Great people, businesses, tools, and books deserve recognition. Find them (some John and I have created ourselves) here. I often get asked for suggestions on a variety of topics around digital marketing, SEO, web development, calligraphy, watercolor painting, art supply stores, and more. The following are meant to help scale those answers in a broader way. (NOTE. This page is a work in progress. I am starting with Calligraphy but this will grow into a resource forest, covering many areas.)

Best Calligraphy Guilds

Wherever you are in your calligraphy journey, joining the guilds listed below will definitely introduce you further to the broader and inspiring world of letter arts.

• Society of Scribes, New York
• Washington Calligraphers Guild
• Society for Calligraphy, Southern California
• The Society of Scribes and Illuminators

Best Calligraphy Teachers

Part of taking the calligraphy journey to a higher level and part of being a diligent learner is having the fine ability of choosing a mentor. As a calligrapher, your first port of call is connecting yourself with someone who can offer masterful guidance.

• Sumner Stone
• Christopher Haanes
• Donald Jackson
• Rachel Yallop
• Cecilia Boschi
• John Stevens
• Suzanne Cunningham
• Pat Blair
• Yves Leterme

Calligraphers have a moral responsibility to preserve proper letterforms. Calligraphy is not just a time-honored art but also, an industry that we need to protect and conserve. To do this sustainably, we need to choose mentors that will direct us toward this path. Beyond that, however, we are also tasked to spread the news about the joy it brings.

Best Stores for Calligraphy Pens, Inkwells and Paper

• Straight Pen Holders from John Neal Books and Paper & Ink Arts
• Oblique Pen Holders from John Neal Books and Paper & Ink Arts
• Artisan Acacia Wood Inkwells by House of Kristina Anderson
• 100% Handmade Cotton Paper by Fabulous Fancy Pants
• HP Papers Premium 32lb. These are excellent for daily calligraphy writing practice.
• Arches Watercolor Hot Press 140lb. 300GSM, 22 x 30 inches by John Neal Books
• Arches Watercolor Cold Press 140lb. 300GSM, 22 x 30 inches by John Neal Books

Best Calligraphy Nibs

This rundown assumes that you’re here because you’re starting your journey in traditional calligraphy and would want to build an artillery.  Good nibs are essential because they hold and dispense the ink for smooth and even writing. You can create clean lines and strokes if you are using good quality nibs. Depending on your choice of script, the following nibs what you’ll need for your writing projects.

Pointed Nibs

• Hunt 22B or Hunt 22B Vintage
• Gillot 303
• Gillot 404
• Gillott 1068A Nib
• Hunt 101
• Leonardt Extra Fine (EF) Principal

Broad Edged Nibs

• Mitchell
• Brause & Co.
• Speedball

It’s difficult to make recommendations on which nibs are best because different calligraphers connect with different nibs. For pointed pen, in general, I highly recommend starting with Hunt 22B for straight nib holders. In the case of oblique pen holders, I have found Leonardt EF Principal to be optimal. Both nibs are excellent “workhorse” nibs because they can deliver delicate hairlines while achieving a rich, upstroke and downstroke contrast.

Calligraphy Inks

• Chinese Ink Stick
• Daniel Smith Walnut Ink
• Fox and Quills Iron Gall Inks
• Higgins Eternal Black Ink
• Kuretake Vermillion Ink
• Schmincke Gouache
• Schmincke Aqua Bronze Powders
• Finetec Coliro Mica Watercolors

Brush Pens for Calligraphy

• Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens
• Pentel touch pens
• Sakura Pigma Brush

Best Calligraphy Books

• Universal Penman by George Bickham
• A Simple Copperplate Manual by Rachel Yallop
• Copperplate Variations by Rachel Yallop
• Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy, A Step-by-Step Manual by Eleanor Winters
• Calligraphy and Lettering by Christopher Haanes
• Origin of the Serif by Edward Catich
• Hermann Zapf & The World He Designed by Jerry Kelly
• Foundations of Calligraphy by Sheila Waters

Watercolor Painting Supplies

Watercolor Paints

• Della Magna Watercolors
• Michael Harding Watercolours
• MaimeriBlu Watercolors
• Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors
• Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle
• Holbein Artists’ Watercolors
• Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolours

Watercolor Brushes

• Escoda Reserva Kolinsky-Tajmyr Sable Brushes
• da Vinci Maestro
• Winsor & Newton Series 7
• Princeton Kolinsky Sable
• Isabey Martre Kolinsky Pure
• Raphael Kolinsky France 8404

Watercolor Pencils

• Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle
• Derwent Inktense