I recently took a beginner's calligraphy class from Hawaii Calligraphy, and absolutely loved EVERYTHING about it! I love supporting local businesses, especially ones owned by women. Kelsey Nishi Darling, awesome woman entrepreneur and owner of Hawaii Calligraphy, is a master modern calligrapher. I first became interested in Hawaii Calligraphy when I happened to see a beautiful Calligraphy starter kit while shopping at Owens & Co. a while back. I have always been intrigued with calligraphy since I was a little girl (what little girl isn't intrigued with beautiful, fancy handwriting?!) and have owned a few felt market calligraphy pens in the past, but had never tried my hand (no pun intended) at a nib and some ink. I contemplated buying that kit from Owens & Co. but I definitely learn better from example and demonstration than I do from reading a book. I decided to follow Hawaii Calligraphy on IG, for inspiration and maybe one day I'd give in and buy the kit. Well, you can imagine my delight when Kelsey announced on IG that she would be offering beginning calligraphy classes! The very same day that classes became available on her etsy site, I signed up!
The class was held in the ROC building on Nu'uanu where Hawaii Calligraphy's new office currently reside. This is the perfect space for a calligraphy class as it had a very was a very modern, urban and creative feel to it. Kelsey sure sets a beautiful ambiance with ferns and moss aligning the communal table. A light lunch was served, along with mimosas and iced tea in mason jars. Apparently, it is very important to have a nice meal before you do calligraphy because without food in your tum tum, your hand may be shaky. I can definitely live with having to eat something yummy before doing some calligraphy! All the supplies we needed were provided including an angle pen with nib, a pad of special paper, the same instructional book that I was eyeing out in Owens & Co., grids and exemplars, and the most beautiful walnut ink. She even included some pretty awesome coupons for local downtown businesses which I fully took advantage of after the class.
In the 3 hour class, Kelsey gave us a little bit of history on calligraphy and took us step by step on basic calligraphy techniques for beginners. There was a nice big screen displayed up front in which we could watch her demonstrate each exemplar. She walked around the class and spent time with each student and adjusted our grip as needed and provided good tips to improve our practice. We went through each letter of the alphabet in both upper and lower case and spent LOTS of time actually writing and practicing.
Calligraphy is much harder than I thought it would be, but it also brought much more joy and satisfaction than I imagined! Seeing my beautiful letters in that gorgeous wet ink was somehow very gratifying and exciting! Calligraphy is truly an "art" and it's beautiful not only to look at, but in so many other ways. There is much love and attention to detail to goes into writing each letter, which in a whimsical and Romantic sense, make the "words" mean so much more.
I have a long way to go in terms of making my letters flow, putting them all together and developing my own style, but this was the perfect way to start! Kelsey did a great job of instructing and encouraging her students. She is so humble and so sweet and truly has a passion for what she does. I have so much respect and admiration for those who truly love what they do, and share it with others. I highly recommend this class if you have the slightest interest in learning calligraphy or if you simply have an appreciation for learning new a fun new skill. You can find out more about her classes on her website, www.hawaiicalligraphy.com where there are links that take you to her etsy shop where you can register. You will not regret it! read more