Posts by Angela Reed

Regular readers of my blog and those who follow me on social media will know how proud I am to be one of the artists associated with The Cultural Spring. In fact, pretty much anyone who knows me will be aware of how instrumental the project has been in shaping the workshop side of my…

Many people have learned new skills during lockdown. Some have even taken up calligraphy! Me? I’ve managed to upcycle a vintage writing bureau, with a bit of help from my friends at From Loft to Loved in Sedgefield, County Durham. Years of running calligraphy workshops there, surrounded by tins of paint and upcycled items of…

I was not expecting to be celebrating my sixth business birthday in lockdown. I would usually write a blog post around this time reflecting on the last year, but it seems hard to remember anything that happened before March 23 at the moment. So, I thought I’d write a little bit about the reality of…

This commission was a special collaboration between two South Shields creatives that will hopefully become a family heirloom.   When the request first landed in my inbox, I knew just the person to contact for the illustration aspect of the piece – Emma Gosling. I have been following Emma on Instagram for quite some time…

Calligraphy commissions come in all shapes and sizes. Being an ex-journalist, I love hearing the story behind each one and becoming a part of that story. But every now and again, something really special comes along. I had the honour of helping to restore a Victorian family bible to its former glory recently. It was…

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I’ve been taking part in the European Pointed Pen Collective (EPPC) Copperplate Envelope Exchange. The EPPC was established in January 2019 by calligraphers Kate Watson and Cecilia Boschi, along with co-founder Christina Janoszka, to share their love of pointed pen calligraphy by creating unique, specific workshops for…

I am proud to be one of the artists associated with The Cultural Spring, which has improved access to the arts in Sunderland and South Tyneside over the last six years. I have been running calligraphy workshops in the communities the project has empowered for the last five years and I hope to run more…

As the UK population stays home in a bid to lessen the impact of coronavirus Covid-19, the calligraphy enthusiasts among us will be picking up our pens in a bid to stay sane. I thought I’d pull together a few handy links – an online care package, if you will – to inspire those practising…

I’m not one of these people who can work with background noise. When I’m working on a calligraphy commission, I need silence so I can concentrate, but I do like the radio for company if I’m doing admin, like writing blog posts and scheduling social media. The fact that I tend to reach for the…

A bad workman blames his tools, as the saying goes. But when it comes to calligraphy, the idiom doesn’t always ring true. Success in calligraphy is often dependent on the quality of the equipment you’re using, so it’s worth doing your research on nibs, inks, pen holders – and paper. Paper is something I get…