Following yesterday’s Gift Guide, we thought we’d share some of our holiday wishes — some attainable, some not-so-attainable.
Ana:
This wish list has my stationery lusts on it but I also have a few non-stationery things I’ve been wanting (like this amazing wool shop handbag and a Sphero BB-8 to keep my R2 company) as well as entirely intangible wishes as well (like more time, more calm and more bliss in the world). We can all dream, right?
- Demylee X CWPE Women’s Pencil Sweater ($284) When Caroline and Co. showed me the sweater they had made for the holidays, I knew immediately that it would rocket to the top of my holiday wish list. I mean, I already have pencil socks so, of course, I need a sweater to match!
- Shiny silver Ink Bottle Enamel Lapel Pin ($8.63) I am a sucker for enamel pins and if its even marginally related to fountain pens, then I really want it.
- Frannerd Open yearly planner – YEAR TWO ($29.22) I need another planner like I need a hole in my head but I am such a fan of Fran Menses that I would love to have one of her new planners. She has done such great artwork and worked so hard to develop it that I would love to have one in my hands and experience it first hand.
Laura:
- Platinum 3776 Century Fountain Pen Kumpoo ($260 but out of stock)- It’s my color and I love my other Platinum 3776 (Chartres Blue). I couldn’t justify it when it came out, but I’ve used Ana’s and I have a serious case of pen lust.
- Fringe Supply Company Field Bag, Waxed Canvas, Plum – Honestly I’m not sure what’s the most ridiculous part of my wanting this bag. It’s a knitting bag, and while I know it’s of amazing quality, I want to spend $75 on a bag to hold my knitting! And it happens to be sold out everywhere in the newest color (Plum) that I desperately want. And I’ve never actually held one in my hands so who knows if I’ll like it when I get it. See? Replace the word fountain pen with knitting and it’s the SAME THING.
Tina:
What do I want for the holidays? Hmmm. That’s a question that can be interpreted many ways. If I were making a wish list for the day I win the lotto, these items would be on it:
- Nakaya Dorsal Fin Version 2 Aka-tamenuri ($1,500 + $100 for two-tone extra-broad nib) That barrel shape is what my fountain pen dreams are made of.
- Sailor King of Pen Red Urushi ($1,900) Of course, it must have a Naginata Fude de Mannen nib, which doesn’t exist as an option, but I’ll fly to Hiroshima and wait for them to make it for me.
- A full subscription to the 500-color Felissimo colored pencil set (¥2,808 per month x 25 months = ¥70,200 or about US $622; volume discount available!) The website says: “A color for every happiness in the world.” Beat that!
- Faber-Castell KarlBox Colours in Black ($2,850) Truth be told, I probably already own most of the contents of this box, so owning this collection in the KarlBox would be like the piano some people keep in their parlors without ever playing it. I promise to dust and polish it weekly.
Then there are the items on my wish list for before I win the lotto (which looks very much like my Amazon and Blick wish lists):
- Stillman & Birn Nova Trio sketchbook (coming imminently to Blick.com) Stillman & Birn, my favorite sketchbook manufacturer, has conveniently bound all three colors of Nova-series toned papers (beige, gray, black) into one book.
- The Urban Sketching Handbook: Working with Color: Tips and Techniques for Using Watercolor and Color Media on the Go – by Shari Blaukopf ($17.99) A master of urban sketching discusses color.
- Platinum 3776 Century Laurel Green ($176) I already own several Platinum 3776 Centuries, and Laurel Green would be a lovely addition to my collection of this solid, reliable pen.
by Alex Hammond. The Secret Life of the Pencil is a lovely picture book that accompanied an exhibition of photos of pencils owned by creative professionals. Accompanying each photograph is a caption from the owner about why this pencil means something to them. It’s a lovely homage to creative analog tools.
by Caroline Weaver. Owner of the singular CW Pencil Enterprise, Caroline is uniquely qualified to publish a book about the history of pencils. This book is both entertaining and educational. It’s filled with pencil illustrations, of course to punctuate the text making it a pleasure to read.
by James Ward. This book was originally titled The Perfection of the Paperclip when released in the UK but was retitled and given a new cover for the US release. This book is full of historical accounts of all sorts of office supply staples like staplers, highlighters, the ballpoint pen and more. Trivial Pursuit for the stationery aficionado.
by Ryder Carroll. Ryder is responsible for introducing the world to Bullet Journaling and has just released a book with detailed information about the methodology and techniques behind this massive, worldwide phenomena. Reviews recommend the dead tree edition of this book over the ebook since the book is heavily illustrated and it makes sense — a book about analog note-taking is probably best read on paper.
by John Z. Komurki, Angela Nicoletti, and Luca Bendandi. While Adventures in Stationery is a deep dive into the history of many office products, Stationery Fever offers a more pictorial, world-view of the current stationery products on offer and shops that sell them. While not every shop in the world is represented, a nice selection of shops are featured from across the globe.
by David Sax. Revenge of Analog covers a wide variety of analog interests from vinyl records and film cameras to Moleskine notebooks and Shinola watches but its one of the most interesting books I this year and it keeps percolating in my mind. If you have a loved one engrossed with fountain pens or any sort of analog interest, they may enjoy reading this book whether they agree or disagree with the writer. Sometimes disagreeing with a book can be as much fun as agreeing with it.
