If you are into lettering than you may have surely stumbled upon the name Louise Fili at some point.  In the graphic design industry she is legendary. Her New York based firm Louise Fili Ltd. specializes in food packaging and I am sure you may have seen plenty of her work on shelves or pinned repeatedly. Some of the alumni that have come from her studio are the uber talented Jessica Hische & Dana Tanamachi to name but a few.  She is currently getting ready to teach a master class in Typography in Italy, it has limited spaces but I do think it’s worth mentioning for anyone aspiring to be a lettering super star.

For those us mere mortal lettering enthusiasts I highly recommend some of her books, the latest one being Scripts which she co-authored with her equally talented husband Steven Heller. It has over 300 examples of beautiful golden age lettering, it is sure to inspire you to try your hand at some of the pieces.  By the by, that’s a great technique to learn, taking an existing example, tracing it to get the feel and then trying to replicate it free hand.  It’s how Master painters would teach their apprentices, by having them recreate their masterpieces.  It will help you become more familiar with how a piece is created if you try to do it yourself.  Lettering is all about practice. Allow yourself the opportunity to just give it a go and try not to judge yourself too harshly. The other night I was showing some girlfriends how to use the pointed pen + ink, they were hating their work, but the next morning they both agreed that it wasn’t as bad as they originally surmised. I think you will find that as well, if you step away from your work after practicing you will be able to appreciate it with fresh eyes the following day.  Visit Louise Fili, get inspired, buy some of her books or check them out at the library they are great resources.  And remember if you want to get better–practice!

I am just popping in really quick to let you know I am still away and didn’t have the foresight to come up with anything, charming or creative for this Monday (and Tuesday).  That’s what happens when you are in New Orleans, the real world no longer feels real, it’s as if you have slipped back in time, where the pace of life is a whole lot slower and my get up and go has got up and went. I have been wildly inspired by pretty much everything you can think of–the architecture, the history, the food (oh, goodness if I eat another Beignet..), the flora, the fauna (as seen above), just everything.  I leave on Tuesday, but Nola is high on my list of places to return to one day. I am thinking this would be a perfect spot for a future live Souvenir Foto workshop, the light here is amazing, lots of drama and moodiness, but you can also find beautiful + bright. There is also no shortage of photo-op’s!  I have been actively documenting my trip via Instagram if you are curious.  I will have more shots to share soon.

I shall see you back here on Wednesday per usual, can’t wait!

I found out about this newly released font by Trial by Cupcakes | Laura Condouris last week, I can’t believe I forgot to mention it!  Good thing I waited because I saw that they are currently offering a limited time discount so although late my timing may be even better!  I love the new spate of realistic calligraphy/lettering fonts coming out.  Some of course are more spendy than others and this new one Anna Clara is similar to another font I love (and own) by Emily Lime called Bombshell Pro, but I love options.  I am not in love with the capital ‘B’ in the Bombshell set, I have tried to like it but I am finicky when it comes to my ‘B’s’ and it’s not for me. With Anna Clara the ‘B’ is a lot less showy and would work for me better but would still have that casual but lovely hand I admire from Bombshell.  Don’t get me wrong, one is not better than the other, but it’s nice to be able to have a choice, which up until recently there was nothing on the market that had the look of modern calligraphy we all seem to covet.  I would love to see more options from other superstar calligraphers and if any are reading, I would love to have multiple alternates for the capitals, is that too much to ask for?  I have mentioned a bunch of other realistic calligraphy/lettering fonts previously, but if you missed that post here are some of my faves: Carolyna Pro Black, Jacques & Gilles, I love ALL of the Magpie Paper Works fonts, Bellucia, Nelly Script, Bookeyed Jack I think this should be a nice start down the rabbit hole of hand lettered fonts for you, I know I have left some out but these are the ones I own and find myself using on a regular basis.

On a supplies front, I recently purchased the Higgins fountain pen India ink at the craft store, I had run out of sumi ink and was working on a project and didn’t want to wait.  I was worried it would be thin like the other inks I have bought at the craft + art store that weren’t sumi, but it’s a great consistency a little thinner than sumi but I really liked it, it dried matte where as sumi usually dries with a sheen. Options, love me some options.

P.S. On the Font Shop blog they just launched some beautiful script fonts, check them out here.

P.P.S. Run don’t walk, Creature Comfort blog has a new look with some GORGEOUS hand lettering!