The Well-Appointed Desk

You might have wondered why I ordered a pencil from Cult Pens last week. And that would be because I was ordering a few other things that were 100% exclusive to Cult Pens so I threw the pencil in with the rest of the order, because why not? I was already paying shipping and tariffs so, in for a penny, in for a pound sterling, right?

Love the artwork on the bottle! So goth!

Wha compelled me to brave tariffs and fees and international shipping, you might ask? That would be the Diamine Deadly Nightshade ink (£13.00 GBP for 50ml bottle) that was exclusive to Cult Pens. What’s so special about this ink?

I probably would have purchased it for the name alone but it is a purple sheener ink with silver shimmer in it as well. And… insert dramatic dirge music here… floating skulls in the bottle to act as mixing beads!

You read that correctly. Floating skulls. There was a great photo on the CultPens site. I did my best to get my skulls floating upright and visible but in the end, they look more like two teeth. Which is equally creepy so I’m going to go with it.

The ink color is a pinky purple with a clear green sheen. And the shimmer adds a little sparkly moonlight. Yes, I really do want everyday to be Halloween.

I tested the ink with a variety of pen tools. The sheening is definitely more visible in wider nibs. There is not a ton of shimmer which I don’t mind. If I see a little shimmer that’s cool but there is so much sheen that I think it would be distracting if there was a a crap ton of glitter too.

I compared the Deadly Nightshade to the purples currently in my collection first. I needed to compare it to Monteverde Birthday Cake (one of my favorite inks) which is not a sheener and quite a bit bluer violet than the Deadly Nightshade. Colorverse Delicious Sleep is closest to the color in my stash but also not a sheener. So if you like the color but don’t want sheen or shimmer, I’d recommend it as an alternative.

I tried to compare the Deadly Nightshade to other sheener or shimmer purple inks. I think the Taccia Murasaki Purple is the closest to the Deadly Nightshade base color. The Bungubox L’Amant reminds me of the lighter, finer writing samples above. Neither of these are sheen or shimmer inks.

The Kuretake Art Nouveau Perkin Mauve is the only other sheener purple that was similar but the sheen is darker making the ink feel like a purble black.

In the shimmer inks, Diamine’s Purple Pazzazz has a gold shimmer, Esterbrook Shimmer Lilac is lighter than Purple Pazzazz and has a lighter gold shimmer. Jacques Herbin 1789 Amethyst de L’Oural has a silver shimmer and finally Robert Oster Barossa Grape has a gilver shimmer which gives the ink a different feel altogether. None of the shimmers in my library were also a sheener so if you like the idea of purple but not sheen consider one of these options instead.

Final Verdict:

I do think I prefer the Deadly Nightshade in a finer nib as I can see more of the color of the ink and a hint of the sheen. The shimmer is cool but not a make a break for me. Diamine’s shimmer particles are fine enough now that I don’t worry much about it clogging.

YES! I love the addition of themed mix beads like little plastic skulls in an ink called Deadly Nightshade. This is a great way to plus up an ink and make it more fun to use. I want to see more of this! But, Diamine and Cult Pens, could you make it a little easier for US customers to get a bottle? Let’s collab! I have ideas!

Now, for the really big news…

Giveaway:

I didn’t just buy one bottle of this ink. I bought another bottle of Deadly Nightsahde to give away to ONE lucky reader.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what other POISON inks you’d like to see. Or what floaters you think should be added to ink bottles. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give themonkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 10pm Central. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Instagram, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

In Pencil Review

Pencil Review: LEUCHTTURM1917 Drehgriffel Mechanical Pencil (Dusty Rose)

AnaMay 29, 2026May 29, 20263 Comments

I got a wild hair to try the Leuchtturm 1917 Drehgriffel Mechanical Pencil (0.7mm, £28GBP) and placed an order with Cult Pens recently and added this little cutie in my order. I had not seen the pencil version of the Drehgriffel and I’m not a big fan of ballpoints so a pencil was a great way to try the Drehgriffel. It’s a more premium mechanical pencil than a lot of the ones in my collection and I was curious how Leuchtturm 1917 would handle the advance and retract mechanism.

The exterior is a matte painted metal with a soft hex shape. The grip and end cap are matte black. This sets the pencil version of the Drehgriffel apart from the ballpoint and gel pens which mostly have white grips and caps (though there are some new gradient versions that hve these sections blended into the color of the barrel which is cool). To advance the leads, twist the end cap counter clockwise and it moves the lead down a designated amount. If you hold the cap in the twisted position, you can push the lead back into the pencil so it doesn’t break in transit. Honestly, being able to retract leads and not need to carry a sharpener is the best reason to keep a mechanical pencil in your kit. This is the Dusty Rose color, BTW, which looks like a beautiful orchid lilac color to me. Chef’s kiss on the color!

Interesting fact: there is a cartridge of sorts inside the pencil with a long cap that engages the telescoping mechanism. When you remove the cap, you can replace the leads as needed though I am concerned that over time the plastic cap might degrade or strip so that the lead no longer ratchets correctly.

Quick cellphone photo to show the lead holder converter tube and the removable cap to add leads.

The Drehgriffel branded lead refills I could find only come in a tube like every other 0.7mm lead refill so be very careful with the refill converter should you decide to purchase one of this pencils. Hopefully, at some point, Leuchtturm1917 will offer replacement lead tubes and caps for we the klutzy, forgetful and hard-on-our-tools folks.

Can we pause for a moment and talk about the logo branding on the Drehgriffel? I had the worst time determining that the first letter was a D. No one draws a capital D like that. And the lowercase g is wonky AF. I initially wondereed if the pencil was called a “irehyriffel” because it is so difficult to read. I get it. They are German company. Maybe Germans can easily read this but for an international audience, even typographic nutjobs like myself, this is almost indecipherable. The san serif they sue for the Leuchtturm 1917 branding is beuatiful and I have nothing against script logos but did you focus group this with anyone before you slapped in on thousands upon thousands of writing tools? Call me, Leuchtturm, if you need future design consulting. Sheesh. (Okay, rant over.)

Pencil Comparisons:

I decided it would be necessary to compare the Drehgriffel with its closest cousin, the Caran d’Ache ~~849~~ 844 Mechanical Pencil. I added in a regular pencil (in the form of a Blackwing 24, collectible item. Don’t ask.) and a less expensive hexagonal mechanical pencil, the Kokuyo PS-PT112 0.7mm (no longer available via JetPens). The Caran d’Ache and Drehgriffel are very similar– metal, hex shaped, kind of fancy– but the Drehgriffel is ever-so-slightly wider around with a little bit longer grip section.

The Caran d’Ache is a tiny bit longer and includes a clip. And the Caran d’Ache is where I learned that the branding is hidden under the clip — very subtle and results in me now installing clips on my Kaweco pens the same way.

The Kokuyo is similar circumference, but its slightly longer and plastic so it feels different in the hand. Also, I guess its no longer available domestically so sorry about that. I didn’t know when I chose it for the comparison.

And finally, comparing to your standard, fancy-pants Blackwing, the Drehgriffel is heavier because its metal and designed to be that “sweet spot” length commonly called “Steinbeck Stage” in the pencil community. Woodcase pencils will feel different in the hand depending on the reamaining length though there are holders that can be used when pencils get shorter than Steinbeck Stage.

A woodcase pencil will also be lighter than the Drehgriffel and require sharpening but it does have an eraser on the end and only slightly slimmer overall. You can buy a whole box of fancy Blackwing pencils for about the same price as the Drehgriffel.

Final Verdict:

I am actually quite happy with the Drehgriffel pencil, quibbles about the logo aside. It feels nice in the hand, easy to hold but a little nicer than a woodcase or plastic mechanical pencil. What can I say, I’m a fancy pencil girl?

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided by the generous support of our Patrons for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Dicey Journaling!

AnaMay 27, 2026May 27, 2026Leave a comment

Oh, hell yeah, Mary! Her journaling is always inspiring but I am thrilled that she too is falling in love with Q-Less and has added even more was to gamify and play when journaling. YOu kow I love adding gaming components to my life planning and Mary has great ideas. Thanks for sharing and, as always, your journals are beautiful!

Link of the Week:

Dicey Journaling (via From the Pen Cup)

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!

In photo

GIVEAWAY: Second Verse, Kinda Like the First (2 Mystery Boxes)

Laura CameronMay 26, 2026May 26, 202661 Comments

A few weeks ago, Ana and I realized we were both interested in doing some “blind dates” or mystery boxes for all of you.

So today, I’m doing what she did about a week ago and offering TWO Mystery Boxes (only one box per reader). Inside these boxes you’ll find tons of different papers to try, along with a writing implement and some other fun items I’ve thrown in. They are all new, or were tested for reviews only. Some are still in the original shrink wrap! Mine are also loosely themed:

Did you head to the funnies page first on Sunday mornings? This one is for comic strip lovers!
Fancy yourself an ink master? This one is geared for swatching and trying all kinds of paper!

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us which box you would like to win and what you might do with the mystery contents. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Sunday, May 31, 2026. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Instagram, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday, June 1. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

In feature

Happy Holiday Day!

AnaMay 25, 2026May 21, 2026Leave a comment

If you live in the US, I hope you are relaxing and enjoying today’s day off. I hope your weather is beautiful and you are reading by the pool, writing by the lake or hanging with your friends and family. No matter what happens today, take five minutes to sit outside, breath deeply and enjoy a moment or two of calm and peace. Unless its a tornado, then stay in your safe place.

The bottom line, I hope you are all having a good day!

We will be back tomorrow with more reviews, opinions and more!

If you need some stationery bliss, consider checking 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!

In feature

Shop Updates: Mark’s EDiT Notebooks are Back!

AnaMay 22, 2026May 21, 2026Leave a comment

The big news this week is that the Mark’s EDiT notebooks are finally back in stock! I received A5, B6 and B7 Semi-sized notebooks with clear covers as well as the refills. These notebooks feature amazing fountain pen-friendly paper and 320 sheets per book in these trim, lightweight books.

I wrote a review of these several months ago and when I couldn’t find anyone stocking them in the US, I stepped up and ordered them. At the Chicago Pen Show, I was bombarded with people looking to purchase these notebooks but I sold out on Friday so I placed a new order while on the show floor so I could get them as soon as possible.

The colored plastic covers still have a clear sleeve so you can store ephemera, stickers and anything else you want to use to make your Mark’s EDiT yours.

Light Latte cover with pens stored in the clear sleeve on the front.

I hope you all love these notebooks and covers as much as I do. They have been my go-to alternative to Tomoe River (I know! Them’s fightin’ words!).

I’ve always added out new sticker collection to the shop: The Retro Rainbow collection which is a set of 10 different color themed vintage sticker designs. If you like to theme your planner or journal by color, these stickers will fill you with color-specific vintage elements like birds, flowers, typewriters and a little weirdness. Can you spot the jello?

In feature

Giveaway Winners: FIVE Mystery Boxes

AnaMay 21, 2026May 21, 20263 Comments

Thanks to everyone who entered our epic Mystery Box giveaways! I’m so glad this giveaway got everyone excited. I can’t wait to hear what you all think of the contents.

Here our our winners:

I have emailed all the winners directly already and hope to have these shipped out this weekend before the Memorial Day holiday. Winners, if you didn’t see your email, check your spam folder. If I don’t hear from winners within 7 days, I will draw a new winner so don’t miss your window!

Happy mystery boxes everyone! This will not be the last time we do this so stay tuned!

Winners, if you share your haul on Instagram, please tag us @wellappointeddesk. Thanks!

Final Verdict:

Giveaway:

Pencil Comparisons:

Final Verdict:

Link of the Week:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things: