Calligrapher extraordinaire and founder of stationery brand Betty Etiquette, Rebecca Cahill Roots stopped by to share her lettering inspirations, top tools and essential advice for beginners.

Hi Rebecca! So firstly, how did you own journey with lettering begin?

My love of lettering started when I was really young. My dad had a book about The Book of Kells and I remember poring over it, looking at the letters and illuminated illustrations. My little brother and I used to spend hours copying out the letters, using sweet wrappers to make our own versions. I was fascinated by the process and the way that my hand was able to copy the same letters made centuries earlier by someone else.

Why do you think it’s so important for people to reconnect with their handwriting and give this craft a try?

I’ve learnt so much about my grandparents from looking at the letters they left behind; I wonder what we will leave to our children… An email password, maybe? As digital devices reduce our attention spans, and more and more writing is done on computers, I think the art of lettering can offer a meditative escape. Participants in my workshops often tell me that they have found the process calming and go on to practise it as a stress relief. Calligraphy also demands that you practise composition; legibility; form and interpretation, which I think can be beneficial to all sorts of creative careers.

Tell us more about your book, Modern Lettering.

Modern Lettering starts by taking you through the basics of using a pointed pen and ink to create a modern calligraphy style.  I think this process is key to enabling people to develop the flowing movements needed in many lettering styles. There’s a workbook section with pages inside that you can write on to practise your letter forms, then once you’ve gained confidence, it shows you how to use a range of paints, papers and brush pens for letter forms. The final part looks at projects and materials you can use your lettering on, from ceramics through to fabric.

If we took a peek in your toolkit, what would we find?

I have a little pen roll case that my sister-in-law made me that’s full of my favourite pens and it goes everywhere with me. When hand lettering is your bread and butter, you can’t just use a biro in a birthday card! I always have some pens with me to use on the go. My favourites at the moment are TomBow ABT duel brush pens, Kuretake Fude pens and Kuretake Brush Pen No.22. I also use Moleskine journals for pen work and Cass Art Layout paper or Rhodia pads for my nib work.

Do you have a favourite calligraphy technique?

At the moment I am addicted to light tones of gouache on dark paper. I love mixing up new ink colours using gouache paint and watching the colours slowly lighten as they dry on the paper. It gives such a crisp chalky finish and I often add a little FineTec metallic paint to the mix to give it a soft shimmer.

Christmas is on the horizon! What’s the best way to incorporate calligraphy into your handmade projects?

Depending on how much time you have, you could write your gift tags in calligraphy, create personalised Christmas cards, labels for homemade jams and presents, or place settings for the Christmas day table. A really special way to use it would be to write a reply from Father Christmas for your own little one or offer to do it for friends and family members. You can go to town on the envelope too: use Christmas stamps and white ink on red stationery to add to the magic.

Finally, what one piece of advice would you offer to complete beginners?

I think the biggest stumbling block for those starting out is that our minds play a massive trick on us and tell us we should be instantly really good at it because we can already write. I often see people at my workshops getting really frustrated that they aren’t picking up in the first few lines. Lettering is like any new creative skill, it needs time and lots of practice to get the flow of it. If you were picking up a violin or knitting needles for the first time you wouldn’t expect to be playing concertos or knitting up a Fair Isle jumper straight away. Slow down your writing, stick a podcast or some music on, and simply enjoy the process.

To hear more from Rebecca or to purchase her book Modern Lettering, visit bettyetiquette.co.uk