Housekeeping: Ink Reviews & Pen Shows

Just thought I’d drop a little housekeeping post today to let everybody know what’s going on around here.

Ink Review Week

First, between Laura and I, there are going to be a ton of ink reviews in the next week or so. I have over a dozen Colorverse inks to review which I’ve decided to group into color families so you don’t have to wait a month to get to see them all. Laura will be bringing in some Monteverde reviews as well as some Diamine Shimmering inks so hopefully we will have something for everyone. We want to get them out before we head off to LA!

Pen Shows

Next up, in the sidebar, I have reactivated the Pen Show Countdown. Its like “Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?” the Well-Appointed Desk Edition. We are counting down the days to the LA Pen Show. Laura and I are headed out to LA and as I am looking outside to whiteout blizzard conditions here in Kansas City, California is sounding better and better.  I’ll try to keep it up for all the shows I’ll be attending this year which will include Arkansas, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, DC, San Francisco and Dallas thus far — with LA being the first of the year for me.

Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books

I noticed that there were a lot of people on the Col-o-ring mailing list. If you are waiting to order one, they are currently available from our online shop! Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books are also available through  many of our favorite online retailers in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia/NZ and soon even Korea! We’ll let you know as info is available.

We have other products and ideas in the works as well and will post them here on the site and unveil them at future pen shows. Stay tuned!

Some Questions

I want to ask you, lovely readers, is there something you’d like to see more of here on the blog? It was suggested that I should consider doing more videos but, of what? Reviews? How-to’s? Ask the Desk Q&As? Interviews? Do you want more pen reviews? Paper reviews? Behind the scenes? More cat photos? Everybody wants more cat photos, right?

Seriously, if there’s something lacking or a product, brand or company you think we neglect here on The Desk, leave a note in the comments and we will start to build a list of posts we can do in the future.

In the meantime, I’ll be in the studio…

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10 comments / Add your comment below

  1. Hey, so I definitely love everything y’all do here (and wouldn’t say no to more cat pictures), but I’d love it if there were more paper reviews!

  2. Please keep up with your eclectic mix. And I’ll appreciate having your show schedules. Anything new in gel pens?

  3. Personally I love your site as it is, but since you asked…I’d like some How To’s
    Like just this week, I got my box of fountain pens out of the closet to see if it was time to change up the pen I am currently using (Jinhao X750 Shimmering Sands with a B nib, filled with Diamine Shimmering Night Sky ink), for one of my other fountain pens. What I discovered was I put them away with ink in them and they were a mess. Lots of cleaning but they are all fine now, except the converters. Water has gotten ABOVE the screw gasket and I cannot get it out. I don’t know if that is the end of those converters and I will need to buy 6 new ones or can I get the water out of these so I can use them?
    Another how to would be how to tell if your fountain pen have an exchangeable nib. I broke one of my, luckily, cheaper fountain pens thinking all fountain pens have removable nibs. An unfortunate lesson for me.
    But as I said, I love reading your blog, I love the notepads my hubby bought me from your store for my planner and the Col-o-rings.
    If you have any advice on the converters, I’d appreciate it.
    Thanks for your hard work in keeping a blog like this up and running everyday!

  4. Ana, as I recall you did a video about how you use the Colo-ring which I really enjoyed. Any type of how to or how I do … would be great. I’m a devotee of the desk. Keep up all the good work you do for the pen/stationery community.

  5. A couple things:
    1. I’m thrilled your coming to Chicago again had a great time talking to you last year.
    2. I think it would be fascinating if you were to take some of the art supplies and have you and Tina contract and compare how you explore and add new tools to your artwork/life style. Actually most of the authors here.
    3. Please avoid video except to clarify specific point as I enjoy the text and the text can be searched quickly if i want to find an old article and I use more that a few of your older ones!

    1. Chicago is my hometown so unless something really unusual happens, I will always make an excuse to go home.

      And I will definitely talk to Tina about doing more art supply posts together.

      Thanks for letting me off the hook for videos. I know they help explain some things better but they are hard to do and definitely harder to search and catalog.

  6. Maybe an overview of what pens are getting carted around? I think your last one was at least a couple years ago.

    Peeks at your doodling amuse me. I basically will never draw like you, but you pick subjects I sometimes do, so it’s fun seeing through your eyes.

    I definitely like paper reviews. I know they don’t get as much love but paaaaaaper.

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