A year of calligrabuddy correspondence

Over the last year, I’ve had the pleasure of being paired up with Joanne Taylor as part of The European Pointed Pen Collective (EPPC) ‘calligrabuddy’ scheme.

We’ve exchanged envelopes on a monthly basis, with my contributions talking inspiration from a lucky dip of vintage first class stamps I bought on Etsy from Piece of the Past Crafts.

It’s been great for practice – I’ve paired each stamp with a complementary coloured ink and envelope (from Magna Papers – also on Etsy) and used it as inspiration for a written piece.

Perfect excuse to practice

I started off wanting to improve my copperplate, but I’ve also written other scripts I’ve learned via the EPPC, such as Copperplay, Double Stroke Capitals and Weaver Writing.

I may not have met up with Joanne at The Pen Museum in Birmingham, where she volunteers, as hoped by the end of the year, but I have enjoyed getting to know her via snail mail – and we’ll be continuing our calligrabuddy correspondence into 2022.

It’s such a thrill to get, quite frankly, a work of art through the letterbox from Joanne on a regular basis and she’s had nothing but kind words to say about my letters too.

If you missed any on my social media pages, here’s a round-up of our calligrabuddy exchanges.

Vintage stamps inspire letter themes

JANUARY – Wassily Kandinsky, Dr PH Martin’s black sparkle iridescent ink, watercolours

FEBRUARY – Valentine’s Day – SWALK stamp, blush pink envelope, red ink, Copperplay script (taught by Scarlett Blue for EPPC)

MARCH/APRIL – Scara Brae – Scara Brae stamp, terracotta envelope, walnut ink, Copperplay script

MAY – Matthew Boulton, hunter green envelope, gold ink, Copperplate script

JUNE – Helicopter Rescue Winchman 1984, buttermilk envelope, marigold ink, Copperplate script

JULY – London buses, jade green envelope, nude ink, Copperplate script

AUGUST – Nurses Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm, almond envelope, walnut ink, Copperplate script

SEPTEMBER – Hawker Hunter Pilot 1951, navy envelope, gold and navy ink, Copperplate script

OCTOBER – Postman, white envelope, black and pink ink, Copperplate script and Double Stroke Capitals (taught by Rachel Yallop for EPPC)

NOVEMBER – Second Lieutenant Walter Tull, deep rose envelope, Tom Norton Walnut Drawing Ink, Weaver Writing (taught by Bonnie Noehr for EPPC)

DECEMBER – Red Post Box, red envelope, Dr PH Martin’s Pen White, red and black ink, Coipperplate script and Weaver Writing

Leave a Comment