Handwriting cufflinks are among the most personal pieces you can make, because handwriting is instantly recognisable to the people who love the writer. A few scribbled words can bring back a voice, a kitchen table or a whole childhood.
Whose handwriting, and which words
The writer and the words together make the gift.
- A parent or grandparent – a signature, "Dad", "Love, Mum", or the way they always signed off a letter.
- A partner – "I do", "Always", a pet name, or a line from a love note written years ago.
- A child – their name written for the first time, "Daddy" in huge letters, or "I love you" with a backwards S.
- The man himself – his own signature, which makes a surprisingly smart and understated pair for work.
Handwriting cufflinks also make an unexpectedly good wedding gift from the bride. She writes a private line to her groom in her own hand, and he discovers it when he opens the box on the morning.
Shorter is almost always better. One to three words in a single hand will be far more legible and more striking than a full sentence.
Finding it: cards, letters and recipe books
If the writing already exists, it's often hiding in plain sight. Look in:
- Birthday and Christmas cards kept in a drawer or loft box.
- Old letters, postcards and wartime correspondence.
- Recipe books and recipe cards, often covered in notes in the margins.
- Books with a handwritten inscription on the flyleaf.
- School reports, cheque stubs or the back of old photographs.
If the writer is still here and can be part of the surprise, ask them to write the words fresh with a dark felt-tip pen on plain white paper. A thicker pen gives lines that hold up beautifully at cufflink size.
Capturing the writing cleanly
You don't need to send us anything precious. The original card or letter stays with you, and you simply upload a digital copy.
- Scan if you can. A flatbed scanner at a high setting gives the sharpest result. Many phones also have a built-in document-scanning mode.
- Or photograph it in daylight. Lay the paper flat near a window, hold your phone directly above it so the writing isn't skewed, and avoid your own shadow falling across the page.
- Crop tightly. Remove everything except the words you want.
- Boost the contrast. Increasing contrast in a photo editor makes faded ink darker and yellowed paper lighter.
- Leave the character alone. Resist the urge to straighten every letter. The wobbles and quirks are the whole point.
When the writer is no longer here
Many people choose handwriting cufflinks to keep someone close after they've gone. A son might wear his late father's signature on his wedding day; a grandson might carry his grandmother's "God bless" to a christening. If that's why you're here, take your time choosing the words. Sometimes the most ordinary phrase, a "see you soon" or a simple initial, is the one that means the most.
If the only surviving example is faint or damaged, a gentle contrast adjustment usually recovers it well. Check the result carefully in the preview before ordering. If there are several examples to choose from, it can help to ask other family members which one feels most like the person; handwriting changes over a lifetime, and the version one sibling remembers may not be the version another does. Handwriting cufflinks can then be ordered for each of them, with different words on each pair.
How it works
Upload your scan or photo of the handwriting. The live preview shows it on both cufflinks, and you can drag and zoom until the words sit centrally with a little space around them. Add it to your basket and complete the secure checkout. We print from your full-resolution original.
One pair on its own costs £40, shipping included. For families who'd like a pair each, pairs are £15 each when you order 5 or more, plus £5 shipping per order, and several different designs can go in one basket. Everything is made in our Cornwall workshop, where we've been making personalised gifts for 17 years, and arrives gift boxed.