The Well-Appointed Desk

Fave read: Sourdough by Robin Sloan. I loved Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and though, at first glance, Sourdough seems like a very similar with its love to something analog in the high tech world of San Francisco.
Fave watch: The Mandolorian. I love Star Wars so it was only a matter of time before I freebased the series to date. Since the episodes are only 30 minutes long, it only took two nights.
Fave listen: Mostly, I’ve been listening to podcasts. It’s been an eclectic mix of late but my favorites have been The Anthropocene Reviewed and Dolly Parton’s America.
Fave eat: Vegan Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats. I modified this recipe slightly. Instead of brown rice syrup, I use Lyle’s Golden Syrup. I think you could replace any thicker sugary syrup, thicker than maple syrup, that is. So, if you have a favorite substitute, I think the recipe will still work fine. I’ve made these with just a drizzle of chocolate on the top but I prefer the chocolate/peanut butter “frosting” layer. I do recommend storing these in the fridge in an airtight container as they can dry out and get crumbly if its really warm. They warm up in room temperature in about 5-10 minutes.
Fave drink: Bubly Blackberry. I’ve been trying different sparkling waters as a way to have something “fun” to drink in the middle of the day that is not laced with chemicals. Some sparkling water flavors are better than others. I do own a SodaStream so really, I should make my own but for work, it’s nice to have it in pre-packaged containers.
Fave fountain pen: I am currently using two of my fountain pens more than any others. The first is my tried-and-true Caran D’ache 849 with EF nib. I keep it loaded with cartridge roulette and it’s long enough to have a cartridge loaded and a spare in the barrel. It’s perfect for work because it’s a pop top so capping and uncapping is quick for short notes and the cartridges make it easy to refill mid-meeting without too many funny looks. The other pen is my new-to-me Montblanc Rouge et Noir with custom nib grind by Gena of Custom Nib Studio. I remember thinking “why would I ever want a snake pen?” and now I have two. Go figure.
Fave ink: I’m still loving the PenBBS #224 Tolstoy It’s hard to acquire this color these days but PenBBS 159 Bitter Herb is pretty close.
Fave gel pen: Pilot Hi-Tec C Slim Knock This extra small gel pen fits perfectly inside my Baron Fig Guardian or in the Moment wallet (see below) so that I always have a pen with me. It’s the closest I have to a Fisher Space Pen-style EDC.
Fave paper/notebook: Is it self-serving to say that the pocket notebook I use most frequently is my Col-o-ring Oversize? It’s true. I use it to quick swatch new inks, doodle or sketch out various things and surprisingly, after years of thinking I didn’t like spiral bound notebooks, the Oversize is uniquely appealing. The size and form factor make it great tool testing of all sorts, quick visual experiments and the spiarl allow for additional elements to be glued or taped into it without adversely affecting it.
Fave EDC bag: Moment Crossbody Wallet I have to thank Jaclyn at Inkpothesis for making me lust after this wallet.
Fave analog activity: I’ve been sewing lately. I’ve made some pajama pants, two tops and have been working on a dress. I even made a mini quilt for my cats. CJ loves the mini quilt.

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In Ink Review

Bonus Inkmas Review: Troublemaker Grapevine

AnaDecember 26, 2019December 26, 2019Leave a comment

In preparation for Inkmas (Who am I kidding? Inkmas was just an excuse to buy a ridiculous amount of ink!), I gathered a lot of new, different inks to have a pool (who am I kidding? To to FILL a pool!) of inks to choose from. One of those inks was the Troublemaker Inks exclusive ink for Shigure Inks: Grapevine ($12 for 60ml plastic bottle). However, we ended up having way more ink options to review than days in Inkmas. Hence, the bonus review.

While Jesi and I continue to debate whether sheening inks are still going to be hot for 2020, I figured I better squeeze in one more review for 2019. Grapevine is a purple ink with a green sheen.

Jesi has already mentioned the packaging but I agree. I like the simple but elegant paper wrapping with twine over the recyclable plastic bottle. It’s like a gift and yet all materials are recyclable or compostable.

My initial writing tests on Rhodia paper did not reveal any of the sheening effects that were evident on the swatch card. All I could see on Rhodia paper was a deep grape-y purple.

Close-up, there is no evidence of the sheening but the ink keeps a clean line with no bleeding or feathering.

I decided to go ahead and test the ink on Tomoe River to see if any of the sheening would show up on this notoriously sheen-revealing paper. The greenish gold glow is immediately evident on this paper even though its a bit more cream in color.

In close-up, its even more evident.

Comparing the Troublemaker Inks Grapevine to other inks in my stash, there are two Diamine sheening inks that are comparable: Diamine Robert and Diamine Manggis. For less sheen soaked colors, I would recommend Birmingham Pen Co. Boysenberry or Colorverse Einstein Ring.

In close-up, its easier to see the similarities and differences in the ink hues, and the amount of sheening. Pricewise, all of these inks are pretty comparable though Manggis is a bit harder to acquire in the US as its an exclusive for Pen Gallery in Malaysia and Diamine Robert comes from the UK. At present, these inks may all be difficult to acquire. Or at least require more patience than most of us used to 2-day Prime shipping may be able to bear.

To be honest, all the inks I tried for Inkmas, Grapevine ended up being my favorite. It performed well and the sheening was a nice bonus on appropriate paper.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 7mm guide sheet
Pens: Midori bullet pencil modified dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), Wing Sung 3008
Swatches: Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
Ink: Troublemaker Inks Grapevine ($12 for 60ml bottle)

In Link Love

Link Love: Boxing Day

AnaDecember 26, 2019December 26, 2019Leave a comment

Celebrate Boxing Day with lots of links today. There’s holiday cheer in Other Interesting Things and some folks are reflecting on 2019 and planning for the new year. What are your plans for the New Year?

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 11 – Troublemaker Foxglove

Jessica ColesDecember 24, 2019December 12, 2020Leave a comment

By Jessica Coles

Welcome to another edition of the 12 days of Inkmas! On day 11, we are looking at another new ink.

Troublemaker Inks did not put out a lonely ink in their newest release – Sea Glass was accompanied by Foxglove. Foxglove is a lovely mediumsaturation violet or lilac colored ink. Like other Troublemaker inks, Foxglove comes in a dark plastic bottle with simple packaging of paper and twine.

One thing needs to be stated before this review goes any further. This is a BEST ink. Why? Because this ink is:

Foxglove is a perfect purple. It shades from a light lilac to a dark grape, with heavy undertones of pinkish-purple and a halo of deep blue.

The shading in Foxglove is reminiscent of Vinta Maskera, but the base color in Foxglove is darker and closer to red. The lightest portions of the ink swatch are quite close to Graf von Faber Castell’s Violet Blue but in writing, the closest match is Sailor Fuji-Musume although Foxglove is slightly darker.

In a writing sample, the various colors of Foxglove are easy to see – the title shows many shades of purple while the writing is just a perfect purple.

Even in normal writing, the shading is incredible. Not that Foxglove shades dramatically, but it shows several colors during the shading. Violet to blue to lilac with spots of pink where the ink has pooled most heavily.

Have you ever seen so many purples all in one ink before? Have I mentioned this ink is PURPLE? Perfect purple.

There should be no doubt about purchasing this ink – if you love purple, write with purple, like purple or have ever thought about purple, buy this ink. Perhaps we can get the message to all ink manufacturers that PURPLE is the number one choice for ink.

The drawing below was ~~ripped off from~~ inspired by the artwork on the label of the Foxglove ink bottle.

Tools:

Paper: Musubi Tomoe River Refill ($30-35 USD)
Ink: Troublemaker Inks Foxglove (Troublemaker Inks, $12 for 60mL)
Swatch Cards: Col-o-ring ink testing cards ($10 for 100 card pack)

DISCLAIMER: All materials used in this review were purchased by me. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature, Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 10 – Lennon Tool Bar 2019 Autumn Pomelo and PenBBS 342

AnaDecember 23, 2019December 22, 20191 Comment

You know how I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect lime green ink since I started this blog? If this is your first ink review here on The Desk, I love lime green and I have been on a decade’s long hunt for the perfect ink that captures this illusive hue. Not too light to be difficult to read but not so dark that it slides into olive or forest green. Needless to say, its a challenge to find the perfect lime ink.

I thought for Inkmas, I’d make another attempt. Initially, I was planning to just review thePen BBS 342 Matcha Ice Cream ($16 for 60ml bottle) and then I decided it might be more interesting to review the Lennon Tool Bar 2019 Pomelo ($24 for 30ml bottle) . Finally, in a moment of indecision, I decided to include them both. They are quite similar in color with some slight differences.

First, notably is the price. The PenBBS ink is almost half the price for twice as much ink. All things being similar, that would and should have made my decision for me.

In swatches, Lennon Tool Bar is a little lighter overall and slightly more yellow.

Once it’s inked up in an EF nib though, the slight differences become almost imperceptible. Both inks appear a bit lighter when wet and dry a bit darker. The both have lovely shading and I expect that in a wider nib, the colors will be a bit darker and the differences in the hues may be more evident.

That said, in identical pens, the Pen BBS ink is a bit drier which might work to your advantage in wider nibs and the Pomelo is a bit wetter. The Lennon Tool Bar makes the line widths of the EF nib appear a but wider.

As you can see, I have quite a few other inks to compare the Matcha Ice Cream and Pomelo against. The Kobe 43 Gakuen Toshi Fresh Green is probably closest in color and, as its a Sailor ink, is probably the most consistent in performance. Robert Oster Sublime is a close second though it may be a bit more vibrant.

Overall, I’d be inclined to either purchase the reasonably priced PenBBS Matcha Ice Cream or stick with the Kobe 43 which is a high quality lubricated ink from a well-known ink producer. Pomelo is lovely but all things being remarkedly similar, it’s not quite worth the price.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 7mm guide sheet
Pens: Midori bullet pencil modified dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), Wing Sung 3008 EF
Swatches: Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
Ink: PenBBS 342 Matcha Ice Cream ($16 for 60ml bottle) and Lennon Tool Bar 2019 Autumn Pomelo ($24 for 30ml bottle)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature, Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 9 – Troublemaker Inks Sea Glass

AnaDecember 22, 2019December 22, 20191 Comment

By Jessica Coles

Welcome to another edition of the 12 days of Inkmas! On day 9, we are looking at a new ink.

Troublemaker Inks has come onto the ink scene quite recently with new and fascinating colors such as Petrichor and Abalone. I recently acquired the newest colors in the Troublemaker lineup – Sea Glass and Foxglove. Both are perfect additions to this ink collection. A review of Foxglove will be coming out later this week!

*photo from Troublemakerinks.com

The packaging of the Troublemaker Ink bottles is simple and attractive – heavy paper wrapped around the bottle and fastened with twine. I appreciate the minimalism here! The bottles inside are plastic and sealed tightly and I’ve never had one leak. The plastic bottle helps keep the weight down for shipping and the bottles are dark to help protect the color of the ink.

I love the little characters on each label – Sea Glass has a very cute fish.

When introducing this line of inks, Troublemaker advertises “We are exploring an extra-special way of shading in our newest colors.” They are described as inks with “A different kind of shading”. I completely agree with that. But there’s more than just different shading here.

These “differently shading inks” have also been described as multi-chromatic or strange inks. they are highly shading with colors that seperate into additional colors as the ink dries or is used in various nibs or on multiple paper types. Sailor Studio inks also act this way which is one of the reasons for the popularity of that line.

As you can see, Sea Glass is mainly a green that leans towards blue, but has an undertone of yellow-brown but shows a halo of emerald with medium application and a very dark green in heavier applications. At its lightest (in the lower right corner of this card), Sea Glass is a light sea foam green.

I have compared Sea Glass to a few other bluish-green shading inks. The lightest Sea Glass looks a bit like Sirena Mermaid, the undertones are close to the undertones found in Sydney Darling Harbor and the halo resembles that from Montblac If.

In a closeup of the writing (done with a Pilot Vanishing Point Broad Italic), the shading shows up beautifully. The main color here is close to a medium pine green.

There is a subtle undertone of the yellowish brown in heavily shading areas.

The pooled ink also shows a characteristic that I usually associate with Sailor Studio inks – lots of subtle undertones depending on how heavily the ink was applied, if it was applied in two layers or one, what type of nib or other instrument was used in the application (below, it was actually the bottle itself that applied the swatch).

I have had absolutely no issues using Troublemaker inks, even when the ink sits in a pen for several weeks. The inks are a bit on the wet side of normal and are easy to clean out of pens. They are not water-resistant (in fact, they are amazing when used in brush pens or with the addition of water), they don’t feather or bleed on fountain pen-friendly paper.

The only downside I have found with Troublemaker inks is the availability. These inks are manufactured in the Philippines and I have only found one retailer in the US that stocks Troublemaker (Shiguire inks). Ink can be ordered straight from Troublemaker with very reasonable shipping rates (free shipping at $20!). The problem, however, is supply and demand. Shipments are often sent out after a long wait period. At the moment, Troublemaker has closed orders, only opening order windows briefly. This caused frustration to the ink community – a community known for obsessing over new and interesting products. Of course, this restricted amount of ink has also created even higher demand!

I was one of the frustrated. But I have recently learned more about the individuals behind the Troublemaker brand – two young men in the Philippines who decided to test their hand making creative new inks. These two are responsible for all ink inventions, manufacturing, bottling, shipping, orders, website, and marketing all balanced with college!

I did not have an internationally known company selling well-made products around the world when I was the same age.

So my patience with Troublemaker inks has increased tremendously. I am excited to see new passion coming into the hobby and amazing talent with it. I’m excited to see what else this young duo has in store and I am more than happy to be able to encourage their drive. Plus – I LOVE the inks they create!

Tools:

Paper: Musubi Tomoe River Refill ($30-35 USD)
Ink: Troublemaker Inks Sea Glass (Troublemaker Inks, $12 for 60mL)
Swatch Cards: Col-o-ring ink testing cards ($10 for 100 card pack)

DISCLAIMER: All materials used in this review were purchased by me. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 8 – Kala Nostalgia Abstraction Mongolian Sandstorm

AnaDecember 21, 2019December 22, 20191 Comment

When I saw the Kala Nostalgia Abstraction inks I was fascinated by the muted look of the colors. When I saw that the inks were marked as “pigment inks” my curiosity was piqued. So, I ordered two bottles.

I was most interested to try Monogolian Sandstorm. Over the years, I’ve always leaned towards a misty lavender ink and if it was waterproof (which most pigment inks are) that would be a double bonus.

Mongolian Sandstorm, like the other Kala inks come in a 30ml glass bottle that is packaged in a paperboard box. The cap is embossed with the Kala logo which is a lovely touch.

The oddest thing about Mongolian Sandstorm is that the ink is darker when wet and then lightens as it dries. I wracked my brain trying to remember if there was any other material that behaved this way and the only thing I could think of was gouache.

The most unpleasant thing I noticed about Mongolian Sandstorm was that it is wetter than most inks. So much so that it made my Japanese style EF appear almost like a broad. Above is a writing sample image showing another pen with the same nib next to Mongolian Sandstorm. The line weight difference is pretty ridiculous.

I tried the pen on a bit of Tomoe River paper to see if the results would improve but the writing is equally indistinct.

The two photos above are close-ups of the logo doodles I did. The top image is the version I did on the Tomoe River paper and the lower image is on Rhodia. The lines do not bleed but are still blobby.

I have two other hazy purple inks that are very similar in hue though they are not pigment inks: Pen BBS 270 and 346. Pen BBS 346 is a little bit darker but #270 Raspberry Milkshake is almost the same color, just not waterproof. Raspberry Milkshake is also a wetter ink. Pen BBS #346 is darker but a dry ink. It would perform better with a little bit of White Lightning. (In PenBBS, #226 June Pearl and #315 Ice Lake are shimmer versions of similar colors if you prefer sparkle in your inks.)

Rohrer & Klingner Sketch Ink Jule is a good alternative if you’re looking for a waterproof hazy purple, though it is a little warmer with more red in the ink.

Overall, I’m not a fan of the Kala Nostalgia Abstraction inks thus far. It’s just not what I was hoping for.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 7mm guide sheet
Pens: Midori bullet pencil modified dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), Wing Sung 3008 EF and Wing Sung 698
Swatches: Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
Ink: Kala Nostalgia Abstraction Mongolian Sandstorm ($17 for 50ml bottle)

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.

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