« on: August 31, 2015, 02:10:09 AM »

Tape is one of my favourite nibs so far, they are easy to use and very durable!! I have been using the same nib for over 3 years already!
All comments are welcome, thank you.

7

Tools & Supplies / Topolino Magnetic Stirrer

« on: August 30, 2015, 09:27:47 PM »

Hello,


Has anyone tried this before? How do you find it?
It says on the JNB website "No batteries; the stirrer plugs in. Because of its flat design, you are not limited to one jar size"
http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/728
Questions:
(1) as there is no battery required, how long will it literally last for? Do I need to turn the switch on every 30 seconds?
(2) how big is the flat surface? I want to know roughly how many of my mini fruit jars can be fitted on that surface although i would properly be using just 1 jar. 
(3) can i use glass jars or it needs to be plastic only?



I have got the Deluxe SpeedStir Magnetic Ink Stirrer, I think they are okay, but just I would prefer to use a glass container rather than plastic.
http://www.paperinkarts.com/stirset.html

Thanks!!!

8

Tools & Supplies / Black paper for copperplate/italic

« on: August 26, 2015, 09:37:06 PM »

Hello everyone,

I'm from Australia. I would like to buy some good black (ruled) paper to write on.
Does anyone know where I can get it from please?

Thanks.

Kind regards,
Cyrus

https://instagram.com/notjustacard

9

Open Flourish | General Discussion / ink that eats your nibs

« on: January 19, 2015, 07:00:45 PM »

Hello all

Just wondering what kinda of inks will eat you nibs
- iron gall (mccaffrey's is iron gall ink as well, right?)
- sumi

is that all?

I love sumi ink (it's dark enough, doesnt take long to dry, and it's quite cheap), but do all sumi ink eat you nibs?
according to the John Neal website, some inks the website says this will eat your nib but some don't (http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/129)

thanks.

10

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Australia to IAMPETH...

« on: January 13, 2015, 10:10:17 PM »

In addition, we have had some famous calligraphers from all over the world, for example, Luca Barcellona, Brody Neuenschwander, Elmo van Slingerland, Laurent Pflughaupt, Massimo Polello, Don Marsh, Vincent Jeannerot (he is not a calligrapher, but a very famous watercolour artist) as well as Jake Weidmann (Moya and I attended his three-day class 2 years ago, he's awesome!)

So jealous!!! 

Haha. Come on Schin, you live in the States!! You can go to IAMPETH workshops easily....
I really wanna go, but don't think I can afford that, the flight tickets between Melbourne and the US would cost me a fortune......plus accomodation, workshop fee and so on, OMG~

Also, I think Moya has mentioned about this before, it's not easy to buy 'good' calligraphy stuff in Australia. I normally get them from John Neal and Paper Ink Arts + the expensive shipping rate + the waiting time 

Anyway, hopefully I will be able to go to the IAMPETH workshops one day. 

11

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Leonardt EF Principal Nib is too catchy.

« on: January 11, 2015, 09:16:32 PM »

I normally use Leonardt EF Principal Nib, Nikko G and Zebra G for copperplate.
I am working on a project which the paper surface is kinda medium to smooth and I realize that EF Principal nib is too catchy.
But I need a nib that has enough flex for shades, any other suggestion please?
Thank you all.

12

Open Flourish | General Discussion / how do you hold/dry your envelopes after writing?

« on: January 05, 2015, 09:23:29 PM »

how do you hold/dry your envelopes after writing?
I know a Gocco drying rack is good, each rack can hold up to 20 cards/envelopes, but they are pretty expensive nowadays and not easy to get anymore.
I googled a bit and found someone is using a CD rack from IKEA, but this is not available in IKEA anymore. http://www.weddingbee.com/2006/09/03/gocco-video/

please advice.

thanks.

13

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Copperplate - Dr Martins Iridescent Gold/Silver doesnt flow

« on: January 04, 2015, 07:15:03 AM »

I love the Dr Martins metallic inks apart from the stirring/shaking part. I normally use them when I'm writing with a chisel edge nib, but I found it won't flow properly when Im doing copperplate (tried both Nikko G and Leonardt Principal EF), especially for the up strokes. I know we can dilute Dr Martins Bleedproof white with water, but what about metallic ink? I do love the FINETEC palette, but they aren't waterproof.
 

Thanks.

14

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Any tips for writing double, ff, gg, ll, tt, pp, oo, ss, etc

« on: July 24, 2014, 09:37:06 PM »

Any tips for writing double, ff, gg, ll, tt, pp, oo, ss, etc in Italics/Copperplate?
I kinda get scared off whenever I need to write names like Tiffany, Phillip and Williams.
Any advice, please ^^

Thanks in advance!

15

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Stirring issue when using metallic ink

« on: June 19, 2014, 10:56:51 PM »

As we all know that we need to keep stirring the matallic ink before each single dip.
Linda Y suggested a "stirring device" from Amazon  - http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004BGPC5W
Just wondering if anyone has used this before?

I actually quite enjoy the stirring part by hand, but it will drive me nuts if I have an Italian wedding project, as they normally require at least 300 envelops to be written on!

Any idea please? Many thanks!