Traveling With Calligraphy Supplies

I love being at home and getting to create things in my workspace. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to step out of everyday life and get to relax in a new place. I rarely go on a trip without a basic calligraphy travel kit! Today, I’m sharing what I’ve learned over the last decade about packing smart to set yourself up for successful vacation creation sessions.

1. Skip the Ink

While traveling with a jar of ink can be done, a suitcase black ink spill on an airplane in 2016 made me realize it’s not worth it. (Airplane pressure changes can cause containers to leak or burst, resulting in a messy situation.) If you’re traveling by car and you have the ability to store your ink upright in a cup holder, that will be fine, but I still don’t think it’s worth the fuss. Instead, try bring a watercolor palette with you and use your watercolor as ink.

Using a watercolor palette as your go-to “ink” for traveling with calligraphy supplies is a no-brainer. Dry pans of watercolor don’t spill and can easily be tucked into a carry-on. Plus, you have infinite and instant ink color combinations. You can learn how to create watercolor calligraphy by visiting the How to Create Watercolor Calligraphy tutorial.

LEARN THE WATERCOLOR CALLIGRAPHY TECHNIQUE

2. Roll Up Your Writing Utensils

It’s a good idea to use a pen roll or some sort of protective pouch to store your writing utensils safely while traveling. If you don’t have something like this, you can use a scrap piece of fabric to roll everything up (a cleaning cloth works).

The writing utensils (and writing utensil-shaped calligraphy supplies) that I normally travel with include:

• Size 3 paintbrush for watercolor calligraphy + general painting
• Straight pen
• Oblique pen (fitted for a Brause EF66 nib)
• Mechanical pencil
• Blunt art syringe

3. Put Your Nibs in a Tin

You don’t have to get too fussy with nibs. You goal, really, is to just ensure that they’re not going to get jostled and bent. A very easy way to ensure this is to keep them in a small, durable vessel, like a tin.

Note, however, that anything small and protective works for nib storage. Some calligraphers use pill organizers to keep their nibs sorted and protected, which is a brilliant idea. Still others use mint tins or spice jars. Whatever you can find around your house is fine!

4. Secure Your Paper

Naturally, you’ll need a surface on which to create your calligraphy. If you take a drawing pad or larger sketchbook, it’s always a good idea to put bulldog clips on the two loose corners of the paper pad.

The reason for doing this is simple: you don’t want the drawing pad to open and have its pages get all crinkled and weird. The clips ensure that the paper pad stays closed! As an added bonus, you can put various loose sheets of paper or envelopes on the inside of your pad. Let’s say you want to make some cool mail art while traveling; you’ll just stick the envelope inside the paper pad, and it will stay nice and flat. Of course, if you don’t want to lug a drawing pad around, you can a sketchbook with a built-in elastic band to keep the book closed.

Other Miscellaneous Items

A good calligraphy travel kit also includes an eraser, a cleaning cloth, and a ruler (so you can draw guidelines). You can bet that wherever you go, you’ll have access to water — both to clean off your nib and to moisten your watercolors — and some sort of a cup. But, if you want to be extra prepared, you can bring your own dropper bottle and cup.

Practicing Calligraphy Away from Home

I have received a few emails about on-the-go practice (usually at work) using calligraphy worksheets. If you want to practice your calligraphy at work, consider keeping a little container of ink there to practice with when you need a break from the stresses of the day. Secure your worksheet sets with a paperclip when they’re not in use. Then, when you want to use them, you can remove the paperclip and focus on filling out one page at a time.

If it’s not possible to create calligraphy using the pointed pen calligraphy technique, you can always use faux calligraphy instead. Faux calligraphy is every bit as therapeutic as pointed pen and only requires a basic writing utensil to create. (Pencil calligraphy is also an excellent idea!)

Free Nib Tin

TPK’s simple nib tin doesn’t leave any room for doubt when it comes to its contents. The silver top is labeled “Nibs” in neat black calligraphy. On the inside, you’ll find plenty of space for your favorite little writing powerhouses! Now through Wednesday, August 9th, Supplies Shop orders $20+ will receive a free nib tin. Type the code NIBTIN in the “Apply Gift Card” field at checkout to get your treat!

SHOP SUPPLIES

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I hope this article gives you some ideas about traveling smart with calligraphy supplies. It’s always good to have a few supplies on hand so you can take enhance a relaxing vacation with creativity. Thanks for reading, and happy trails!

Warmly,