We offer a range of typography-focussed workshops in Toronto for different skill levels and interests.

Brush lettering

Our most popular workshop, the Ligatures team meets 3-4 times per year to share their passion for traditional brush lettering. Over the course of the full-day workshop, we share the fundamentals of stroke building, letterform construction, layout composition, and tips on taking your work from the page to the screen. All tools are provided, including our official Ligatures lettering booklet, our favourite pens, and access to personal tools & resources. Don’t miss – these workshops always sell out!

“Thanks to Chris & Kyle for such a fantastic workshop! Even though I have experience with calligraphy, brush pen and brush lettering is a whole new ballgame, and this workshop taught me so much! Both of you had such great tips, and were excellent at explaining how to create each stroke. The thought put into the materials was very apparent, and very effective. Thanks so much, again! This totally upgraded my hand lettering skills to the extreme!”

— Eunice Bae

Digital lettering

This 4-hour workshop will help budding letterers learn how to convert their lettering and calligraphy work into versatile vector files, perfect for all print and web uses. We review the digital toolkit (including the beloved pen tool), an overview of building beziers point-by-point, and tips on making the most of Illustrator’s auto-trace, with plenty of demos and exercises. We allow plenty of one-on-one time with the instructors to ask questions and perfect your work.

“It’s hard to find good quality resources on working with vectors, so I jumped at the opportunity to learn about best practices and techniques from experienced letterers, in person. As always, the environment at the workshop was fun, casual and supportive, and I picked up a ton of valuable tips and tricks — even as someone who has worked with Adobe Illustrator for a decade. ”

— Lauren Barless

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Lino printing

Join us to learn basics of lino printing. During the course of an afternoon, you will learn the basics on transferring your design to lino, carving techniques, and the best ways to ink and press your work. Advanced printmakers may also have the opportunity to print their pieces on the Vandercook printing press (subject to availability). You will leave the workshop with your own limited edition set of prints / cards, and the tools to continue your printing adventures.

“The lino carving workshop hosted by Ligatures YYZ at the historic Coach House Press is definitely worth checking out. The place feels magical with paper and books and old linotype machines. You bring your ideas and they supply all the rest to get you started. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon – meeting new people and exploring a new craft.”

— Tania Volpe

Marquee letters

Join us for an afternoon of cardboard marquee letter making! Perfect for weddings, offices, and home, these charming letters are a breeze with the help of the Ligatures team. All supplies are included so you can continue your creations at home.

“The Ligatures Team were awesome. The team had incredible patience (I wasn’t a natural, haha) and skill, and made everything easy and a lot of fun. I’m so happy with my marquee letters and look forward to other workshops with this great crew!”

— Maeve O’Regan

We also offer private, bespoke workshops at a variety of skill level and durations for:

advertising agencies
corporate offices
colleges & universities
primary & secondary schools

Please contact us for more information.

“I am a grade six teacher from a TDSB school and thoroughly enjoyed the Ligatures workshop with Chris and his team. I first met Chris at a Art Show and was so impressed with his Two-Word inspirations that I wanted my students to have the opportunity to create their own! Chris came in to our school, bringing in all the needed supplies, and worked with the students for the whole day. In the morning, he taught the basic fundamentals of typography, allowing the students to explore and play with a variety of different fonts. I loved that he allowed the students to experiment with diverse fonts, as this enabled them to express themselves with their own styles. He worked well with all the students, helping individual students create their own designs. By the end of the day, they had created their own poster size two-word inspirations! I would highly recommend this workshop to any teacher interested in teaching their students about different art forms!”

— Ally Diniz