I have very messy notebooks where I record lists of books I like, quotes, errands and basically everything, but I wanted to collect some quotes to practice my lettering with. My commonplace book is an A6 Nocturnelle from Paperblanks. It's not very 'commonplace' looking, but I fell in love with this journal ages ago because it looks like a door in a Gothic novel. Paperblanks also has great paper for pen and ink. My calligraphy dip nibs just skate across this paper!
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| Copperplate Hunt 101 nib with Rohrer & Klinger Salix ink. |
This is my first quote, dashed off in dip pen and framed with washi tape. Of course the aim of a commonplace book is to quote correctly - it's Kobori Enshu, not Ensho.
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| Same nib, with Noodler's Bulletproof Black. |
Yogananda is a great guide for life. Concept designer Chris Oatley of the Oatley Academy is a great guide for work.
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| Copperplate nib and Mitchell 'script' nib, Bulletproof Black. |
Listening to podcasts is a great source of inspiration for me. This quote comes from actress and comedian Aisha Tyler interviewing John Cho on her awesome podcast Girl on Guy.
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| Copperplate nib and Speedball B-5 lettering nib, Noodler's Bad Blue Heron and Luxury Blue ink. |
Jen Dziura's column Get Bullish gives 'aggressive lady-advice' for the go-getter gentlewoman.
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| Copperplate nib, Diamine Sherwood Green ink, and acrylic stamps. |
Karen Healey is a YA author with a collection of pretty great quotes about writing...and some choice words of her own.
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| Copperplate nib with Bulletproof Black. |
This post about Elizabeth Bathory was pretty terrifying, but it did make one important point. The online magazine The Gloss has a column called Shelved Dolls, a fascinating series on women in history, where I get a lot of inspiration and amusement.
Some other commonplace books I like:
The Journal Diaries - Ellina's Commonplace Notebook
Tolstoy's Calendar of Wisdom
