Handwritten Sentiments

[zwack]

In my experience, even business cards are slowly going out of fashion. They served a purpose when there was no place to store contact information except carrying a little diary to scribble it in.

 

Which is odd because I have a large selection of business cards given to me by various representatives from vendors.

 

I do not have my own business cards, but they do have a place to easily transfer contact information from one person to another useful when you bump into someone at an event.

 

They are easy to carry, easy to pass out and can say what you want them to say.

[AAAndrew]

I use personal stationery, which may not be the same as personalized stationery. I find very few commercial stationery designs to be to my taste. Yes, you can use blank, and I do have some nice, plain white stationery that works. But I've created my own design and print it myself on my home printer and cut with the paper cutter at work. (half-sheet)

 

With today's quality computer printers, unless you're looking for letterpress or engraved designs, you can probably do better yourself. My design has my little dapper rat (my avatar) on it.

 

Here's a view from a picture for another thread.

 

 

 

Edited to add: and as you can see, there are more ways of writing nicely and expressing yourself besides fountain pens, but they also involve a metal nib and liquid ink.

Edited January 29, 2016 by AAAndrew

[KellyMcJ]

I use personal stationery, which may not be the same as personalized stationery. I find very few commercial stationery designs to be to my taste. Yes, you can use blank, and I do have some nice, plain white stationery that works. But I've created my own design and print it myself on my home printer and cut with the paper cutter at work. (half-sheet)

 

With today's quality computer printers, unless you're looking for letterpress or engraved designs, you can probably do better yourself. My design has my little dapper rat (my avatar) on it.

 

Here's a view from a picture for another thread.

 

 

 

 

Edited to add: and as you can see, there are more ways of writing nicely and expressing yourself besides fountain pens, but they also involve a metal nib and liquid ink.

Adorable stationary and beautiful writing! (ever more anxiously awaiting the arrival of my dip pens!)

[proton007]

A humorous writer from 1830's England, R S Surtees (who wrote the Jorrocks "Sporting Squire" stories) wrote:

 

The only infallible rule we know is, that the man who is always talking about being a gentleman never is one.

 

 

(can I point out that I have never said I am a gentleman?)

 

Owen

 

The man who claims not to be a gentleman is indirectly invoking the same rule!!

[proton007]

Which is odd because I have a large selection of business cards given to me by various representatives from vendors.

 

I do not have my own business cards, but they do have a place to easily transfer contact information from one person to another useful when you bump into someone at an event.

 

They are easy to carry, easy to pass out and can say what you want them to say.

 

I have my stack of business cards lying unused..I think our office admin stopped having these printed after finding no one was really using them.

Edited January 29, 2016 by proton007

[proton007]

I use personal stationery, which may not be the same as personalized stationery. I find very few commercial stationery designs to be to my taste. Yes, you can use blank, and I do have some nice, plain white stationery that works. But I've created my own design and print it myself on my home printer and cut with the paper cutter at work. (half-sheet)

 

With today's quality computer printers, unless you're looking for letterpress or engraved designs, you can probably do better yourself. My design has my little dapper rat (my avatar) on it.

 

Here's a view from a picture for another thread.

 

 

 

Edited to add: and as you can see, there are more ways of writing nicely and expressing yourself besides fountain pens, but they also involve a metal nib and liquid ink.

 

Do you use this for correspondence or just for fun?

[zwack]

Having had a letterpress in the front room growing up (a nineteenth century Albion) and knowing the difference between Letterpress and Intaglio, I am tempted to borrow my wife's Sizzix Big Shot and Engrave an acrylic plate or two...

 

Then of course I need an Adana... by the time I have gone through a ream of personal correspondence paper it should have paid for itself.

 

After all, the true renaissance gentleman dilettante produces his own personal stationery for that truly personal experience.

[AAAndrew]

 

Do you use this for correspondence or just for fun?

 

I use both the writing and the stationery for correspondence, which is all just for fun. I don't write professional correspondence on paper as I'm in IT and none of my colleagues would know what do with a piece of paper with ink on it that didn't come from a printer.

[zwack]

I don't write professional correspondence on paper as I'm in IT and none of my colleagues would know what do with a piece of paper with ink on it that didn't come from a printer.

In my case, I am also in IT but my colleagues are so spread out that email is more convenient. Interoffice mail doesnt include interstate and we are spread across at least five states. I do however love that paper design.

[penrivers]

Writing with a fountain pen, in my opinion, is the only way to effectively transmit emotions into paper.

So true. I don't belive in words. Nor Proust writing about jealousy, not Faulkner about agonizing etc, but they try, I love pen and ink, they have an ineffable element of humanity that you don't find in a computer or card, but well.. I don't belive in facebook but I am present in it clicking ´´likes`` and ``be my friend``.

[pajaro]

Proust and Faulkner wrote for people with time on their hands. Does it matter the tool you use to transmit ideas to paper? So, it's all about the process then?

[zwack]

No, But the process does influence the output.

The act of writing versus typing allows for sketches, marginalia, corrections (without destroying the original) and so on.

 

There is a different thread discussing the use of pen and paper in the creative process.

[AAAndrew]

Zwack got to this first, but since I had already written it, I'll just say, "Ditto" and post what I was working on.

 

[KellyMcJ]

Zwack got to this first, but since I had already written it, I'll just say, "Ditto" and post what I was working on.

 

I certainly think process matters. When I was in school speed was the requirement. Instead of learning to take my time and digest what I was writing, I learned the opposite. Handwriting was not emphasized and in some cases, was discouraged. I regret this now and am reschooling myself.

 

It has become worse now, because common core standards stress computer use over handwriting in the US. many people believe that cursive is obsolete. Clearly it's not, but this does not bode well for future generations I feel.

[zwack]

I appreciate the comment AAAndrew, you wrote it much better than I could.

 

Kelly I went to school in the UK a long time ago. My handwriting sucks, but then I have dyspraxia. In the last few months I have moved from my old poorly legible handwriting to a slower more legible cursive. It is worth the effort. I used some of the materials at http://www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/index.html but there are many other options.

[Sandy Fry]

Personally, I am all for personalized stationery. I appreciate anyone who makes the effort to send me a hand written note/letter on personalized stationery rather than scribbling on a scrap of paper or sending an email. I like the personal touch.

Email has it's use but not for personal correspondance in my opinion. Everyone seems to be in a rush these days.

 

David