Messages

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Why did you start calligraphy?

« on: February 24, 2019, 06:41:05 AM »

I'd always loved the act of physically writing and had decent cursive (there's something so satisfying about creating something on paper), so when my wedding was coming up, I decided I would teach myself what amounted to passable "calligraphy" to save money on the invitations.

Turns out that I had a bit of a knack for it and completely fell in love! I opened my formal business, CalligraPhilly (based out of Philadelphia) in the summer of 2017 and it's been a godsend with extra income during my husband's slow season at work! I've taken on a few private lesson students that have been so much fun to teach and get to know.

The bonus, which I wasn't expecting, is getting to meet so many lovely calligraphers in real life and on Instagram/Flourish Forum! I'm hoping to be able to attend IAMPETH this year if we can make the money work and meet some of you lovely people in person!

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Request for help: pointed pen nib and ink on acrylic tiles?

« on: April 04, 2018, 02:33:59 PM »

Thank you both so much for your help! I wanted to post the outcome of my trial and error with the acrylic and the ink so that it might be helpful for someone else in the future!

Bianca, you were spot on about the Finetec chipping off- the bride INSISTED on having Finetec Arabic gold despite my sending her pictures of the ink flaking off with just a gentle touch. Dr. Ph. Martin's Copperplate Gold worked BEAUTIFULLY but the bride said it was "too brown", so I slowly combined the two inks to create something that she was happy with. There was just enough acrylic ink in the mixture to keep it from flaking off and I was able to stack them on top of each other without any damage. Next time I might want to see how a Pearl Ex-based ink works!

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Request for help: pointed pen nib and ink on acrylic tiles?

« on: March 15, 2018, 12:47:09 PM »

Hi all! I have a fledgling calligraphy side business and have a client that sprung on me, at the last minute, that she's switched from paper place cards to acrylic tiles for her guest names and table numbers.

Has anyone successfully used traditional nibs and ink on acrylic? My current go-tos are a Zebra or Tachikawa G and Brause EF66, but I was thinking maybe the Blue Pumpkin or a Hiro 41 would be better on acrylic- she wants Finetec Arabic Gold as the ink. Does anyone have experience that they could share? Thanks!

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Your Instagrams

« on: September 13, 2017, 10:58:01 AM »

Hi all! My Instagram is @calligra_philly if anyone's interested in taking a look! 

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Tools & Supplies / Re: Suggestions for fixing a too-bent brass oblique flange?

« on: May 01, 2017, 08:41:12 PM »

Thank you all so much for the innovative suggestions! I'll definitely give them a try!

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Tools & Supplies / Suggestions for fixing a too-bent brass oblique flange?

« on: May 01, 2017, 11:48:13 AM »

I purchased a lovely wooden oblique pen holder from PIA and adjusted the flange to fit my Brause EF66. I'm currently loving the Zebra G but alas, I managed to dent the bottom of the flange with my pliers and it's too tight for the Zebra to fit in more than halfway. Does anyone have suggestions for how to fix this?

Thanks!!

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Guidelines / Re: Guidelines for envelopes?

« on: April 21, 2017, 06:57:51 PM »

Thank you all so much!

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Guidelines / Guidelines for envelopes?

« on: April 16, 2017, 12:05:05 PM »

Hello lovely calligraphers!

I joined Flourish Forum mostly to learn more about calligraphy in anticipation of addressing my save the date and invitation envelopes. One of my stumbling points is now figuring out the scale of the letters- I've purchased a few guideline templates from the Postman's Knock (where I started my calligraphy journey) and have been using a Lettermate but every time I complete a practice A7 envelope, my text seems SO LARGE in comparison to what I've seen here and on Youtube and Instagram!

Does anyone have suggestions or links to existing guideline templates? Any advice is helpful!

Thank you!

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Introductions / Hello from Philadelphia!

« on: March 19, 2017, 11:47:07 AM »

Hi all- I'm newly interested in calligraphy and originally started so that I could address my wedding invitations (getting married in January 2018)! I'm loving the Brause EF66 nib so far (despite the fact that I'm still figuring out how to use it without splattering) and I'm in search of a good oblique holder for it!