Laura and I are hitting the road for Chicago this morning so think road tunes, podcasts and crappy truck stop coffee for us. We’ll peel into the parking lot in scenic Hoffman Estates around 5pm tonight in time for dinner with my dad and mom and then drinks at the bar later. Keep the home…
Showing all posts by Ana
Pencil Review: Koh-i-Noor Diamond Lead Holder Drawing Pencils
Review by Tina Koyama While woodcased colored pencils are commonplace (a quick search on Amazon resulted in 20,000 products!), colored leads for mechanical pencils or clutches are much harder to come by. They seem like they should be a promising idea – compact, refillable, no need for sharpening – and yet they generally aren’t. I’ve…
Thank You!
OMG, Desk readers and pen community! I cannot thank you enough! Thanks to your generous pledges, we raised over $2000 for AIDS Walk KC this year — way beyond my initial goal and all my expectations. You all are amazing and I cannot thank you enough. I walked my little silver rainbow sneakers off and…
Follow-Up: Make Art Everyday Planner Hack
Review by Tina Koyama If you read my review of the Make Art Every Day planner, you’ll recall that I really liked almost everything about it – the charming art, the visual variety, the tips and prompts. But for a planner to be useable, especially when drawing or doodling as well as writing, the book…
Link Love: Pen Case Still Fits in the Overhead Compartment
Pens: Is there Anything New to Say About the Pilot Metropolitan? (via Writing for Pain & Pleasure) Quick Look: Lamy Safari All Black & AL-Star Vibrant Pink Special Editions! (via The Pencilcase Blog) One Pen Wonder: The Minimalist Fountain Pen Loadout (via Nibspotter) Pilot Custom 823 (via Hand Over That Pen) Weighing up the Namisu…
Ink Review: Robert Oster Soda Pop Blue
Robert Oster’s blues are pretty notorious but some are more noteworthy than others. Unfortuntately, he often releases so many ink colors at once that some get lost in the shuffle. Last year, in the melée of Fire & Ice and River of Fire and Lake of Fire and all the other fiery ink madness, Soda…
Planner Review: Make Art Every Day A Weekly Planner for Creative Thinkers
Review by Tina Koyama Make Art Every Day: A Weekly Planner for Creative Thinkers–With Art Techniques, Exercises, Reminders, and 500+ Stickers (To Do) is a unique planner and creativity inspiration book. Written by illustrator Katie Vernon, the 127-page book is filled with her colorful, whimsical images that evoke children’s book illustrations. After the weekly planner…