A few weeks ago I was super excited to order Inkdependence’s newest collaborative inks. Mike teamed up with Diamine to create Never Trust a Bivalve and Trust a Bivalve ($8-14 for 30mL) featuring wonderful label art from Tom of Sugarturtle Studio. These two new inks are lots of fun, but I was a good girl and just got myself a single bottle.
Trust a Bivalve is available with and without Shimmering Kelp. I do love a good shimmer, so I got that one. It’s a beautiful shading brown ink, with a shimmery blue affect if you so choose! I’ve been collecting brown inks quite a bit recently and I was shocked when I went through for the comparison shot that I really don’t have anything quite like it!
It’s sort of a dark taupe that almost has a purple or wine colored tinge to it. I thought at first it was purple, but next to a more purple gray ink like PenBBS June Pearl it doesn’t look anything alive. And then I wondered if it would be more akin to Vinta Isabella and the tones are completely different (though I guess this is also a brown shimmering ink so I see why I might have thought that…)
I digress. The ink is lovely and shades well, but there’s also that fun touch of blue shimmer. I don’t see it so much in writing – more in the heavier applications, but I love it just the same.
I do love that Diamine makes a really reasonably priced ink. I’ll let you know that the markup on shimmer at this point really is almost twice what the regular ink costs, hence Mike’s prices, but even at that, it’s a great price for a fun bottle of ink.
Honestly, my only conundrum is that generally I don’t trust a bivalve, but that wasn’t the ink that screamed take me home! But, no matter which side of the argument you come down on, you’re in for a great ink.
DISCLAIMER: The Trust a Bivalve ink was purchased with my own funds. Some of the other items in this review may have been provided to me free of charge for the purposes of review. Please see the About page for more details.
- Papers: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50), Crossfield Journal ($24.00)
- Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
- Swatches: Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
- Ink: Diamine x Inkdependence Trust a Bivalve ($8-14 for 30mL)
