The Well-Appointed Desk

Notebook Review: Compoco Good Luck Cat Journal

Sometimes I hit the notebook jackpot and I have way too many awesome books all at once. This summer was one of those times. For my birthday, Bob surprised me with an awesome one. It was this one from Compoco. It’s the Good Luck Cat Journal ($13.50) and you all are in luck because its on sale. Don’t worry if cats aren’t your thing, they have you covered with other well-designed eclectic weirdness. But for me… c’mon! Cats, yarn and coffee! If there was a fountain pen in there, it would have been made for me.

Moving on from the absolutely ridiculously adorable cat design that looks like Lucy in the Sky with yarn eyes, the matte black cover with metallic gold foil is fabulous. Kudos on the nice production. Its so nice I could not blemish it with the black elastic and immediately tucked it around the back cover so as to not cover up any of the design.

Gold foil edging? Hell yeah! There’s also a gusseted pocket in the back and a ribbon bookmark with a sealed end so it doesn’t fray because they love me and they don’t want me to yell.

Paper? Dot grid, with the palest of dots for those with discerning taste. And the paper? It’s 80gsm light ivory that handles fountain pens with decent aplomb.

From the reverse of my pen test page, theres a tiny bit of bleed and some show through but not bad for a notebook that retails for less than $20 and is on sale for $13.50.

Look into my eyes… buy me now… get some stickers too….buy me now… get some stickers too…. no compensation was accepted for this brainwashing…. I jut really like shiny gold cats….

In Ink Review

Ink Review: David Oscarson 15th Anniversary Royal Purple

Laura CameronAugust 27, 2018December 16, 20181 Comment

Review by Laura Cameron

At the St. Louis Pen Show, I was lucky enough to win a bottle of David Oscarson ink in what appeared to be a dark purple. The bottle wasn’t labeled other than with the brand, so I had no idea what I was looking at until I came home and Google’d it. It would appear that Bertram’s Inkwell (30mL for $14.95) is one of the exclusive distributors of a special ink produced in Europe to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of David Oscarson. The ink colorway is Royal Purple.

Royal Purple is pretty much what you would expect – a red-violet regal purple. The ink doesn’t appear to have much sheen, but has a ton of great shading.

I was pleased to see that Royal Purple came out dark enough using a thin nib. I was worried that it would end up shading lightly, but it is very readable even using the glass nib, the thinnest nib I have.

The only place I saw a tiny bit of green sheen was in my ink drops.

In terms of ink comparisons, I found Royal Purple to be closest to Monteverde’s Purple Reign. Even though they don’t quite appear so in this light, in natural light I found Purple Reign to be very close to the lighter tones of Royal Purple. Bungubox L’Amant was too pink, and Mont Blanc’s Psychedelic Purple was definitely too blue.

Overall, I’m pleased to be able to add this one to my collection!

In Art of the Day

Eye Candy: DC Pen Show Haul

AnaAugust 24, 2018August 23, 20187 Comments

I know it’s probably a little late to post this but with all the preparation for the San Francisco Pen Show, this is the first chance I’ve had to post this. These were the things I picked up in DC. And the funny thing, my biggest purchase, and the one purchase I truly set out to make in DC, didn’t even make it into the photo because it was in my bag. I’ll have to photograph it separately and tuck it in at the end of the post. You’ll just have to scroll all the way to the end of the post to see what it is.

But first, let me tell you about the other things because I’m super excited about them too!

First, there are the pens (and pencils!). A wonderful kind reader brought me two brand new NoBlot pencils she found in her office supply cupboard. I should have written her name down. She told me her name and then a thousand things happened between her handing me the pencils and me putting lovingly putting them in my bag at which point I couldn’t remember. So, please, if you’re reading this, leave a message in the comments so that I can thank you properly!

I “won” the lovely pink vintage fountain pen in the Black Pen Society auction but I think the auction was a bit rigged. No one really bid against me. Mike Matteson of Inkdependence put in a bid to make it look like a fair fight but after that, no one really bid. So, they pretty much let me have it. The nib needs a little tweaking but otherwise its in great shape.

Next is the lovely wood pen from Indian manufacturer Syahi. I got the Monarch model to test with a steel flex nib. It’s a larger pen than I usually use but the wood makes it lighter and warmer in the hand and who could resist the chance to try a new pen from a new manufacturer who is experimenting with steel flex nibs?

And finally, I accosted Brian Chu of Red Dragon Pen Company in the hallway in order to get a hold of one of his custom Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen barrels. I was able to score two of them.

Then there was the amazing Yenderings Sugar Beach 6-pen roll from YenYen who came all the way from Canada to sell her wares.The case is a combination of ultrasuede, cork and cotton fabrics and was inspired by a Toronto water park. I can’t wait to spend more time with the case and write a more thorough review.

My ink purchases weren’t extensive this trip but I did find some goodies. I got three bottles of Penlux ink, the special edition Monteverde DC Supershow Blue and right before I was leaving I was gifted the remainder of a bottle of 2014 Diamine 2014 DC Supsershow Blue.

I don’t know much about the Penlux ink yet though the box says its made by Sailor and the inks were described as being traditional Japanese colors. I bought all the colors available in the square bottles and these origami folded boxes. The only other colors available were a standard blue and black in the squat Sailor bottles.

This is what I truly set out to purchase at the DC Supershow this year. I have been eyeing the craftsmanship of Yoshi Nakama at 18111 for well over a year. I didn’t know he had a table at the show last year because I was so busy working that I didn’t hear about it until Sunday night after the show was closed and was told he had sold everything. Then in San Francisco a few weeks later, I was able to hold Leigh Reyes’s beautiful custom 18111 creations in my hands. Then I knew for sure that one day I wanted to own one of my own. So, I quietly watched his Instagram feed and Etsy shop debating and trying to decide. They are all so beautiful and unique. Eventually, I waited until the show in hopes that seeing them in person would help me make a decision.

I decided on this beautiful pink swirl with white and pink sakura blossoms and a twig roll stop.

Best of all, the Regalia Writing Labs nib that Laura bought me for my birthday fits perfectly and I can think of no better pen with which to pair it.

So, as I start the day at the SF Pen Show, I can think of no better to celebrate one pen show than to remember another.

As always, though, as much as we love the objects, pen shows are as much about the people we meet, the friends me make, the makers who create theses wonderful things and the memories we make at these events (and later, the things we create WITH these things) as they are about the actual objects.

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Pilot Metropolitan Calligraphy Nib

Laura CameronAugust 23, 2018December 16, 201816 Comments

Review by Laura Cameron

When I was working at the Vanness table at the Chicago Pen Show, I noticed that the Pilot Metropolitans ($18.50) had an additional nib option that I hadn’t seen before, the calligraphy nib. I resolved to order one to try and write up for the desk, since I do love my Metro Pops.

The Pilot Calligraphy Medium nib (marked CM on the nib itself) is a 1.0 mm stub nib that is a bit thinner than the typical 1.1 or 1.5 mm stub nibs. It provides for some nice line variation without being too unwieldy. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that Pilot makes a nice nib and the Pilot Metropolitans are very affordable, so you get a experiment with a fun nib at a reasonable price.

I found the calligraphy nib took a bit of getting used to. It was a bit scratchier than the F and M nibs that I have from Pilot, and I haven’t used much in the way of stub nibs, so adapting my writing so I could make use of the line variation was an interesting experience. I have lots of practicing to do!

That said, I had fun writing the alphabet, trying to do a wee bit of illustration (my art skills are definitely not up to snuff!) and just playing with the nib in general and I’m going to be adding this one into my EDC for a bit so I can get more practice.

I don’t have a Pilot problem. Nibs L to R: Fine, Calligraphy Medium, Medium

In summary, if you like Pilot Metropolitans and want to experience a slightly wider nib, I’d give this one two thumbs up.

In Link Love

Link Love: Posse, Biscuits, GO?

AnaAugust 22, 2018September 5, 20183 Comments

The biggest news (in my world) is that Art Supply Posse relaunched this week. I very shakily turned over the reigns to Marcus, Ana, Kim and the gang so now its your turn to join Artsupia and join in too.

Add to that, the start of the San Francisco Pen Show and my head is about to explode!

Even if you’re not going to the show, there’s plenty of fun to be had online with the first sightings of the new TWSBI GO making its way into the market. And, much to my relief, I was able to find out where Winter Sharks went — he renamed his blog Inksharks! Joy!

Come See Us at the SF Pen Show!

AnaAugust 21, 2018December 16, 20183 Comments

If you’ve been following our Instagram feed, you may have seen our special Col-o-ring edition that we created for the San Francisco Pen Show. The books will only be available in San Francisco and once they sell out, we will not reprint these covers. If you’re interested in this edition, be sure to grab one in SF or ask a friend to pick one up for you. They will sell for $10, just like the regular Col-o-ring books. We will also have our regular Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books, Col-o-dex cards, tabs and much, much more.

A couple weeks ago, after a successful St. Louis Pen Show adventure, Bob decided it would be worth it to trek out to SF and try to sell our wares on the west coast. So, thanks to the kindness and dedication of the Vanness team, we are hitching a ride out to SF in the PENMAN van.

Bob, Mr. Well-Appointed Desk AKA Skylab Letterpress, we be riding shotgun with Mike Vanness on the cross-country trek. He’s all packed up and ready to head out. But it’s not just us on this epic trip….

Our good pal, Jessica Coles, the duchess of Esterbrook is also coming out to SF and she’ll be at the table right next to The Well-Appointed Desk! So, convenient! And what is a Vanness Pen Shop table without Lisa Vanness? And in a strange twist of fate, I am actually helping the Vanness table so Mr. Well-Appointed Desk is in charge of our table. And who is this other handsome fellow….? Might he also be making an appearance at the SF show? Now you definitely won’t want to miss this event.

We are up to our eyeballs in ink, as usual.

And rumor has it that Mr. Vanness has expanded his legendary suit collection…. come to the SF Pen Show to see them for yourself! Best get a weekend pass to see them all.

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Stifflexible V.2 Notebooks

AnaAugust 20, 2018August 20, 20183 Comments

A couple of years ago, I got a copy of the Stifflexible notebook from Pen Chalet. Stifflexible is an Italian notebook that, according to its web site, has been around for decades but has recently been relaunched and has been trying to make in-roads in the upscale notebook landscape in the last couple years.

The re-launch of Stifflexible offered an interesting, little pocket notebook. I was curious about the design with the bendable hard cover and three types of paper in one notebook but the initial paper offering was not up to snuff for fountain pens so I did not review the notebook.

This new, improved version of the Stifflexible notebook has introduced much-improved paper and new cover designs. I received two sizes: an XL (19x25cm or 7.5×9.8′) London Underground Map and a medium (13x21cm or 5×8.25″) Coconut from the New Fruits.

Unfortunately, in transit from the Atlanta Pen Show, the London Underground Map notebook came into contact with water and the lower righthand water took on water like the Titanic hitting an iceberg. Still being wrapped in cellophane only exacerbated the problem. So now I have one swollen, bulgy corner, to no fault of the distributor or the manufacturer. I blame myself, the airline, the airport or the baggage handlers for leaving my poor R2 unit out in the rain.

Two of the most distinguishing features of the Stifflexible notes are the deep grooves in the cover to create the “flexibility”. I type that in quotes because the grooves give the cover large scores that allow it to bend more readily but I don’t know that it makes it flexible. It does provide a nice slot to rest the vertical elastic in, however.

The other feature is the three types of paper included in one notebook: lined, blank and graph. Of the 192 pages (144 in the smallest, pocket-sized edition) over half (144 pages or 96 in the pocket edition) are dedicated to lined paper. There are just 32 pages of blank paper and 16 pages of graph paper.

The graph paper is a bit odd in that it is only printed on one side of the paper and its the only section of the book that is perforated.

On the reverse side of the bookmark included with each notebook is information about how the company envisions you might use the envelope in the back of the book and the long flap pocket. Clever.

But, of course, what you are actually waiting to see is if the paper has actually been improved. And indeed it has been. The paper is a soft white 85gsm. While lined paper isn’t always my favorite and the line spacing is a bit wider than I initially thought I would like, the light grey lines fell to the background quickly and I was able to ignore them easily. The paper has a slight tooth to it but nothing too distracting. It was just enough to let my inks dry in a reasonable amount of time so as not to smudge (lefty-concern) and not so much that I had any feathering or bleeding issues.

I tested a wide variety of everyday pens from fountain to rollerball and gel as well as a ballpoint and some pencils and everything performed as expected. I did not drown the paper with anything ridiculous, I just used what was already in my pens.

From the reverse side, there is a tiny bit of show through but I would easily write on this side of the paper.

The most show through is in the lower left which is the water-damaged corner and the section I hit with the wettest and widest fountain pens. It was also the part of the paper that wasn’t laying flat so its getting some light from underneath.

So, overall, I think the Stifflexible notebooks are a pretty interesting notebook line. My biggest complaints are the graph lines are not printed on both sides and I was disappointed to discover that the circle on the cover of the coconut notebook that says “Coconut” was not a sticker on the cellophane packaging. I was hoping the cover was just the swirly lines. Which makes me sad to realize that the whole New Fresh Fruit line is the same way. They would all be really fun without the sticker on them. At present, the New Fresh Fruit and the Underground Line are the only collections with the new 85gsm paper. The other notebook collections still feature the 80gsm paper which is fine for ballpoint and pencil but frowns at liquid ink.

Many of your favorite online and brick and mortar retailers currently stock the Stifflexible notebooks. The prices range from about $10-$30.

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

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