Calligraphers of Color Spotlight: Gabrielle from Dunwell Calligraphy

Calligraphers of Color is a wonderful community of artists and creators that was launched to shine a light on traditionally underrepresented makers in this space. I want to do my part in spreading the word about these amazing artists, who I will be featuring regularly here on The Pen Addict. This week, I talk to Gabrielle from Dunwell Calligraphy, so be sure to check out her amazing work and all that she offers. Thanks Gabrielle!

Hi Gabrielle! Tell us a little bit about yourself, and what you do.

Hello! Thank you for having me. My name is Gabrielle, and I am a calligrapher and hand engraver based out of Southampton, UK. I have been a long-time sufferer of “What Am I Even Doing With My Life?” syndrome, so my day job and what I studied have nothing to do with calligraphy. In fact, I hated art class in high school, but we can keep that between us. I am a nurse by background, and while I no longer work bedside, I’m still an ER nurse through and through. I’m originally from Florida but moved to the south of England a few years ago where I live with my husband and two cats.

My calligraphy/engraving business, Dunwell Calligraphy is a side hustle, which is just how I like it. Once it is safe to have events again, I hope to provide onsite calligraphy and engraving services for luxury brands, as well as day-of services for weddings, parties, and amicable divorces. Just kidding on that last one. Unless…

How did you become interested in Calligraphy?

I wrote a blog post about this very topic here! The very short version is that in October 2018, I decided I needed a hobby that was cheap to start, I could learn on my own pace online, and most of all, didn’t require me leaving the house too much. 2018 Gab was onto something that 2020 Gab did not know would happen. Anyway, Google suggested a few things, but I chose calligraphy and I’ve been hooked ever since! I did brush pen calligraphy for a few months, then started pointed pen calligraphy in spring 2019. Down the rabbit hole I went, and then picked up engraving in January of this year. Calligraphy officially went from hobby to business in May, just under two years after starting! As has been said by many people before me – start before you are ready!

What are some of your favorite tools to create with?

I have quite a few staples! For my pointed pen work, I pretty much exclusively use Ink Me This oblique holders. Nib wise, I’ll try anything once, but current favourites are the Leonardt Principal EF and the Gillott 303. I’m really heavy handed so I am pretty much exclusively using nibs that help correct that. When I’m working on textured paper, I break out my Brause 361 Blue Pumpkin Nib, or my Nikko G nib. For brush pens, I gravitate towards the Pentel Fude line!

For engraving, I use either my Ink Me This engraver or a Thumb Micromotor, with burs I get from eBay.

My absolute favourite calligraphy supplies are inks. What you are to pen addiction, I am to ink! For shimmery metallic watercolour, I use The Creative Kinds, handmade with love by a husband and wife team in Thailand. I love them so much I even carry them in my online shop!

For acrylic ink, I love the Ziller Inks line– they sport a wide range of colours (my favourites being Glossy Black, Midnight Blue, and Cardinal Red). They are waterproof, and great for envelope work. I recently discovered a new acrylic gold ink and have added it to my list of favourites – C. Roberson Liquid Metal Ink in Royal Gold. My Christmas envelopes are going to be extra glamorous this year!

What are you working on now?

I have a dozen plates in the air and they are all spinning frantically! I have just designed and photographed holiday items (hand engraved ornaments in acrylic and ceramic). The inaugural listing is here, with more to come throughout October. I am working on the logistics of teaching modern calligraphy virtually and hope to have that up and running by November. I’ve just started pyrography, so I’m honing my wood burning skills. The next challenge on my list is leather debossing. Basically, if it is a skill that is somewhat similar or even vaguely related to calligraphy, I want to try it at least once!

Thanks Gabrielle! Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?

You can visit my website, dunwellcalligraphy.com for more updates. A new blog is posted on Sundays. You can also find me on Instagram @dunwellcallligraphy, or email me at gab@dunwellcalligraphy.com! Thanks again for having me, Brad!

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Calligraphers of Color.

Benu Pen Euphoria Fountain Pen Review

It took me a while to come around on Benu Pen. I like extreme designs and wild colors as much as anyone, but when Benu first launched, they didn’t grab me as a good match for what I like to experience when using a fountain pen.

As the brand continued to grow and gain in popularity, I kept an eye on the new designs, shapes, and materials, but remained on the sidelines for my own use. My thought process on Benu as a brand begin to change at a pen show several years ago when I was working at the Vanness Pens table. That weekend, we sold more Benu Pens than any other pen brand. Since then, I couldn’t help but think I was missing something.

Within the past year I have watched as Benu has gone bigger and bolder with their designs. In turn, my desire to try one out for the first time grew and grew. The shapes of the pens are just as unique, and the colors are even more wild than when Benu launched, and I started to understand what the brand was selling.

Benu Pens are fun. And who doesn’t want to have fun with their stationery?

The Scepter was the turning point for me. This is a pen that, while it isn’t my barrel shape of choice, was interesting enough to check out, especially with the perfect combination of colors chosen for the designs. The Grand Scepter kept the same style, but ramped up the size and colors of the Scepter, and I knew at that point I wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer.

Benu has always done a great job with community outreach, and I’ve been lucky to work with them on products that Pen Addict writers have reviewed over the years, and have used for giveaways. When they sent us the Grand Scepter that Sarah reviewed recently, the hook was set. Getting to check it out before I sent it off was all I needed to know that it was the one for me.

But, before I could pick out a Scepter for myself, Benu reached out with yet another new design and new shape that they wanted to send over for us to look at. And once I saw the new Euphoria model, I knew I wasn’t sending it out for review. This one was going to be mine.

The biggest change you will notice with the Euphoria is the introduction of a traditionally shaped fountain pen barrel. Well, at least as traditional as a non-traditional pen company could be. They have had plenty of close-to-traditional shapes in the past, but the Euphoria, with its more standard taper, build, and clip, could practically be called “classic” in relation to the rest of the Benu catalog.

And the best part? They kept the wild materials a focus throughout this new lineup.

I chose the French Poetry model to review, but that was far from an easy choice. Benu does such a great job with materials that there isn’t a single bad one in the bunch. The only choice you will have to make is do you want wild, or wild plus glow in the dark? That’s a lovely decision to have to make.

So, how does it perform? Wonderfully. When Benu first launched, I was always concerned with the sharp taper of the grip section, especially in relation to the size of the barrel. The Euphoria gets those dimensions correct for my hands, and it feels great to use. It is a fully resin barrel, so it is lightweight, but the material is dense enough to not feel like a feather, even unposted. Unposted is probably to correct choice with the Euphoria lineup as well. The cap and barrel are designed to post, but it makes an already large pen even larger in that configuration.

Benu uses Schmidt nibs, which I’ve always found to be firm and consistent. The Fine steel nib in this pen is no different. In comparison to other popular steel nib choices, it has more of a Jowo feel and line width (firm, fine) than Bock (soft, wide) in my mind. Of course, that is right up my alley. The only downside is the size range available, with the only choices being Fine, Medium, or Broad. I’d love to see an EF or 1.1 mm option eventually.

And finally, the price. At $118 for standard materials, and $128 for glow in the dark, the Euphoria is priced right. The same goes for the entirety of Benu’s lineup. Is there a lot of competition in that price range, and lower? Of course. But Benu brings a level of fun to the writing experience that is difficult to compete with. And for that, I say job well done.

To see everything that Benu has to offer, all of my site sponsors - JetPens, Goldspot, Pen Chalet, and Vanness Pens - carry a wide range of models in an even wider range of materials. Be sure to check out what they have in stock if you are interested in adding a Benu Pen to your library.

(Benu Pen provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 12, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Benu Pen, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Misfill, The Good News Edition

Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:

— This Artist Delivers “The Good News” With Upbeat Street Flyers (Design You Trust)

— Moleskine Studio – Sparking the Imagination (Fold Magazine)

— Ink Review #1274: Robert Oster Tokyo Blue Denim (Mountain of Ink)

— Muji Polycarbonate 6 Colour Hexagonal Pen Review (Write Experience)

— Fountain Pen Quest Trail Log – October 11, 2020 (Fountain Pen Quest)

— The Birmingham Pen Company: Seriously Addicted (From the Pen Cup)

— J. Herbin Vert Atlantide (Wonder Pens)

— Review: Musgrave Pencil Sleeve (Comfortable Shoes Studio)

— Ink Review #318: Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo (Fountain Pen Pharmacist)

— Diamine Aurora Borealis Ink (Writing at Large)

— Papa’s Maze 3.0: father’s hand-drawn maze is his most beautifully intricate yet (Spoon & Tamago)

— Greater Goods Might Be Our New Favorite Upcycling Brand (Carryology)