Joe Hickey is a letter carver based in (west) Yorkshire, but works UK wide. He designs letters using pencil, pen and brush and carves them using a hammer and chisel. He makes headstones, plaques, house names and numbers in a variety of stones and slates and can carve directly into the fabric of buildings. Finished letters can be left as they are, painted or gilded. He takes on public and private commissions working mainly from the studio but also on site; he fixes completed works himself.
After a Foundation Course he graduated from Falmouth School of Art & Design with a degree in Graphic Information Design. As hand-rendered designs gave way to computer based designs he wanted to get more ‘hands-on’ so joined Calderdale Calligraphers, over ten years he learned how to form the various ‘hands’ with a steel nib and brush, gradually building up an understanding and appreciation of letter forms. Next he found letter carving courses run by LAT, went on five in succession then became the first Journeyman apprentice, training with two master letter carvers.
