A treasured piece of calligraphy for a very special birthday - blue ink on off-white calligraphy paper, written in a modern style with a Leonardt EF Principal nib.

A short blog today, as I'm nose-deep in family trees: 4 copies of a single tree to be written, and decorated with blue agapanthus, 23 carat gold leaf and tabby cats! 

But I did want to share this birthday poem with you. Written for Fiona by her husband, telling the stories of her life, travels and adventures, it was a beautiful piece. Having settled amongst the Lake District fells I felt a kinship with Fiona and Graham - this had to be a special piece.

Graham's brief was to write something elegant but not "weddingy or medieval". Lots of calligraphy can be old fashioned, and equally a lot of modern calligraphy is very flourishy, which gives a feminine look. Spacing and a nice rhythm to the letters gives a more sophisticated look to the calligraphy. 

Graham messaged me once the poem arrived to say the calligraphy was "absolutely beautiful". 

I'm delighted to be able to help people with really thoughtful and personal gifts like this bespoke poem. You can never get the same result with a printer, and knowing words have been hand written by a skilled artist, especially for you, means gifts like this will be treasured for years or even for generations. 

If you're looking for a poem to be written in calligraphy, there's a gallery of some previous commissions along with a calligraphy poem price list on my website.