Font Friday: Meet Deborah Nadel, Calligrapher & Designer

Today is September 19th? SEPTEMBER 19th!! Excuse me for a moment while I cry in a corner and whine about how fast this year is going. Sob.

But at least it's Font Friday, which always makes me feel a little better. I mean, Font Fridays for me are like shoe sales to shopaholics.

I'm changing things up a little and introducing you to a person, not a font. WHAT! I know. But trust me, you'll love this.

Meet Deborah Nadel. She's one of the most talented calligraphers I have ever met, and we have a really fantastic small-world-how-we-met story, which actually starts 15 years ago.

Back in middle school and early high school, I was very close with a group of girls in the neighborhood. We spent every.single.moment together all.of.the.time. One of my friends had an artist as a mom, and I remember thinking that was the most interesting job that could ever exist. I never really asked what kind of art her mom did, and I was too young to really understand the gravity of it anyway.

Fast forward 15 years, and the group of girls have all gone our separate ways (but of course we still stalk each other, thanks to Facebook). I had my little design company and became fiercely interested in other designers, and especially in calligraphy. In case you didn't know this, but really you SHOULD know this already; I am a font lover. LOVER. So of course I was interested in calligraphy. Anyway, I stumbled across an incredibly talented calligrapher; Deborah Nadel. Her portfolio was inspiring, intimidating, and beautiful beyond words.

I noticed she was also a Long Islander, so I emailed to introduce myself and see if she would want to grab coffee or lunch sometime.

Well low and behold, Deborah is my friends artist-mom. MIND BLOWN! In my defense, Deborah has a different last name, so I have a tiny excuse for my silliness in non recognizing her. Plus, it was 15 years ago.

Deborah and I live about 10 minutes away from each other, and I am so glad we've connected. Having an industry friend close by has been so nice, kind of like having a real coworker again. We went to the National Stationery Show together this past year, and I'm pretty sure we could sit and chat about paper all day, every day.

I mean, really, how gorgeous is Deborah's calligraphy? I am so honored to call her a friend, and am thrilled to be able to share her beautiful work with all of you. As much as I love fonts, I would be lying if I said I liked them more than custom, hand designed calligraphy and lettering.

I hope you've enjoyed this Font Friday! In the future I will be sharing a mix of my favorite typography artists as well as fonts for purchase. I don't know about you, but I love the reminder that there's an actual person behind each design and font out there.

Love fonts as much as I do? Follow along every Friday for Sincerely, Jackie's Font Friday features, and catch up on past Font Friday selections. Want even more font goodness? Follow the Sincerely, Jackie Fontablulous Pinterest board.

Sincerely,