Desk Goodies | Written Word Modern Calligraphy Workshop

Written Word Modern Calligraphy Workshop, West Elm, Vancouver BC

Hey Dolls!

Yesterday afternoon, I attended Written Word Calligraphy + Design's 2 hour modern calligraphy workshop at the West Elm on Granville st! The lovely Karla Lim was our instructor for the workshop. I loved how enthusiastic she was and how she always checked in with each student when a new letter was introduced. 

I have always been fascinated by typography and cursive and Modern Calligraphy is a beautiful mix of the two. With modern calligraphy, there are less rules; therefore, allowing you to develop your own unique style. Karla was really great at encouraging us to not just follow her style, but to have fun and allow our own creativity and style to shine! She noted that my style is more 'pointy,' which I completely agree! The workshop was in a relaxed setting and made us feel comfortable, I did not feel judged whatsoever, even when I completely botched a letter! WHOOPS

All of the supplies are provided and yours to keep. We got:
• 4 worksheets (we worked on these for the length of the workshop)
• Alphabet guide
• Rhodia practice notebook
• Zebra G Nib
• Straight Pen Nib holder
• Pot of black ink

Karla even gave me an oblique nib holder to practice at home! Along with the supplies, she gave us a resource guide on where we can get more supplies in the future. Karla had also written our names on name cards in her signature calligraphy - So Beautiful! 

I asked her why we are using a straight pen versus an oblique nib holder, Karla said that it is always great to start with a straight pen and then move on to an oblique. With an oblique nib holder, it allows you to get the angles far more easily, so less wiggling your wrist and arm about. 

Within the two hours, I learned the technique to writing modern calligraphy. An upstroke is always thin because the tines on the nib do not separate, while the down strokes you can give me thickness to by varying the pressure. On the down strokes, you are separating the tines on the nib, allowing more ink flow! Also, be sure the 'G' on your nib is always facing up and your nib is pointed at the correct angle. 

I highly recommend you attending Written Words' workshops on modern calligraphy because Karla's positivity really helps boast your confidence - well she boasted mine! Now all I have to do is practice practice practice on my home at home so I can start doing my own modern calligraphy work! 

BYES