Blast from the Past – The Old is New Again!

At Gina Jonas’ workshop, “Living Letters”, we were introduced to a very interesting writing surface.  Gina uses a piece of Gatorboard covered with suede to write on, and everyone was given the opportunity to try it out.

Gatorboard is a thick, high-density foam board, very lightweight, and Gina has stretched a large piece of suede around the board, stretching it very tightly.  This surface is delightful to write on, with just enough ‘give’ to make writing a pleasure.

Most of us pad our writing surfaces with paper, or if we’re lucky, a piece of drafting table cover.  But writing on a suede-covered board is a very sensual experience indeed.  I urge everyone to give it a try.  Finding a piece of suede large enough to cover a board might be a bit tricky and expensive, but I think suedecloth might give a very similar surface.

A member of our guild pointed out at the workshop that antique writing desks often had a beautiful piece of leather imbedded in the surface.  What’s old is new again!