In Link Love

Link Love: Topsy Turvy

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Link Love: Topsy Turvy

It feels very topsy-turvy this week. The pencil links are sharpeners and after months of neglect, Kaweco is in our headlines. I have heard a story about one of Einstein’s famous fountain pens and it’s not any of the ones listed on the story below. Diamine release ink inspired by Les Paul guitars and the UK shop Bureau Direct has shuttered its doors. I blame the weather which pummeled us here in the Midwest and promises to continue for the foreseeable future.

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Diamine Coral

Author Laura CameronPosted on 1 Comment

Review by Laura Cameron

I’m not gonna lie…last year I fell in love with purple and it still hasn’t stopped. BUT it is 2019 so I thought I should give coral a chance.

I’ve started my 2019 coral journey with Diamine Coral (30ml for $7.50). And while I’m aware coral is an orangey-pink I was not prepared for the BRIGHT punch that Diamine Coral packs.

Diamine Coral is unapologetically orange, bright and beautiful.

I immediately thought of Diamine Flamingo, and when I looked I found out they’re pretty close in terms of intensity, but Flamingo has an added pink to it. Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki is probably the closest I have in my collection and it’s pretty darn close.

The only sheen I find is in incredibly saturated applications like ink splotches, where it shines almost greenish-gold at the edges. Otherwise you get a bit of shading, and lovely intense coral orange.

As with other Diamine inks, Coral performs well, flowing smoothy through my Sailor and drying fairly quickly. I think purple still has my heart, but I’m going to endeavor to incorporate Coral into my 2019!

 

DISCLAIMER: The ink included in this review was provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. All other materials in this review were purchased by myself. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Birmingham Pen Co. Pen Parcel December 2018

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Ink Review: Birmingham Pen Co. Pen Parcel December 2018

The Birmingham Pen Company’s December Pen Parcel featured brighter-than-usual colors for a company known for dark, moody ink colors. When rumors went out that the December kit would include brighter colors, I was expecting BRIGHTER colors but, I guess, for Birmingham, this was bright.What surprises me is that the pens that they make are often very vivid colors so it seems at odds that the inks are not occasionally equally vivid.

Birmingham Pen Co Pen Parcel December 2018

The December Pen Parcel included two shades of yellow:  Jane Grey Swisshelm Daisy Lace and Luna Park Marmalade. Daisy Lace is much more of a true yellow and would probably only be useful in a flew nib or wide stub for calligraphy. The Luna Park Marmalade is more of a yellow-orange making it a bit more usable in more pens. There are also two shades of red: America’s Oyster Bar Salmon Hors d’Oeuvre (I really think the names of Birmingham Inks could be longer, don’t you?) and and Erroll Garner Rose Overture. The Salmon Hors d’Oeuvre is a warm red-orange and does remind me of the color of salmon though it also reminds me of the Pantone color of the year too. Rose Overture is a deep red rose red with slight pink undertones. The last color in the set is the odd man out, I think. It’s Henry P. Ford Argula. The color is a deep green black. While it is an interesting color, if the goal of the December Pen Parcel was to be more bright inks, then the Argula did not quite fit in to the equation.

Overall, all the inks shade but none exhibited any sheening. As with any subscription service, some items in a kit will be to your liking and some will not. This month, though I was truly hoping for some bright brights, I ended up liking the Salmon and Argula best of the lot with the Marmalade being a close third. I always find yellow inks hard to use in practice, even if they look great in swatches.

Birmingham Inks are some of the best value inks on the market at the moment and I like the surprise and delight I get swatching the new inks each month, regardless of whether the colors strike a cord with me or not. I gladly share the inks with friends either way.

Tools:

This product was purchased with my own money. All opinions are my own.

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

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: If You’re Cold, Put on a Sweater

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Fashionable Friday: If You’re Cold, Put on a Sweater

There was a knitting podcast (the first-ish knitting podcast) called Cast On, and at the end of it, the host would always close by saying, “If you’re cold, put on a sweater…” In the cold month of January, all I really want to do is knit big, cozy sweaters, so it seemed like just the right theme for Fashionable Friday. Laura and I are also starting our own knitalong for Kate Davies’ Carbeth Pullover/Cardigan. I have to finish up a few things before I can start but I’m itching to cast-on.

  • The Knitting Planner 2019 $30 (via Jen Geigley)
  • Magnetic Sheep Paperclip Holder $15.99 (via Amazon)
  • Kaweco AL Sport fountain pen in light blue aluminum €71.50 (via Fontoplumo)
  • Kyo-no-oto 09 Keshimurasaki Fountain Pen Ink $28 for 40ml bottle (via Vanness Pen Shop)
  • Lamy Scala Rose Fountain Pen €89 (via Appelboom)
  • 16 Most Unique Knit And Purl Stitches To Whip Up (via The Whoot)
  • Note Pals “Alpaca Farm” Sticky Tags $2 (via Vanness Pens)
  • Craft Handmade Rubber Stamp $6 (via CuteTape)
  • Sun-Star Stickyle Scissors – Long Type – White x Clear $6.75 (via JetPens)
  • J Herbin Poussiere de Lune Bottled Ink Fountain Pen Ink 30ml bottle for $10.35 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Kate Davies’ Carbeth Cardigan Pattern (via Kate Davies)

DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

Thanks to our sponsors for providing some of the images used for Fashionable Friday. Please consider making your next purchase from one of the shops that support this blog and let them know you heard about them here.

Thanks for your support and for supporting the shops that help keep it running.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Sailor Studio 123

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 12 Comments
Ink Review: Sailor Studio 123

By Jessica 

I have stated before that I love finding inks that are unusual or tricky. I have found another one!  Recently I have jumped into the Sailor Studio ink line.  This is not a smart thing to do. Sailor Studio boasts 100 separate inks in this collection and unfortunately, they are amazing! 

I began my journey with Sailor Studio 123.  From the color swatches on the website (an eBay store that ships from Japan), this ink appears to be light gray.  I was worried at first that it would be too light for daily writing, but I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

123 is a great ink for writing, even on cream colored paper.  This is where the “tricky” part begins.  In a fine nib, 123 appears as a lilac color, bold enough for easy reading.  As the nib gets wider, however, the ink takes on a gray-er tone, eventually to a dusky purple.  But when used on Tomoe River paper or with a stub nib (I love using the Lamy 1.5 or 1.9 nibs here), a sea green halo or sheen begins to show.

As an advertised gray, I believe this qualifies as an unusual ink all the way.  Matching the swatch card with any others in my collection was quite difficult — it didn’t come close to any grays other than Diamine Earl Grey (an ink that some question if it is actually a gray), and it didn’t fit in with the purple inks well either.  The green tone that shows from underneath is quite strong, but it didn’t fit well with green or even blue.

Above I used a Nikko G nib to try to show the variation within each letter.  I’m fairly certain that the ink knows when I’m trying to get a specific color and refuses to cooperate.

If you have any desire to try this ink, I would absolutely encourage it! It is sold on eBay and often goes out of stock, however, it is often restocked as well.

Disclosure: All items in this review were purchased by myself. For more information, see our About page.

In Link Love

Link Love: Turning Over a New Book

Author AnaPosted on
Link Love: Turning Over a New Book

With the start of a new year, there are lots of notebook reviews and there continue to be recaps for 2018 and plans for the new year. There’s also some sad news like the end of another paper edition of a magazine — Glamour. While you may not have ever read this particular magazine, the lack of fanfare for the transition is telling. In the digital world, Design Sponge has announced the end of their 15-year online run. Times, they are a’changin’.

In good news, Inkpothesis is back this year after a long hiatus and the Letter Writers Alliance have christened 2019 The Year of the Postbox. Oh, and if you’ve considered trying bullet journaling but haven’t jumped in yet, Tiny Ray of Sunshine has info about the Bullet Journal Method Book Club.

2018/2019:

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Yamamoto Ro-Biki

Author Laura CameronPosted on 2 Comments

Review by Laura Cameron

Months ago, when I heard Brad review the Yamamoto Ro-Biki Notebooks ($9.00) I was intrigued. I don’t know whether it was the size/shape or the fact that the softcover is waxed and the paper is 100% recycled that piqued my interest, but I added one to my cart at JetPens and figured I’d play around with them eventually.

The Ro-Biki notebooks come in a variety of designs and sizes. The one I purchased was New York – The Skyscraper, but there are a variety of other photos and geometric designs, as well as a few plain covers. The notebook comes with 60 plain pages of 75gsm 100% recycled paper in ivory. It is super lightweight and come in a larger size of 3.5″ wide by 8.3″ tall (9cm x 21cm) or a smaller size of 3.5″ wide by 5.3″ tall (9cm x 13.5 cm).  The Ro-Biki is thread and glue bound and will open to lay flat. Most of the Ro-Biki notebooks come with plain paper, although there are a few that come with grid or reticule.

I immediately started testing all my pens on the paper. I did find that the last page of the notebook had a bit of wax on it (probably rubbed off from the cover) which made the writing experience interesting, but the second page in was beautiful to write on. The paper was slightly textured and had a bit of tooth to it.

I enjoyed the unique size quite a bit, though I note it is a  bit off from the Midori Traveler notebook standard size of 4.3″ x 8.3″ (11cm x 21cm).

The paper is advertised as fountain pen friendly, and I’d say that it is.  There was a bit of bleed through at the point where I colored in my heart, but otherwise just some gentle ghosting from the fountain pens. The Ink Joys left indentations in the paper that could be felt on the opposite side, but I’m still sort of a hard writer when it comes to a non-fountain pen nib so that may just be me.

In general I found this a convenient little notebook to keep with me for jotting down ideas as they came to me. My notebook hasn’t gotten a lot of wear yet, but as it ages the wax cover is only supposed to get softer and more supple.

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