Polish Up Your Handwriting This Christmas
In this techno-driven age, it would be easy to assume that the humble ink pen has been relegated to history. Think again – just like colouring in, knitting and sewing – pen power is back and Christmas is the perfect time to polish up your handwriting skills, say experts.
“Handwriting is trending and we have seen an increase in demand for our fountain pens and calligraphy pens,” said Mr John Johnston, marketing manager, Pilot Pen Australia. Ironically, it is social media that is helping to revive the love of handwriting, with millions of posts dedicated to the art of beautiful handwriting.
“There is something very relaxing and rewarding about putting pen to paper and creating a beautiful piece of writing and the more you practise, the better you become,” says professional calligrapher Ms Moya Carroll, who has more than 130,000 followers on Instagram.
Ms Carroll says you don’t need to be a professional calligrapher to polish up your penmanship and that Christmas time is the perfect time to revive your handwriting. “From writing lists, to Christmas cards and gift tags, Christmas offers the perfect chance to put pen to paper and practise your handwriting skills. A carefully hand-written card or letter is a beautiful gift in itself,” says Ms Carroll.
Here, Moya shares her tips on polishing up your penmanship for Christmas:
1. Be Consistent – keep your letters all about the same height and don’t switch from cursive to print halfway through your message – or halfway through a word!
2. Rule of Thumb – don’t be afraid to rule guidelines for yourself if you can’t write in a straight line. Use a hard pencil and press very lightly, and erase them afterwards – but only once the ink is dry.
3. Think Ahead – have an idea of what you want to say before you start writing, and plan out your space so that you don’t run out of room at the end. Don’t forget to leave room for your signature!
4. Go Luxe – use luxurious paper and a really nice pen. Enjoy the physical process of writing, don’t just focus on the words themselves. The glide of ink on paper is something you can really relax into – like yoga or gardening.
5. Relax – don’t worry if it’s not perfect. The whole point of a handwritten note is that it comes from your hand instead of from your printer. Your handwriting conveys your personality in a way a computer font never could – imperfections and all.
A final word of advice: “A fountain pen makes a great Christmas gift as it is something that many people wouldn’t purchase for themselves.” Follow Moya on Instagram. For fountain pen gift inspiration, visit: www.pilotpenaustralia.com.au.
