The Well-Appointed Desk

Moo Dotted Hardcover notebook

Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway for the Moo Dotted Notebook. And thanks to Moo for providing the notebook.

Congrats to this week’s giveaway winner:

More giveaways soon. Stay tuned!

Link Love: (Week Two Quarantine)

AnaMarch 25, 2020March 30, 20203 Comments

For me, this is my second week of social distancing/quarantine/lockdown. Tuesday was the start of a 30-day Stay-at-Home Order from the city of Kansas City. Previously, we were just recommended to practice social distancing, but this week things have gotten more serious.

I would love to make Link Love entirely a place for escape from the Covid-19 concerns in our world but I’m sure, like me, it’s good to have resources and inspiration for how to get through these tough times and also to hear how others are doing. Thankfully, the internet has made it possible for us all to not feel so alone.

However, using pens and pencils allow us to escape from the digital boxes. Like Laura posted yesterday, there has never been a better time to redouble journaling efforts to document this historic time. Journals provide a safe place to put down all our worries too. We can also take time to tackle some correspondence and reconnect in a more analog way (check out the Thank You, Internet post from Typewriter Revolution).

Love Ana

My hope is that you and your loved ones are healthy and well and that we must just concern ourselves with how to get through a trying time. If you have other suggestions or stories about your time in isolation, please post them in the comments.

Journaling in the time of Covid-19

Laura CameronMarch 24, 2020March 30, 202012 Comments

Review by Laura Cameron

How are you? No really. I’m asking how you are. Because the last two weeks have been a whirlwind and I feel like I’ve fallen through the looking glass into a completely different world. And sometimes I’m ok, and sometimes I’m not.

About a week and a half ago, I saw a Tweet that talked about the importance of journaling right now, not just to alleviate one’s own anxiety, but because we are living in a historical time and what we write could become a primary source for future generations.

I thought about this, and about how journaling has helped me during the worst of times (I suffer from anxiety disorder and my 20s were ROUGH), and decided it was a good idea. I don’t hold myself to any particular time or format, but I try and write daily or at least every other day. Whether it’s the endless statistics that I seem to have numbed my mind to, or my swirling feelings and emotions, I’m finding it cathartic to write whatever is in my head down on paper.

When I decided to start, I first had to choose whether this journal should be electronic or handwritten. As you might guess, I opted for handwritten. I went to my drawer of notebooks and selected a nice bound volume, my Elemental Notebook. (The irony that I am writing about a respiratory pandemic in a volume dedicated to the element Oxygen does not escape my notice.)

I keep my notebook next to me on the couch, and write when the moment feels right. Although I have a ton of fountain pens, I find myself using my Retro Twinkle Popper for most of my entries. Whether or not I’ll go back and re-read my entries, or share it with future generations, or whether it will ever see the light of day, I’m finding comfort in this daily exercise. And it’s helping me be more ok.

I hope you and your families are safe and healthy and finding comfort in small things right now.

In Fountain Pen Review

Pen Review: Moonman Fountain Pens

AnaMarch 23, 2020March 23, 202010 Comments

I’ve had these two Moonman fountain pens for several months and had been trying to decide whether to review them separately or together. I decided that it would be efficient to review them together since I’ve sat on them for so long. The two models are the M2 and C1. I happen to have the C1 in the limited edition Holiday design but a standard model is still currently available. The M2 has been reviewed on this site previously by Laura as well.

Both pens are capable of being eyedroppered and feature a trio of silicone o-rings to keep the ink from leaking without the need for silicone grease.

The Moonman C1 Holiday edition came in a simple paperboardboard with a foam insert diecut out to hold the pen and the eyedropper as well as a paper insert describing the pen and company. I confess that I never read these little paper blow-ins. I’m sure there’s some sort of warranty info or details about the company and other pens or even how to fill the pen but at this point in my pen-buying career, I don’t really need it.

The C1 is a simple tube design with one side flattened to keep the pen from rolling off the table. This particular model was printed with holiday icons and a special red/blue/purple swirl-with-shimmering-sparkles grip.

The C1 takes a standard #6 nib. I swapped out the nib on this with a spare Franklin-Christoph nib I had laying around. The pen came with a stock F nib that acted more like a wet M nib which is a little felt tip pen-like for me. The Franklin-Christoph nib I put on the pen is a SIG Fine which is also wet but has some character to the line.

The Moonman M2 comes in the same sort of plastic box that TWSI uses. Inside is a diecut foam shape with the pen and eyedropper.

The Moonman M2 is clean, smooth and cigar-shaped. It reminds me a little of the Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66. The EF nib is gold toned steel which seems to be in contrast to the overall aesthetic of this pen. I think a silver toned nib would have looked better.

The M2 is postable but the cap doesn’t stay on very tightly.

I needed to run a metal flossing sheet through the tines a couple times because the flow was starved.

Here is a close-up of the title written with the F-C SIG Fine.

Both pens are comfortable to hold and use (the C1 is 22gms capped and 17gms and the M2 is 15gms capped/posted and 12gms uncapped). They are lightweight and well-balanced. The nibs for both were a bit disappointing (hence, the swap and flossing). To be honest, the original M2 that Laura reviewed was sent to me first and I wasn’t crazy about the nib on that one either. Being able to easily swap out the nibs is a good option.

The rubber o-rings are a lovely addition to an eyedropper fountain pen. Both of these pens are fairly inexpensive so using them to test inks, swap nibs or just goof around they are nice additions. Aesthetically, the clean, simple designs are an added benefit.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
Pens: Moonman C1 Fine Nib Fountain Pen ($26.98) and Moonman M2 EF Fountain Pen ($19.99)
Ink: Diamine Christine (£9.50 for 80ml bottle)

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In Art of the Day

Eye Candy: Daiso Ink Sample Holder

AnaMarch 20, 2020March 18, 20207 Comments

This Daiso ceramic doodad (12 for $20.16) was not originally designed to hold ink sample vials but it’s absolutely perfect for it. It’s actually designed to hold a toothbrush.

Sample vials (5ml size) fit in this ceramic holder perfectly. It keeps me from tipping over a sample vial when I’m doing swatch samples or just playing around with the ink.

I left the sticker on the bottom so that I could share it with you and provide information as to what to ask for in the store. There are also elephant shaped holders and pig shaped holders (8 pieces for $13.44). There’s even a white ceramic model with a triangular base (16 for $26.88).

If you don’t have a Daiso near you, you could make something similar from air-dry clay or polymer clay. I think I might dig around in my art supplies and see if I have anything I could use to make a couple of my own.

In Paper Review

Giveaway: Moo Dotted Notebook

AnaMarch 19, 2020March 18, 202084 Comments

MOO has finally launched a dotted version of their beautiful Swiss-bound notebooks ($19.99 / £14.00) filled with the same Munken Kristall writing paper and 16 pages of G . F Smith’s Colorplan paper in the middle that has been used in previous edition. However, the new edition features light grey 5mm dot grid which so many people have been waiting for.

The edition featured here is the new Jet Black with Duck Egg blue Colorplan paper in the middle. The Duck Egg blue is very light and almost grey.

The dots are aligned and kept from the edges very evenly. The whole book is incredibly well-made.

These new editions contain all the features of the previous editions like the unique lay-flat binding, cloth cover, a slipcase, a heat-sealed ribbon and a self-adhesive business card hold tucked into the bellyband.

It’s time for us to share the wealth. We are giving away this notebook to one lucky winner.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what color combination you like best in the Moo notebook or what color combo you’d like to see them release next. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 7 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

In Link Love

Link Love: (Week One Quarantine)

AnaMarch 18, 2020March 30, 20201 Comment

Truly, I considered doing a post without a single mention of the viral infection that has left us all quarantined in our homes but I just couldn’t. So, I put most of the posts in their own section this week. That way, if you are sick to tears of all the gloom-and-doom, you can just skip that section altogether. However, I did my best to include more uplifting links throughout this week’s Link Love, even in the Coronavirus-related section. My hope is that we can all join together, separately — the mating call of introverts everywhere.

Pen-and-paper enthusiasts are probably the best suited for this sort of self-isolation. We have our notebooks, pens and inks and probably a stack of books, films and series we’ve been dying to start. I know I have unfinished knitting and sewing projects, an assortment of 30 Days of (fill in the blank) projects I’ve either started or wanted to do and a pile of cookbooks with recipes I’ve been wanting to try for ages.

As for entertaining the younger folks, online craft videos, cooking and other projects can keep them entertained. Drawing on paper grocery bags to create maps, costumes or stories might be a great way to spend an afternoon.

Don’t forget to include a little fitness into your quarantine. There are tons of videos on YouTube from yoga, pilates and other fitness gurus especially designed to do in the comfort of your own home. Going for a walk, pulling weeds in your garden or a bike ride can be your new gym regime for the foreseeable future.

I know we are all stressed about the future, our health (and the health of our families) and when the next pen show might occur. Until then, let’s host our own virtual pens shows, complete with workshops and classes, history lessons and the like.

We will continue to post reviews and ideas here to keep you all inspired.