Link Love: This Week was Love, Actually.

The DC Pen Show for 2019 is in the bag, as is the Urban Sketch Symposium. Gentleman Stationer and Looped Square have a recap of the pen show and our intrepid, wandering sketcher Tina (Clouds & Coffee) has some sketches from Amsterdam and the symposium.

DC is the busiest and one of the most exhausting pen shows for me. This year, though, it was one of the happiest. I was blessed with kind friends and readers who kept us well-stocked with snacks, poke bowls, and chocolates. Other folks came bearing gifts from far and wide and I cannot tell you how touched I was by the gestures. I was literally struck speechless by the kindnesses. I was afraid to speak for fear of bursting into uncontrollable sobbing. Brad, on The Pen Addict, talks about crying from the kindnesses but I think I would have fallen into full-on ugly crying I was so taken by surprise. So, I stiff-upper-lipped it, tried my best to say thank you as graciously as possible and then gushed in private.

I also had many people come up and tell me how much they enjoyed reading the blog, the email newsletter (blog posts by email) or seeing our Instagram posts and I was equally touched. Thank you to everyone who came by and said hello. It meant the world to me.

Pens:

• A Pen Is A Pen (via Crónicas Estilográficas)
• REVIEW: TACTILE TURN PENCIL (via The Pencilcase Blog)
• TWSBI GO Clear Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Karas Pen Co. Vertex Fountain Pen in Chrysopoeia Acrylic Review  (via edjelley.com)
• Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen New Model Review (via The Pen Addict)
• How to Buy Your First Parker 51 (via Writing at Large)
• Nakaya Long Cigar in Aka-Tamenuri with Kanji and a Gold Zogan: A Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Kaweco Steel Sport Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Picking Up a Pelikan Souverän M600 (via Writing for Pain and Pleasure)
• A personal journey with the Montblanc Agatha Christie Writer’s Edition (via UK fountain pens)
• Review: M800 King Michael I of Romania – Royal Edition (2019) (via The Pelikan’s Perch)

Ink:

• Kyanite du Népal Ink by Jacques Herbin (via Doodlewash)
• Louis Vuitton Or Audaciux (via Alt. Haven)
• Sailor Jentle Chu-shu (via Mountain of Ink)
• Montblanc Inks, Part 1 (via Mountain of Ink)
• pilot iroshizuku tsutsuji (via Ink Sharks)
• P.W. Akkerman Chinatown Red Ink (via Gourmet Pens)
• Diamine Exclusive – Bloody Absinth (via FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART)
• Kyo No Oto Swatch Tests (via FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART)
• J. Herbin Corail des Tropiques (via Notebook Joy)

Pencils:

• Jade’s Stationery Favorites for Students (via CW Pencil Enterprise)
• Review: Blackwing Volumes Number 10 (via Comfortable Shoes Studio)
• Pencil Review: Tombow 8900 (2B) (via Polar Pencil Pusher)
• Pentel High Polymer Eraser (via Art Supply Critic)
• Bruynzeel Burotek 1605 (HB) (via Polar Pencil Pusher)

Notebooks & Paper:

• Save a tree, write on paper (via Polar Pencil Pusher)
• Why Do Some Notebooks Lay Flat Better Than Others? (via Fountain Pen)
• Hobonichi 2020 (via East…West…Everywhere)
• Using a pocket notebook – 6. Commonplace books (via Nero’s Notes)
• National Planner Day! (via Quo Vadis Blog)
• Daily Journaling Prompts for August 2019 (via Quo Vadis Blog)
• Ian McTaggart Cowan’s Travel Journal (via Notebook Stories)

Art & Creativity:

• Testing new papers (via José Naranja)
• How to Clean New Calligraphy Nibs (Includes Tutorial Video) (via The Postman’s Knock)
• Ari Puguh’s cheerful and positive illustrations are just what we need right now (via Creative Boom)
• Book Review: Draw People Every Day by Kagan McLeod (via Parka Blogs )
• Amsterdam: City of Bicycles (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
• Schmincke watercolour set sale on Jackson’s Art (Aug 2019) (via Parka Blogs)
• Vintage Colored Pencils: Staedtler Noris-Duetto and Mars-Polycolor (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
• Rembrandt Artist Watercolours by Royal Talens (via Jane Blundell Artist)
• Book Review: Cozy Days: The Art of Iraville (via Parka Blogs)
• Ordinary Street Scenes of Japan Illustrated by Masashi Shimakawa (via Spoon & Tamago)
• Princeton Travel Brush Sets Review – Neptune & Elite (via Doodlewash)

Design:

• Drop caps & design systems (via Vox Product Blog)
• The Full English Alphabet Painted on Store Shutters in 26 Different Fonts by Ben Eine (via Colossal)
• Tokyo 2020 Olympic Medals Crafted from Electronic Waste (via My Modern Met)
• Penguin’s in-house designer Tom Etherington talks us through his most influential titles (via It’s Nice That)
• A logo costs $1200 in 2019, according to Folyo’s graphic design pricing list (via It’s Nice That)
• The Logo Design Idea Book dissects 50 of the most recognisable icons (via It’s Nice That)
• Sato San, duct tape typographer (via Kottke)

Other Interesting Things:

•  “Screenless Summer” (via The Typewriter Revolution)
• Nestlé Japan is making KitKat packaging recyclable, and ideal for origami (via It’s Nice That )
• DC Pen Show 2019 Recap (via Looped Square)
• Kosta on Twitter: “Typing on Apple Watch just keeps getting better!… “ (via Twitter)
•  Writing tools while traveling (updated) (via José Naranja)
• A handmade tale (via Bleistift)
• The Best Lefty-Friendly Pens and Writing Supplies (via JetPens)
• Scenes from Friday and Saturday at the 2019 DC Pen Show (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• But, Is Rhodia Good to the Environment? (via Rhodia Drive)
• Write that Letter Home, Part I: Senders, Recipients, and the Content of World War I Correspondence (via National Postal Museum)
• A Farewell Is In Our Future (via Letter Writers Alliance)
• Cinematic Travel Photos Capture World in Pastel Hues Like Wes Anderson (via My Modern Met)
• City Allows People With Parking Tickets to Pay Fines With School Supplies (via My Modern Met)
• FREE August 2019 digital wallpapers inspire you to make new things (via Think.Make.Share.)
• The Challenges of Displaying Manga in a Museum Context (via hyperallergic)
• Giant Swings To Abolish The Wall Between The United States And Mexico: Take That, Donald Trump! (via Design you Trust)