The Well-Appointed Desk

At the LA Pen Show, Vanness Pens debuted the Monteverde Emotions ink line. I was particularly smitten with Kindness (30mL for $8.00) so I was delighted to get the chance to review it.

Kindness is a lovely bright pink ink, with a green sheen in heavy applications. It is darker than bubblegum, but lighter than magenta.

Monteverde Emotions Kindness

While it appears a bit lighter on the Monteverde site, I found it to be a kind of cherry-leaning pink.

Monteverde Emotions Kindness

In darker applications I definitely got a green sheen, and in between so many lovely shades of pink.

Monteverde Emotions Kindness

Sadly, as with other Monteverde inks, this one isn’t very water resistant. It is, however, a nice ink, not too wet and not too dry.

In terms of color comparisons, it is probably closest to Lamy Vibrant Pink in its intensity, but also approaches Colorverse Lights on Ceres and Red Shift. It is quite different from KWZ Raspberry that is a much bluer pink.

Monteverde Emotions Kindness

This year I seem to have been taken over by a small girl’s love of pinks and purples, and I’m definitely going to load this up in a pink pen and enjoy it!

Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00) and Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80).
Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10)
Ink: Monteverde Emotions Kindness ($8.00 for 30 mL)

Laura is a tech editor, podcaster, knitter, spinner and recent pen addict. You can learn more about her knitting and tea adventures on her website, The Corner of Knit & Tea and can find her on Instagram as Fluffykira.

In Link Love

Link Love: Some People are Habit Forming

AnaMay 9, 2018May 9, 20182 Comments

It is with both a heavy heart and happiness that I give you this link. On Friday, my dear friend and comrade in blogging and pen show mania, Matt Armstrong (AKA The Pen Habit) announced his retirement from reviewing. He didn’t shut the door on the pen community completely but he is leaving for now. I hope he will come back at some point, even if its every once in awhile, for a good chat, a pen show or just a chance to tell us what he’s been up to.

Link of the Week:

Video: Inky Fingers (via The Pen Habit)

You may also enjoy Stephen (SBRE) Brown’s video reply:

Video: Farewell to the Pen Habit (via SBRE Brown)

Notebook Review: Story Supply Co. Ithaca

Laura CameronMay 8, 2018December 16, 2018Leave a comment

Review by Laura Cameron

Ana came home from the Atlanta Pen Show with lots of new things for me to try and among those were Story Supply Co.‘s new limited edition Ithaca.

Story Supply Ithaca

Ithaca is named for Homer’s Odyssey and debuts just in time for National Poetry Month. The notebook is a limited edition run so RUN, don’t walk, over to Story Supply Co. to get a package for yourself!

Story Supply Ithaca

Ithaca comes in two sizes: Pocket 3.5″ x 5.5″ (8.75 cm x 13.75 cm), 3-pack for $12; and Prime 5.25″ x 8″ (13 cm x 20 cm), 2-pack for $14.

I received the Prime size, so the remainder of my review will focus on that, although I believe all the details are pretty much the same for both sizes.

Ithaca has a beautiful blue linen cover out of sturdy coverstock. Inside, there is a coverpage that fades from blue to white to yellow to orange on a slightly glossy paper. The remainder of the book is made of 64 pages of dot grid 70# natural text stock. The paper is smooth to the touch, and the dot grid is pale grey. You’ll notice in some of the photos that my camera just barely picked it up. Finally, the notebooks are stapled together with orange staples, a bright pop of color that I appreciate against the dark blue.

Story Supply Ithaca

I tried a variety of pens (fountain pens, rollerballs, ballpoints and gel ink pens) and the paper handled them all wonderfully. There was no feathering at all, and just a bit of show-through in areas where I applied the ink with a heavier hand.

Story Supply Ithaca

All in all, Ithaca is a lovely edition and a really nice introduction (for me) to Story Supply Co.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: L’Artisan Pastellier Encre Classique Carmine

AnaMay 7, 2018April 28, 20184 Comments

By now most pen folks have probably heard of Callifolio inks, if only because of the frequent mentions of a certain shade of pink ink: Andrinople. The French company that makes that ink, L’Artisan Pastellier also makes another line of fountain pen ink called Encre Classique (Classic Ink). There is not a ton of information about the differences between the two ink lines available. I did my best to scout around on the L’Artisan Pastellier website via Google Translate but the general vibe I got was that this operation is probably made up of classic French, more inclined to spend time making their fine art supplies and drinking wine than maintaining a modern online presence with a grand social media strategy and SEO sorted out.

Encre Classique inks are available in about 26 colors and the biggest difference I noticed, other than price ($7 per 30ml bottle vs $12 per bottle for Callifolio inks) and bottle shape (Encre Classique come in a more traditional round bottle to Callifolio’s pie slice triangular bottle) is that the Encre Classique color range feature a wider selection of reds and greens while the Callifolio inks have a wider selection of blues and browns.

If you are looking for a some vivid basics, Encre Classique inks would be a good place to look to build an ink collection as the colors are rich in pigment and well made by a brand I’ve come to trust for their quality in the Callifolio line. I feel pretty confident that the Encre Classique will be equally good. I would place these inks as a competitor to J. Herbin though the inks are a little drier.

Now, to the specific ink I am reviewing. I got a bottle of the Encre Classique Carmin ($7 for 30ml bottle) which is actually one of the more muted colors in the line. Its a burgundy/red wine color which I discovered had a bit of a gold sheen.

I got a bit messy on my Col-o-dex card but the gold sheen is evident in the upper left. Even with a dip pen, there is evidence of shading to a cherry blossom pink or dusty rose color which is kind of nice.

In writing, I used a fine nib Esterbrook which gave a range of burgundy to dusty rose shaded writing. With a wider nib, the writing is definitely darker when more ink is laid down and the color leans towards more of a red wine/burgundy. The water test shows little-to-no water resistance so spilling your drink is definitely a no-no with this ink.

When cross-referencing with other inks in my collection, it appears I have a real penchant for this dark, smoky pink/burgundy color these days. Carmin is very similar to Colorverse Andromeda with a little less sheen and $28 less price tag. Kobe #41 is a little more purply. De Atramentis Apple Blossom is very similar and it comes with a floral scent. And the Krishna Azaella (Floral) is a bit more fuchsia and is a similar price for a smaller bottle.

I’m very glad I gave Encre Classique Carmin a try. I like the color, the ink is well-behaved and reasonably-priced and I am looking forward to trying more in this line in the future.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm 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), Shawn Newton Esterbrook Nib Holder with #9556 nib
Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-dex Rotary Cards (coming soon!)
Brush: Blick Synthetic Round #0
Ink: L’Artisan Pastellier Encre Classique Carmin ($7 for 30ml bottle)

DISCLAIMER: The 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 From the Archives, Paper Review

From the Archives: Maruman Mnemosyne N183A Inspiration Notebook A5

Laura CameronMay 4, 2018December 16, 2018Leave a comment

Mnemosyne 183

Sometimes, we discover there are great pens that have been around for quite some time that we never got around to reviewing. This is one of them.

Review by Laura Cameron

Several weeks ago Ana and I were discussing what products needed to be tested and reviewed and she handed me a Mnemosyne notebook. I laughed and told her I’d been using one for ages now and she asked me why I’d never reviewed it before. So today I’ll talk about my trusty Maruman Mnemosyne N183A Inspiration Notebook ($10.00 via JetPens)

I bought my Mnemosyne back when I was first getting into fountain pens and I wanted to try a bunch of different kinds of paper. At $10.00, the Mnemosyne is perfectly priced for trying out and I ordered one from JetPens right away.

Mnemosyne 183

The Mnemosyne N183A is an A5 sized notebook (6.5″ x 8.25″/16.25 cm x 20.5 cm) oriented in what I now think of as “landscape” format. The notebook contains 70 pages of 80gsm acid-free paper. The pages are primarily blank, although there is a small line at the top of the page designated as “Title/No.” I usually use this line to document what pen and ink I’m using, but that’s up to you. The notebook is called Mnemosyne after the Greek goddess of memory and this line offers you a way to memorialize and organize your writings.

Mnemosyne 183

The N183A is spiral bound with a dual ring system that allows you to fully open the notebook and fold the front pages behind the back cover. I had no trouble opening and turning the pages, or folding them behind. The pages are also perforated, making this a great notebook if you want to pull your sheets out and use them elsewhere. The notebook itself is very light, weighing in at 8.7 oz/247 g and most of that weight is the paper. The cover is made of a flexible black plastic, and there is a yellow cover sheet at the front of the book. The back of the book is sturdy cardboard.

Although I don’t have information on exactly how this paper is produced, it feels slightly slick and coated when used. It performs very well with a variety of pens and ink and, while there is sometimes a bit of bleed through or ghosting on the back with heavier applications (think ink splotches!), I haven’t had any feathering issues at all. This notebook has been my go to notebook when testing new inks, as you’ll note from most of my ink reviews.

Mnemosyne 183

I have tried a variety of notebooks and papers since joining the fountain pen community and while I may be pretty smitten with Tomoe River paper, I really can’t say enough good things about the Mnemosyne. It really is an excellent notebook at an affordable price.

In Ink Review

Ink Sneak Peek: Papier Plume Chicago Pen Show 2018 Exclusives Da Blue & Bootlegger’s Sacrament

AnaMay 3, 2018August 8, 20182 Comments

At this weekend’s Chicago Pen Show, Papier Plume is offering two limited edition inks: Bootlegger’s Sacrament and Da Blue. Both inks are limited to 120 bottles of each and will sell for $10 each. Papier Plume will be selling them at their table starting on Friday morning on a first-come, first-serve basis and once these bottles are gone, they are gone!

Bootlegger’s Sacrament is wine colored and based on how Catholic priests were essentially bootleggers during prohibition in an effort to keep sacramental wine for services. Chicago, being populated by Irish, Polish, Mexican and many more of the Catholic faith, it stands to reason there were probably quite a few bootlegging priests. I think our good friend, Father Kyle would have made a good bootlegging priest back in the day.

And Da Blue was inspired by the classic SNL sketch of the most famous Bears fans of them all. But mostly, the deep navy blue of da Bears jerseys. Its a classic blue-black ink that will make you crave a Portillo’s Italian Beef wit extra giardiniera peppers, dipped. Crap, now I’m hungry.

I like the consistency of these colors much better than the House of the Rising Sun color that was released in time for the Atlanta Show. I love the Bootlegger’s Sacrament color and I’m pretty much a softie for anything named after something named for my hometown, even if its just another in a long line of blue-blacks.

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

In Link Love

Link Love: Chicago or Bust

AnaMay 2, 2018May 2, 2018Leave a comment

Link Love Laura and I are hitting the road for Chicago this morning so think road tunes, podcasts and crappy truck stop coffee for us. We’ll peel into the parking lot in scenic Hoffman Estates around 5pm tonight in time for dinner with my dad and mom and then drinks at the bar later. Keep the home (Malört) fires burning.