In Link Love

Link Love: Strange New Worlds

Author AnaPosted on
Link Love: Strange New Worlds

This month Paramount+ dropped season 3 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds which I have anxiously been awaiting and then followed it up with an announcement about an episode of Season 4 where the characters will appear as Muppets. First, they did a crossover episode with Lower Decks, then an all-musical episode, now Muppets?!?! THIS. This is why I love ST: SNW. 100%.

Then a story dropped in the NY Times about the set design of Sesame Street (full article, gift link here). They mention a Muppet scholar in the article. Who knew that was even a job!??! It’s a muppet-astic week!

Drop a note in the comments and tell me your favorite Sesame Street or Muppet character. I love Beaker, Animal, The Count and Snuffleupagus (that’s how you spell it! I had to Google it to be sure!).

Muppet Links of the Week:

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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In Fountain Pen Review

Pelikan Style Fountain Pen

Author Laura CameronPosted on

I’m always game to try a lower-end introductory fountain pen, particularly if I’m familiar with the higher end models the brand produces. All that is to say that when I saw the Pelikan Style Fountain Pen ($34) over at Jet Pens I was in.

I’m a child of the 80’s and I get a kick out of the 5 colors offered – 4 neon and 1 white combined with black. They give the pen a futuristic Tron-like vibe.

The pen body, snap cap and clip are all sturdy plastic, with the bonus of a black textured slightly rubberized grip. The only detractor on this one that I can find is it’s only available in a medium nib – no choices there. The pen comes with one standard international long cartridge, but you can also use short cartridges or converters. It also has two ink windows so you can keep tabs on when you’re running low.

In terms of sizing, this pen is not small, nor is it large. (How Goldilocks of me!) I compared it to other Pelikans I own. It’s somewhere between the Pelikan Twist models (old and new) and I think it fits in there well. It is somewhat bigger than my M205. Lengthwise it comes in at 14cm/5.5″ in length and it’s lightweight at 16g.

Here’s a quick comparison with my other birds:

L to R: Pelikan M205 Apatite, Pelikan Style, Pelikan Twist (vintage), Pelikan Twist (new edition)

In terms of writing experience, I enjoyed this one. The medium steel nib is stiff, but juicy in terms of writing. If you like a broader line and a slightly wetter experience, this one would work well for you. I have to say that it felt quite a bit like the Twist pens, but the addition of the rubberized grip and the fact that it’s not angled like the newer Twist made it much more comfortable to hold in my hand. I definitely prefer this one to the new angular Twist, but I think it might even be a bit more comfortable and substantive than the retro Twist, which I did enjoy.

You’re definitely not getting the fine tuned experience of the more expensive Pelikan models, but I think the Style is perfectly comparable to the TWSBI Eco and the Lamy Safari.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Sailor 50 States: Wyoming (possibly the perfect green)

Author AnaPosted on
Ink Review: Sailor 50 States: Wyoming (possibly the perfect green)

If you’ve been following The Well-Appointed Desk for awhile, you might have noticed that green is my favorite color, particularly chartreuse, yellow-greens. However, over the years, I’ve found that chartreuse colors are challenging in fountain pen inks. They either get too bright or too light. Not dingy enough for me, nor do they hit the perfect olive-y juice color that I love.

So, when I stumbled upon Sailor 50 States Wyoming ink ($20 per 20ml bottle), I think I found my perfect green.

In writing, the color is a bit lighter when writing but darkens as it dries. The ink is Sailor so its smooth, easy to use and dries in a reasonable amount of time.

The above inks are my current collection of “close enough” yellow-greens. Pen BBS #342 Matcha Ice Cream (no longer available) has been my go-to but, as you can see, with the glass pen (comparable to a fine or medium nib pen), it looks to be a lovely olive-y color. Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku Rin, the glass pen sample is a bit grass green. Van Dieman’s Encore Maestro is a little too yellow-y and J. Herbin Vert Olive is a little too light — and even lighter when writing (it also dries down a little darker than when wet but its still too light in fine pens). As you can see, the closest competitor is Pen BBS #342 which is a little darker. Sailor Wyoming is a little yellower but has a little lower saturation than Chiku Rin and Maestro.

So, in the end, I’ll need to do a few more writing tests but I do think Wyoming is a great option. If it works, I’m gonna end up buying multiple bottles!

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Dromgoole’s for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Hey, DC! Reminder: Sign up for Pen Show Workshops

Author AnaPosted on
Hey, DC! Reminder: Sign up for Pen Show Workshops

Hey, gang!

I’m not very good about self-promotion but I wanted to make sure that anyone who might want to attend one of the upcoming DC Pen Show workshops, knows about them.

You can sign up now so I know how many kits to bring (or if you’re signing up for someone else’ workshop, THEY know how many kits to pack).

There’s only a few days left to sign up for workshops — the DC Pen Show starts NEXT FRIDAY — that’s just one week from now! I am panicking that I won’t have everything ready in time but I can’t make more time so I’ll do the best I can to have all my wits about me and, hopefully, I won’t forget anything.

Workshops I’m teaching in DC:

These workshops are also available in SF and the links above will take you to the general sign up page. I’d love to see you all. Thanks!

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Diamine Medusa’s Gaze (Dromgoole’s Exclusive)

Author AnaPosted on
Ink Review: Diamine Medusa’s Gaze (Dromgoole’s Exclusive)

Dromgoole’s collaborated with Diamine to create two inks: Bleu Horse and Medusa’s Gaze ($24). They are both shimmery jewels but I decided to grab a bottle of Medusa’s Gaze to start because I liked the name. I buy nail polish with the same logic.

The shimmer particles can be seen in the bottom of the bottle. It doesn’t look like there’s a ton of shimmer but enough to be visible in the deep blue color of the ink. There is a reddish sheen plus the gold glitter so this ink is the “sauce, sprinkles and whipped cream” of ink.

Above is an image of the ink when light hits it. Its easier to see the red sheen and gold sparkle.

When water is added, the blue tone is easier to see. When writing, however, the color is quite a dark blue-black. The bling is hidden without bright sunlight or a wide nib. It writes very smoothly.

I don’t have a lot of dark blues with shimmer but was able to find a couple comparable options. Both of the colors I found were from the Van Dieman’s Encore line: Madam Butterfly and Marriage of Figaro. Figaro has more of a purple sheen and Madam Butterfly is more purplish overall. But both Van Dieman’s inks have the same deep tone as Medusa’s Gaze.

Another view of the swatch and lettering.

Overall, Meduas’s Gaze adds an interesting color to my collection. Diamine makes great inks so its easy to add another one to my collection. And the name is excellent.

I might need Bleu Horse too.

Tools:

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Dromgoole’s for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Summer Colors

Author AnaPosted on
Link Love: Summer Colors

Link of the Week:

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

This week I just want to shout out and thank all my Patrons who are such a big part of keeping this site up and running. You are all so amazing and I am honored for your continued support. If you want to be a part of our Patreon family, consider joining. There’s an exclusive podcast, newsletter, discounts, and more including a monthly meet-up and book club at some tier levels. Thank you all for you support and for reading this footnote!

In Pen Review

Pen Review: More Uni-Ball One Colors (0.38 & 0.5mm)

Author AnaPosted on
Pen Review: More Uni-Ball One Colors (0.38 & 0.5mm)

I have an addiction to these Uni-Ball One gel pens. I bought a few in these delicious pastel colors a few months ago. Some of the colors were a bit light for the 0.38mm sized tips so I ordered the colors in 0.5mm as well as a couple others… because!

Here’s what I got:

All the pens feature the wide, simple white barrel with just a hint of the color on the ring around the knock mechanism. If I peel the stickers off, I’ll never remember the color names so the ugly stickers will remain and the sets will stay in their boxes.

There’s a little silicone in matching white on the grip section to make them comfortable to hold but a total cat hair magnet — always the BLACK cat hairs. So be warned.

The two 3-color sets come in cute little wrap boxes with classic textile patterns on the packaging like the wraps details of a kimono.

 

So I got two sizes of Film Camer and Mamedaifuku because I love a grey marker or pen. The Film Camera color, which is a cool grey works well at both point sizes but the Mamedaifuku color is a little light, even in the 0.5mm size.

Of the colors, a few were too light, even with 0.5mm tip sizes. But I like the Bellflower Iro, Loquat Fruit Iro, Sakura Monaka Iro and Film Camera. I wanted to love the Sweet Chestnut Iro but its a little light for most uses. Maybe the lighter colors can be used for details and underlining but writing is challenging.

Overall, I love that Uni-Ball tries non-standard colors even if sometimes they are not very useful. I’ll probably continue to collect whatever whack-a-doodle colors they release because I like the variety.

Are you addicted to a particular gel pen? Which ones?

Tools:

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.