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The Festival of Nature was as lovely an event as I'd hoped. Perfect free day out in Bristol, with appearances with plenty of furry and feathered friends, free trees and activities and some rather nice nature-focused shopping. Here's a young chap enjoying trying out my bamboo pens. For a full write up, I recommend heading over to Erin the Giraffe, photo used with permission.  Woo, I managed it! One of my wholesale orders from Top Drawer - some epic bamboo whittling required for Dulwich Picture Gallery and British Design British Made... Sorry pandas! 
This week, I've sold 6 bamboo pens to the USA, 3 to Australia, 3 to Canada and 6 to the UK... There's literally sawdust everywhere... 
I'm not quite sure how it's happened, but somehow, moo have decided that I have lovely handwriting?! So if you've received any material on their latest marketing campaign for notecards, or a hand written press pack, chances are that I've jotted that down for you!      Sometimes it seems our world is more digital than anything else, and the personal touch can seem like a gimmick. Time barely allows for such niceties as a handwritten note… But it should. Many birthdays have been anticipated by deciphering envelopes, working out where they’ve come from before ripping them to pieces! Or more importantly, who they’ve come from. Handwriting is one of those instantly personal things, and almost a part of someone’s personality.
It can also be immensely beautiful and a channel for enormous creativity. As a multi-faceted designer, (or a creative jack of all trades if you’re being less pretentious!) I’m as often behind a camera lens as designing in front of a computer screen. But one aspect that runs through my design work (I hope!) is a hand drawn, natural element. Sure, things get tweaked digitally, but more often than not, it’s started as a scribble on a sheet of paper. In a full circle-type gesture, these natural elements are more often not made with natural elements. My bamboo pens started by hacking at some twigs in my parent’s garden (which had to be pruned, honest!) and a spot of whittling with a junior hacksaw and a massive knife. Coupled with some drawing ink and some sumptuous paper, and you’ve got a recipe for visual beauty! They take a few uses to bed in, and as a natural product, they each have their own quirks and character, which is half the fun. I often use them in my illustration work, but they are equally as lovely for calligraphy and handwriting. There are many people more talented at lettering work than me, but not many writing tools that you can personalise as easily. So take a break, write a letter. Keep scribbling. One of my sweetest jobs to date. A thoughtful chap asked me to illustrate and hand write the poem that he proposed with as a present for their first wedding anniversary (which is paper after all.) Congratulations, I hope she loved it! Ideas... 
Finished and framed. 
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If my blog links take you to external websites, I may be receiving a commission for sharing these products. However, please know that all my reviews are my own thoughts and a true representation, and I would never share anything that I wouldn't or haven't personally used or enjoyed.
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