New Calligraphy Classes + New Wonder Pens Calligraphy Studio

The most exciting news: we have two new calligraphy classes here in our Toronto shop! Mark Lurz has been teaching our Introduction to Calligraphy class, which is a terrific intro course for complete beginners, or even calligraphers who need a solid refresher. This class has been extremely popular, and I don't think we've run one yet that hasn't been full with a wait list. Mark will now be teaching an Intermediate Italic Letters class on the afternoon of March 12th, from 1:30-4:30, for those who have either taken the Introduction to Calligraphy class, or who have some experience in italic calligraphy. This is a next stage level, for those who are a bit more serious about calligraphy, to work towards an elegant script with Swash Capitals. Mark is the head of the Calligraphy Arts Guild of Toronto, so we're constantly in amazement at the beautiful work he puts out, and his wealth of experience teaching at all levels. And, if that wasn't enough, we have Salman Khattak creating a workshop to teach you to make your own oblique nib holder! This Creating an Oblique Nib Holder class means you come empty-handed, and we have all the tools and materials you'll need to leave with a complete and ready-to-use oblique nib holder. We have two classes, four hours long, one on February 27th, from 2:00 - 6:00 pm, and one on March 5th, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. If you aren't already following Salman on Instagram, you definitely have to take a look, because he shares some beautiful stuff on it. We've been searching for about as long as we can remember to find a high quality oblique nib holder at a reasonable cost, but they are hard to find! There are some plastic options out there, but they don't offer the same flexibility to adjust angles or nibs - so you can bet we're excited to now offer a class where you can make your own, and even more so taught by someone like Salman, who makes some pretty unbelievable and gorgeous nib holders. With Salman, you'll be carving and shaping a piece of wood, and fitting & adjusting brass flanges to accommodate nibs of various sizes. You'll walk away with an oblique nib holder shaped to your hand size and preferences, and a few extra nibs to make some beautiful calligraphy. Both of these classes are available for registration online, or you can call or visit the shop to reserve your spot. We've had a number of people doing it with a friend or as a small group, and if you know you'd like to attend the class with someone, you should all register as soon as possible, so one of you doesn't end up on the waitlist. As with all of our classes, if you have to cancel unexpectedly, you can receive up to a 50% of the class fee back as long as you let us know before 48 hours of the class. After 48 hours, unfortunately there are no refunds.

***

We've been running calligraphy classes in our new space for a while now, which has been something we were very excited to do after our tight quarters at 906 Dundas West. We've held classes at our shop, in the back, while customers came in to browse and look at inks, but we're now ready to announce that we will have a separate space for calligraphy classes, just down the hall. It's a wide open space, with windows and echo-y sounds and concrete floors and white walls, which certainly brings me back to last winter and early spring, when we were walking through the empty shop and packing area and apartment units, and it was all cold and industrial and bright and full of hope. We have even more planned and soon to come, including a March Break Children's Calligraphy Class, and more. It's been pretty exciting, to say the least, to see how the interest in calligraphy has grown over even just the last couple of years we've been running classes - we've had graphic designers and artists and calligraphers attend our classes, but even just "regular" folks who see the beauty in this art. It's a way to put a bit of intention and mindfulness in the writing we do everyday.