As a left-handed person, learning dip pen calligraphy was quite tricky. my hand writing, by nature, is unwretable and papper position has to be upside for me to white something in a straight line and gthat will be from the right to the left so my calligraphy is different from right-handers..From a young age i was good with art and craft , but worst enemy was my writing so at some point a decate ago, i come across, completely by mistake, with the deep-pen , the beautiful calligraphy and the oblique pen ( is a slander nib holder for left haded people) and i never know that people could create those letters just with a pen..
so i got hooked and full on, i start practising and managie my sitting position and although i have read that people shouldn't spend too much time practising, ...really??(me) i was spending the whole night just by do it the alphabet .. and it was so relaxing and ssatisfying - well looking back my early letters where horrible , but for me they where beautiful and I really enjoy it .
I practiced every day with different nibs and inks. and the challenge that i had to deal with is my hairlines, and my strokes , and since i am writing upside down then i reversed that , wherever was a stroke i was drawing a hairline and vice versa otherwise it would be impossible to do it. and i am so pleased that now i can create greeting cards or birthday cards or any other occasion and white by hand all those beautiful words that once before was impossible for me to do so .. well to be completely honest i never thought that i will ever say that " i like writing ".
So to start practicing, i had to use a left-handed oblique ( there is also a right-handed obliqie) and i didn't want to order it from online because it might take 1-2 days .. ( i wasn't a prime meber)
My ADHD dopamine was exelarating and I had to have it now (the oblique pen), so i travel to central London from thamesmead, where i used to live that time,( a bit far) and my first visit was the big paperchase a 4-story stationary store ..and they had only for right-handed one.. then i went to another 2 calllygraphy shops and also there i got the same answer .. i went to another 2 paperchase store and also they didn't had it .. so with my motivation on the floor and with disappointment .. my way to the station was another paperchase, and i thought ok let me ask heer , but i knew on the back of my head that they don't have it .. so i walked in and i ask a sale assisntat what i was looking for and she said the same .. so on my way out a customer there approached me and he said
- "Excuse me! erm are you looking for aan oblique pen ?"
- "YES!"
- "Are you a left-handed?"
- "YES!" (to be honest at this point i thought that he will pointing out a section in the store that they actually have the left-handed ones!! because he might be a lefthanded and not many staff members knows about that section)
- "Well i am right-handed and i have order this left oblique and is not good for me so if you want it i can [posrt it to you, i don't need money "
- " OMG REALLY?! , omg thank you so much, but at least let me pay for youtr coffee or the post "
- "Thats ok you dont need to, i know for sure that is going to be in good hands"
After a few days, the parcel arrived, OMG, i was like (HALLELUJAH!!) from excitement, so i opened it and i get start practising ...... Well it was at this point that i realised that is not good for me either and i need to use a right-handed oblique ..
All that i just described was pointmless becauser i could easily get the right-handed oblique and start rather going through all that exhausting shenanigans for nothing, but it made me laugh everytime i think of it
Is a funny real-life story but i was the right time at the right place althoguth it was useless afterwards , but my law of attraction gave me what i was looking for .