SPOTLIGHT ON: QUILL LONDON

SPOTLIGHT ON: QUILL LONDON

I had been thinking about trying calligraphy for a while and when I heard about Quill, I thought this would be the perfect place to learn and I was right!

The beginners’ course was just over two hours long and we were treated to cups of tea and wine and cookies. Matilda our teacher was very welcoming and dazzled us with her skills. The class was made of a mix of people, many on their own like me and with different reasons for wanting to learn. Some were envious of the beautiful handwriting of others and wanted to improve their own, some had dabbled in helping relatives write wedding invitations and wanted to learn calligraphy properly, some found it a very mindful activity to learn. Some people treated themselves to the course, as I did, some were gifted the course by thoughtful relatives and a group of five came together from work. 

The lesson started at the absolute basics of how to use the pen and how to draw a simple line, a line down with some pressure for a thick line and up with very little pressure for a thin line; and that’s really the only thing you have to know for modern calligraphy, that and the angle that the nib should be, a helpful guide to what the letters look like and a lot of practice.

Looking through our practice books at the end you could see everyone had improved just in the short lesson time so you can imagine how good you could get with a little practice. 

The tables were set out neatly with everything we’d need as beginners and we got to take the whole lot home. Everything in the shop is so beautifully curated and we even got a discount while we were there, I treated myself to some coral/pink ink.

See below for some of the beautiful things that they sell in store and if you’re not close by then you can buy online.

1. BEGINNERS MODERN CALLIGRAPHY WORKSHOPS - VARIOUS DATES

https://quilllondon.com/collections/modern-calligraphy-workshops/products/beginners-modern-calligraphy-workshops

2. FINETEC PEARL METALLICS INK PALETTE

https://quilllondon.com/collections/all-modern-calligraphy-supplies/products/finetec-pearl-palette

3. TOM'S STUDIO PEN REST

https://quilllondon.com/collections/all-modern-calligraphy-supplies/products/toms-studio-pen-rest

4. BABY PINK INK

https://quilllondon.com/collections/all-modern-calligraphy-supplies/products/baby-pink-ink

5. ROSE WAX STAMP

https://quilllondon.com/collections/all-modern-calligraphy-supplies/products/rose-wax-stamp

(This is not an affiliate link – I paid for the course myself and am just raving about this independent London business)

FILM 1926: WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

FILM 1926: WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

TRIVIA: Although the documentary includes a brief clip of Mr. Roger's meeting with Koko the Gorilla and shows Koko removing Mr. Roger's shoes, it does not explain the story behind the gorilla's actions. After Koko's death in June 2018, multiple obituaries for the gorilla explained that Koko faithfully watched Mr. Rogers' show every day, and during their encounter, she removed his shoes because she was used to seeing him do the same at the start of every episode.

Director Morgan Neville was partly inspired to create this documentary after asking Yo-Yo Ma about how he handled his status of being a celebrity. Ma said Fred Rogers mentored him on how his fame could be used for good.

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2015/march/ladybird-books

http://www.onefinea.com

Film 999: Phenomenon

Trivia: Nate Pope (Forest Whitaker) is an Amateur Radio operator with the call sign WB6QLF. QLF is amateur shorthand for "I am sending with my left foot", a reference to someone whose Morse Code sending skill is very bad. This is normally sent as a question "QLF?" meaning "Are you sending with your left foot?" to an operator who is very difficult to understand in Morse.

Sean Penn, Ed Harris and Jason Patric were considered for the lead role.