I received an email newsletter from Cult Pens UK this week that was filled with great links about the “Benefit of Analogue Tools” and all the posts they referenced have been opened my browser since then. I thought I’d share them here while also recommending that you subscribe to the Cult Pens UK newsletter as they’ve been doing some really great ones recently.
Some of these links, I’ve seen before but seem worthy of mentioning again. And I feel like now more than ever, focusing on writing by hand is more important than ever.
- Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Your Brain (via Psychology Today)
- Why Analog? (via The Cramped)
- 13 ways to reinvent your life with just a pen (via Henry Did It on YouTube)
- Journaling for your Mental Health (via Cult Pens Blog)
I realize its sort of “preaching to the choir” to talk about the importance of writing by hand to you but I just want to remind myself (and maybe you in the process) that we started collecting pens and stationery because we loved to write and draw.
Now, on to your regular Link Love content, already in progress:
Pen Show Reviews:
- 2026 Philadelphia Pen Show Recap (via The Pen Addict)
- 2026 Philly Pen Show (via Olive Octopus)
Pens:
- Review: Jinhao 20 Fountain Pen (via Inky Imaginings)
Ink:
- KWZ Merlion Red (via Inkcredible Colours)
- Ink of the Week: Colorverse Supernova (via Dime Novel Raven)
Notebooks & Paper:
- Set-Up Changes? (via Philofaxy)
- Midori 5 Year Diary With Embroidered Black Cover Review (via The Pen Addict)
- Review: Calligrascape Blackletter Practice Sheets (via Extra Fine Writing)
- The Mid-Month Slump: 3 Simple Ways to Get Back Into Your Planner (via Planner Fun)
- Using Your Planner to Prepare for an Ice Storm (via Planner Fun)
- The Best B5 dot grid notebooks for bullet journaling (via All About Planners)
- Tom Verlaine’s Notebooks (via Notebook Stories)
Art & Creativity:
- THE PASSING OF A LEGEND: Barbara Walker (via Modern Daily Knitting)
- ‘Cat’ Is a Purr-fect Celebration of Felines in Art Throughout the Centuries (via Colossal)
- BOOK REVIEW: Watercolor Boot Camp by Hannah Pickerell (via Doodlewash)
- Artist Explores the Poetics of Bird Migration By Painting on Maps (via My Modern Met)
- How Making Things by Hand Rewires Your Brain (and Your Design) (via Carryology)
- Rooted in the Art of Observation and Wonder // Lara Call Gastinger (via Baum-kuchen)
Other Interesting Things:
- The History of the Gossip Bench (via Back Then History)
- Retired Persons Syndrome (via Philofaxy)
- “For a month, I tried: swapping my iPhone for a Nokia which… (via Kottke.org)
- Daft Punk Deep Cuts DJ Set (via Kottke.org)
- Why You Should Be Excited about Victorinox Re-Imagine (via Carryology)
- Making Charcoal for Art (via Comfortable Shoes Studio)
- Updated Book Rating System (via Rachel’s Reflections)
- Attention fracking (via The Typewriter Revolution blog)
- This Clever Trick Can Help You Read up to 900 Words per Minute (via My Modern Met)
Paper-ventures are more important than ever in 2026. If you’d like to commit to your analog life consider subscribing to our Patreon (yes, we recognize the irony!). Your patronage supports us and we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!