schin

My name is Schin and I am a full time illustrator and calligrapher. I live and work in Las Vegas with my dog Wuffles.

I was very active on Swapbot from 2012-2013 and left for a year, and now I am back to do some simple swaps.

I love calligraphy and paper and pen paraphernalia. This includes anything that has a picture of a fountain pen or a nib, or anything written with them. I also do wedding and greeting card calligraphy in [ my shop ] so don't be surprised if your swap looks like an invitation to somewhere fancy.

I collect stationery, modern and vintage nibs, pen holders, inkwells and bottles, fine stationery, inks, stamps and writing stuff and trying to limit to my new fountain pen collection. I am known as the 'pen lady' in my local antiques store.

If you're a penhead, let me know and we can nerd out together.

I love all kinds of music, from classical, bossanova, Kpop, pop music, country, classic rock, even tango and rap. The only kind of music I don't like is metal or stuff like that.

Here is my recent Pandora list:

Bing Crosby . 70s Funk . The Eagles . Mambo Loco . Kanye West . Zee Avi . Johnny Cash . 2NE1 . Phillip Glass . Ella Fitzgerald . Chopin . Elis Regina . Pablo Sarasate . Bjork . Massive Attack . Gotan Project

I love these high schoolish books: Grapes of Wrath, Lolita, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, 1984. I prefer non-chick lit books.

I also enjoy poetry by Neruda or similarly romantic haikus.

Currently I am reading Gaijin from James Clavell's Asian saga, The Man Who Laughs by Hugo and The Silmarillion. I recently finished Canticle for Leibowitz and Sacre Bleu.

I am also a HUGE fan of Terry Pratchett. Don't get me started. Actually, you totally should.

As an artist, I love comic books and manga as well: The Sandman, Kabuki, Sailormoon, etc.

Here is my Goodreads profile: [ Schin ]

I am a huge documentary addict and will watch generally anything that is not a chick flick, reality show, sitcom or anything too Michael Bay-ish.

My favorite movies tend to be more subtle, darker stuff.

In The Mood for Love . Pan's Labyrinth . The Dark Knight

I hate horror movies :(

My favorite TV series is The Wire, Game of Thrones, Keeping Up Appearances, Fawlty Towers, and Parks and Recreation. I also enjoy Firefly.

If you can, please send me a food related postcard and please write to me regarding the food in your country. I love learning about food culture and history and would like to know about what you eat everyday in your country. Maybe one day I can go and try it. Don't worry, I am not squeamish so you can tell me about any strange ingredients not normally used. You can also write about your favorite food!

Here are some ideas of what to write to me:

Tell me about your favorite local food . Tell me what you ate for breakfast/dinner today . Tell me an unusual food/ingredient that your culture uses in your food . Tell me a beautiful memory that you have with food . Tell me a food related festival in your country . Tell me your best dish that you made, or worst dish :)