In Link Love

Link Love: Celebrate The Wins

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Celebrate The Wins

Laura and I were really excited to see the MDK post about celebrating the wins. I have seen this concept on YouTube as well recently. The idea is to reserve a page in your planner or journal to create a “wins list”. And it doesn’t have to be a list, it could be a garden of flowers, a bunch of award ribbons and trophies, it could be donuts or kittens or other images that make you happy and then fill each shape or spot with your wins and they will be different for everyone and even different depending on the day, season or life phase. Today for me, a win would be a shower and getting some laundry done because I am still dragging ass from the PNW Pen Show. I think my awards would be cups of coffee. What are your wins and how would you award yourself on paper?

Link of the Week:

Only Ten Pens:

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Books & Bibliophiles:

Other Interesting Things:

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In feature

What’s Up with Sailor Studio Inks?

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
What’s Up with Sailor Studio Inks?

There have been lots of rumors floating around about the Sailor Studio Ink collection and I have all the details for you.

First, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, Sailor released the Studio Ink collection several years ago with 100 unique ink colors in 20ml bottles. Some of these inks were wildly popular (123, we are looking at you!) and others clearly were not as popular. I think, at the time the collection was released, it was a little overwhelming for people to choose which of the 100 ink colors they needed or wanted and this collection also came out as the popularity of shimmer ink was on the rise. And Sailor, at present has no shimmer inks for fountain pens. This might change at some point but, at the moment, the only shimmer inks Sailor has released have been the Dipton collection for dip pens.

As a result of trends in the market, and the success of some very specific colors, many of the Sailor Studio Inks sat on the shelf, unloved. Some of this may have been a result of the rise of new brands like Wearinguel which hit the market about the same time that the Studio Ink line was released.  The Studio collection also included inks  that were not hugely dissimilar to each other or to an ink one of Sailor’s other lines –Shikiori, Manyo, special collections like the US 50 State series or the Yurameku series which offered a lot the multichromatic and sheening inks that had been some of the biggest sellers in the original Studio Ink line-up.

So, Sailor decided to keep 40 of the most popular colors from the original Studio Ink line, discontinue 60 of the colors and bring in TEN NEW colors. Some of the decision might have come from the contest they held in January about which shades were peoples’ favorites. You can check out the results and see if you agree. All the winners seem to be quite light, low saturation colors.

I have confirmation on the 60 colors that have been discontinued, listed below.

In order to keep the swatches, which I painstakingly added to this spreadsheet, I had to upload them to the site as screenshots. If you want to download and reference this spreadsheet yourself, here is a link to the spreadsheet (PDF).

From this list, you’ll see that many of the most popular colors will remain. Of the Sailor Studio Inks we have reviewed here, only three have been discontinued: No. 442,  No. 341, and No. 653.

The new colors were shown in a slide on an Instagram post so I’m including it here for reference:

 

The new rollout for the Sailor Studio Ink collection will also include new packaging (pictured above). As a result, most retailers are making an effort to sell down their stock of original Sailor Ink Studio inks in preparation for the newly designed Studio Inks which will hopefully arrive in the US soon but I couldn’t find any definitive info about when the new bottles are expected to ship.

Full 50 colors in the line-up of Sailor Ink Studio colors for 2026

Overall, I think there are other solid alternatives already in the market for many of the colors removed. I counted and about 19 shades of blue were removed but there are strong showings for blues elsewhere.

As a Sailor ink lover, I am disappointed that they have chosen to take such a giant chunk out of this collection. I have found The Studio Ink collection to be a particularly good collection to shop when people are looking for an ink to match a specific pen. However, I think Diamine has an equally wide range and can help fill in any gaps that might now exist as well as all of Sailor’s other lines.

A few of the bottles of Sailor Studio Inks I picked up this weekend.I was able to grab a bottle of 564 and 341 which are on the chopping block but I grabbed a few others because I was feeling extra inky this weekend.

Check out some of our reviews of ink from the original Sailor Studio Ink collection.

Images used in the spreadsheet came from Pen Boutique, Dromgoole’s, Goulet Pens, Sakura Pen Gallery, Larry Post Australia, and whatever popped up when I searched for a swatch. If you want to purchase one of these inks before they are gone forever, buy it from your favorite authorized Sailor dealer while supplies last. 

Finally, big shoutout to the folk on r/fountainpens on reddit for bringing this to my attention.

In Planners & Organizers

July Planner Set-Up: Art Deco Mermaid

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
July Planner Set-Up: Art Deco Mermaid

I know its a little late in the month to talk about my planner set-up but with the long weekend and my impending trip to Portland for the PNW Pen Show, things have been a little topsy turvy.

 

This month, I built another mermaid theme for the Patrons and myself. I feel like no matter where you live, July is a perfect time to get in touch with your inner merperson. Cool ocean currents and the deep sea is just the relief most of us need in the northern hemisphere as we slowly roast in the summer heat. Those in the southern hemisphere can dream of the upcoming warmer temps.

Pens & Inks:

It took multiple tries to get the right combination of nibs and inks this month. I , of course, treally wanted to use my Sailor PGS “Follow the Mermaid” fountain pen but the nib seems finer than a standard HF so I needed a bit darker ink to get the right contrast and usefulness from it. I ended up using the Colorverse Pillars of Creation which is a sheening reddish purple ink. I also really wanted to use my Platinum 3776 Kungpoo with the UEF nib but just couldn’t get an ink that was ocean-y enough for my theme AND dark enough for the needlepoint nib. In the end, I took the Kungpoo out of rotation for this month and put in a pen with a slightly wetter nib in the form of my Platinum Prefounte with an 03 nib and filled with Colorverse Morning Star.

Ephemera:

I was spoiled for choice when it came to ocean-themed ephemera. Both sticker books were filled with a wide assortment of options from sea life to vintage bathers and pirates and I used a little of all of them. I love the giant Mystical Ocean PET tape but I did need to get creative in how to use since some of the stickers are quite large. What do you expect of whales? Of course they are big. There is amazing silver foil details that look great so I made these giant sticker work.Even using them liberally, I didn’t use a full repeat from the roll and the roll has at least 5 repeats of the designs so I think these big guys will come up again next year!

Do you theme your planner or journal by the week, month or year? What kinds of themes do you use?

In Link Love

Link Love: Off to Portland

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Off to Portland

Once again, my R2 unit and I will be heading across the country. This time, we are visiting Portland for the Pacific Northwest Pen Show and to help Dromgoole’s sell lots of ink, pens, paper and stationery. I don’t arrive to PDX until 7pm on Friday so look for me bright and early Saturday morning on the show floor. I’ll be bringing an assortment of Desk-designed stickers, stamps, washi tape and of course, Col-o-ring! See you soon!

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Check out our Patreon where you can get inspiration, gossip and free printables that include a biweekly podcast and more. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

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In Fountain Pen Review

If I could only keep 10 fountain pens

Author Laura CameronPosted on 2 Comments

Clearly after Ana and I read Inky Wandering’s post, we both had the same thought! I broke mine into two groups of five. The first are the lower end pens that I just can’t quit. The second batch are the slightly higher end and more sentimental. In no particular order, here are my 10!

Kaweco AL Sport, Blue Iguana

I love all of my Kaweco AL Sports, but this one might be my favorite color! The pen is easy to carry, doesn’t roll away from me due to the hexagonal cap, can be used with a cartridge or a converter, and rarely hard starts unless I’ve written it out of ink. While the plastic ones are fun, something about the metal warms my heart (and my hands)!

TWSBI Diamond Mini AL Grape

I know TWSBIs don’t excite everyone with their stock nibs and plastic bodies. But I love me an Eco and this one is so much swankier! The Diamond Mini gives you all the fun of the demonstrator, with metal accents and an even better feel in my tiny hands. This one NEVER hard starts. And since I’m an intermittent user, the fact that it writes every single time I grab it, makes it one of my favorites. This one was limited edition and I keep waiting for more so I can collect them!

Jinhao 82

I’m sure this one is going to be controversial because it’s a knockoff of a Sailor ProGear Slim. And I do have two of the real deal, but I can’t help it. This one has a medium nib that is so juicy and it just makes me happy to write with it. It is sacrilegious, but I find myself reaching for it even more than my Sailors.

TWSBI Eco White and Rosegold

I love me a TWSBI. Mostly for the same reasons I highlighted above – they’re fun to look at, and always write when I pick them up. I have 4 or 5 on my desk at almost any given time. So I’ve included the White and Rosegold here as maybe the prettiest I own, but there are more!

Pilot Metropolitan Pop Green Marble

These two Pilot Metro Pops were among my first fountain pen purchases and I still love them deeply today. I selected the Green because it is a medium nib and right now that’s my jam. Again, a relatively inexpensive pen that feels good in my hand and always writes. Plus the design is fun!

Vanness Exclusive Franklin Christoph Pocket 45

This pen wins for a combo of favorite color + favorite style Franklin Christoph + chef’s kiss nib. Ana wrote the post and took the photo on this one, but mine is more or less identical. Franklin Christoph was my first exposure to a more indie brand and different materials, and the color on this one just stole my heart. The nib was ground by the late Jim Rouse, and expertly tuned by the Nib Doctor, Audrey Matteson and it writes like BUTTAH. And while the Pocket 45 no longer exists, this is my favorite model from FC. I’ll never let this one go.

Pelikan Classic M205 Apatite

I have a thing for teal pens ok? I actually REALLY love the M205 limited edition models that Pelikan brings out each year. I also own the Ruby Star and I’ve ogled many others. But this one is my perfect color pen and I have so many inks that match (including the ink of the year – Apatite!) It writes smoothly, is comfortable in the hand and my dad is a Pelikan aficionado, so I think of him when I write with it.

Carolina Pen Co. + Regalia Nib

My Jonathan Brooks’ Carolina Pen Co. in a steely/blue grey glitter was my 40th birthday present to myself. Shortly after I purchased it at the Chicago Pen Show of 2018, I was able to purchase a flex nib from Regalia Writing Labs and the combo has been together ever since. I pair it with Akkerman #7 Queen’s Night Blue and it’s just perfect!

Pineider Avatar UR Fountain

So aside from being teal and lovely to write with, this one has a magnetic cap that is SOOOOOOO smooth and satisfying to play with. ‘Nuff said.

Mont Blanc Meisterstück 149

Although this pen is obscenely large, much too large for me to write with, it will never leave the island. It was my grandfather’s and the story of the acquisition and subsequent non-use is quintessentially my grandfather. Read the linked post up above to get the gist of it. It also still has lifetime guarantee paperwork – priceless!

That’s my 10! What are yours?

 

In Planners & Organizers

Mid-Year Techo Kaigi

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Mid-Year Techo Kaigi

It’s July already and we are halfway through 2026. So, I thought it would be a good time to stop and evaluate my current journal/planner/notebook set-up in an official Techo Kaigi (stationery meeting).

I started the year with a B6 Aura Estelle Daily (5053), a Mark’s EDiT B7 semi, a Creeping Moon B6 Tarot Journal, a Pineider “Hollywood” A5 lined notebook  and a personal-szied Filofax. Some of these are ging strong, others fell out of use almost immediately (more ambition than time or energy, I suspect) and other notebooks have come into use. So let’s review…

B6 Leather cover from Etsy vendor (no longer in business), iron-on transfers from Hot Dang Press, Draco clip from Creeping Moon.

STILL in REGULAR ROTATION

The Aura Estelle has ended up working quite well for me so far. I have stuffed it to the gills with paper ephemera in the form of stickers, washi, and personal ephemera like photos and other bits. As such it already feels extremely floofy. The used portion is measuring about 25mm thick with the unused portion measuring about 11mm with total planner thickness including covers at almost 40mm (about 1.5″) so far. This has lead me to consider using a half-year style journal/planner next year ro reduce my overall heft. Unfortunately, I love the layout and format of the Aura Estelle so I may stay in this same notebook next year I’ll just prepare some arm curls to build up my upper body strength to carry it around.

The side view, full-floof of my Aura Estelle B6 planner

I continue to be loyal to the B6 as it provides enough space (usually for a day-per-page) without being overwhelming. If you haven’t tried the B6 size, its about 5×7″ compared to the standard Hobonichi A6 which is closer to a 4×6″ (these are rough size info that is common to most Americans. I know these are not specific numbers, just giving a ballpark) — it’s a little more space without being huuuge.

Inside view of planner with June printable

The Mark’s EDiT B7 Semi continues to be my catch-all. The fountain pen friendly paper and 300+ pages make it easy to grab and know I have plenty of space to jot a quick note, reminder, list or idea and still have many pages left. I gave my clear cover to someone at a pen show who really wanted a B7 Semi but I had sold out of the versions with the covers so I gave her mine. I’ll be getting more Mark’s EDiT notebooks in the shop soon so hopefully, I’ll be able to replace my cover. In the meantime, the paperboard cover is durable enough to survive being jammed into my backpack, tote back and such. The plastic cover did make it feel impervious to coffee stains and other natural disasters though.

Owl Clip from CoraCreaCrafts

Out of Rotation

The Pineider Commonplace journal was abandoned within a month or so as I wasn’t reading as much non-fiction that lends itself to a more structured style of notetaking. I still have it and if I decide to deep dive on a topic again, I may pull it out but for now its in storage.

Creeping Moon Journal. Lovely paper but I’m just not working on esoteric deep dives right now.

Since I do most of my day-to-day tarot racking in my planner/journal, I really have not been using the more singular-purpose Creeping Moon B6 journal as much as I’d hoped. Again, it has not been ditched but put aside until I take on a more specific project around tarot like a deep dive or other sort of study.

Updated use

I started the year with the Filofax Original personal sized in black for work-related tasks. It is larger than my Plotter which gave me room to keep freelance notes and blog/Patreon/shop projects all in the same notebook. However, I had no sooner set it up then my needs for work-related content seems to have shifted or I just wasn’t using it for this purpose. So, the Filofax just sat since January.

The last few days, I’ve seen the appeal of resurrecting the ringbound planner for notetaking and tracking various projects more diligently. So I am brining back into rotation. I have cleared out some clutter, added some different papers and will be updating the tabs to make it feel fresh and new.

However, I’ve seen some people recently using ringbound planners in more creative ways so I may throw caution to the wind and turn mine into more of a play space at some point. I like the idea of pasting in inspiration from various sources — be it Pinterest or books and magazines — as well as using the binder to store ink swatches, pen tests and other stationery related tracking. In the past I’ve had other places where I kept these sorts of things but I like the flexibility of the 6-ring binders for being able to use different papers, rearrange the pages and generally just muck about.

Newly Added

I’ve added some pocket notebooks for junk journals and creative spaces. Some of these books I custom made from random scraps and paper I had floating around and others were existing Field Notes that are being put to use for various detritus collecting. I find that junk journaling and collage work is a great way to use and use up the notebooks that are not as fountain pen friendly.

I am pasting in random bits, quotes, ideas and just playing. I have one that is my travel journal with scraps and notes from various trips, one I am using for letter bits from friends and family and I am in the process of building one to save stamps from my father-in-law’s letters since he uses lots of wonderful vintage postage and it seems a shame to throw them away.

I also have a notebook I’ve turned into a mini, portable “Grimoire” with various tarot, astrology, and herbal notes. Its a commonplace book but witchy! It seemed like less commitment and less pressure than making some epic tome à la Charmed.

1990s TV Series Charmed Book of Shadows

Conclusion

So, overall, most of my journals and notebooks are continuing to be used and I am finding that its okay to swap books in and out as the need arises. If I go deep on a specific concept, I may pull out the Pineider notebook agin to write down insights. I also belive firmly in the notion that should your life change, your planning, ournaling and note-taking meay also need to change. If I were to go back to a full-time, in-office job (not gonna happen but its an example), I might need a different planner or jouranl for “in the office” or for work-specific tasks. Since my life trajectory has not changed significantly since January, my system has continued to work despite the occasional hiccup.

Do you swap notebooks in and out? Are you planner monogamous or have you jumped around this year?

 

In feature

Do Less.

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Do Less.

Last week, I saw this in the Substack newsletter published by Greta Johnsen.

In the spirit of abundance and also fatigue, I have a question for you this week: what can you take off your plate? Are you doing something you “have” to do that you could actually let go of? Does the idea of doing less excite you? LEAN INTO IT. Maybe you can cancel a plan, or say no to something you feel obligated to do. Maybe you can give yourself permission to be ever so slightly less easygoing and a little more aligned with what you actually want to do. This isn’t bitchiness for the sake of being bitchy, it’s about spending your energy where you want to, about enjoying the fullness of the season without overextending yourself.

WHAT CAN YOU TAKE OFF YOUR PLATE?

— Gretagram, June 19, 2026, Substack newlsetter, © 2026 greta johnsen, Chicago, IL, USA

This has lived rent-free in my brain since I read it. I thought today would be a good day to share it with you. With a potential long weekend, consider resting, relaxing, hanging out with people you like instead of trying to tick off everything on your honey-do list.

Take that to-do list and cross off a couple things, move some others to “do later”. Give yourself a chance to breathe, play, relax. I am saying this for myself as well.

Play more, rest more, say no to things you don’t want to do. We are all stretched to our limits so its time to take time for yourself.

Love to you (and to Greta, too)!