In Link Love

Link Love: Mid-Year Reflections

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Mid-Year Reflections

As we head into July, stationery and pen fans tend take a moment to rest, enjoy the summer holidays and then re-evaluate their planner or other analog set-up. It’s just how we roll. This week, several posts feature reviews and reflections on goals and stationery plans that were set into motion in January. How have your stationery or planner approach changed since January?

Also, two more sites have taken time to play along with our #21penquestions tag. Some great answers!

Links of the Week:

(although some people — who shall remain nameless–  don’t deserve it!)

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

We need each other. Please support us by joining our Patreon and be sure to shop with our sponsors and affiliates and let them know you heard about them here. Your patronage supports this site. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In Fountain Pen Review

Mini-Review: Muji Fountain Pen

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

When is a Platinum Preppy not a Platinum Preppy? When its a Muji Fountain Pen (price not available online). In the past, I’ve acquired other pens from Muji that were “white-labelled” but none more perfectly fits this description than this Preppy.

The exterior is entirely opaque white plastic with a clear ring at the cap band. The clip is integrated into the cap and is smooth straight line with no embellishment.

The only branding is the classic “p” and the nib width indication of “03” which is the fine nib.

The pen performs just as well as a regular Preppy but with a simple, clean exterior. The Platinum nib, as always, is smooth and the snap cap makes it a great on-the-go pen. If you have access to a Muji store, I would recommend looking for this gem.

This pen was sent to me by a dear friend.

 

In photo

A new stationery store: May Day Paper & Post

Author Laura CameronPosted on 6 Comments

A little over a month ago Kansas City welcomed a new stationery store, May Day Paper and Post! While we do have a pen store and the ubiquitous Paper Source, this is an indie stationery store, one that I’m delighted to support. May Day bills itself as a place for all things snail mail.

This past Friday while Ana was at the St. Louis Pen Show, I drove up to check it out! The store is super cute, set in midtown Kansas City. It has a fun, curated collection of greeting cards, notebooks and notecards, journals, stickers, mugs, wrapping paper and other giftables. To be clear, this isn’t a pen store. They did have a fun selection of Gelly Roll pens and a few roller balls and ball points, but it’s primarily about the paper. It’s whimsical, and the owner definitely has a sense of humor.

I was restrained but found a few cute cards on the long wall. My selections were from Black and White and Red All Over and A Zillion Dollars. Both cards are printed nicely, and use recycled content for both the cards and envelopes.

I saw many of the familiar notebooks (Maruman, Kleid, Leuchtturm, and more), plus some from companies I hadn’t heard from. I did pick up one notebook – I’ll share my thoughts on it next week!

Overall it’s a cute shop, and if you’re in the Kansas City area, you won’t be disappointed if you stop by! And if you’re looking for a fun new shop to support, you can also shop online!

P.S. If you stop by, make sure you give shop dog Lucy lots of pets!

In Art Supplies

Watercolor Review: Boku-Undo Gansai Aurora Palette

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

Review by Tina Koyama

I always say (to myself and others) that I’m not a sheeny, shiny, glittery gal (I’ve only ever purchased one bottle of shimmery ink, and I gave it away soon after). Obviously a liar, I recently found myself craving some sheeny, shiny, glittery watercolors. The Boku-Undo Gansai Watercolor Palette in the Aurora colors (6/$14.75) looked mouth-watering.

Before I plant my face into the sheen, I thought I’d mention that I’m already a fan of the Boku-Undo mini palettes of unique watercolors. The E-Sumi palette I reviewed a few years ago are a lot of fun to use when I’m in a dark mood. While the e-sumi palette is subdued, the Aurora set is on the opposite end of the scale: It’s all about the dazzling light.

The set includes (from left) gold, silver, red, green, blue and purple. I used both my scanner and my phone to photograph swatches in direct daylight on black and white papers. Each time, the swatches look very different! 

On white paper, the shimmer is apparent in direct light, but the hues are difficult to differentiate and even seem to change. I’m not sure they are worth using on white paper. 

On dark paper, however, the effect is entirely different. The sparkly, metallic particles glow on black paper. I rubbed a finger across the dried swatches, and some sparkly flecks smeared a bit like powder.

It was obvious that I had to make a test sketch on black paper, so I used a black Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook. And I had just the right reference photo to use! During the summer months when the sun doesn’t go down until 8 or 9 p.m., my spouse guy and I take after-dinner walks through the neighborhood to enjoy the light. The gorgeous “golden hour” is too brief to sketch on location, so I snap a lot of reference photos to sketch from later (like the long, dismal winters when the sun goes down at 4). The photo I used wasn’t as dark as my sketch appears, but the low, warm light gave everything a lovely glow. 

Whatever gives these paints their sparkle also makes them thicker than typical watercolors. I applied them fairly thick to retain as much concentrated shimmer as possible, and they felt a bit creamy rather than watery.

Oooh, these paints are fun on black paper! I have fully embraced my inner glitter gal.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

In Link Love

Link Love: Meet Me in St. Louis?

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Meet Me in St. Louis?

Tomorrow I head out for St. Louis for the pen show. Will you be there too? If not, I hope you are having a wonderful summer and maybe I’ll see you somewhere else in the future?

Until then, have fun with this week’s links including Mike of Inkdependence’s entry into our #21PenQuestions project.

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

We need each other. Please support our sponsors, affiliates or join our Patreon. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: TWSBI Diamond Mini AL Grape – Limited Edition

Author Laura CameronPosted on 12 Comments

I don’t know precisely why I love my TWSBIs as much as I do. Sure there’s the fact that they’re sort of modern, tech-y looking with the see through barrels, and the piston filler. There’s the fact that my TWSBIs almost always start on the first go, and don’t run dry unless they are literally out of ink. The, ECOs, of which I have three, are incredibly reasonably priced so they make great entry-level fountain pens. They provide a nice, if not exceptional, writing experience. They’re available in a ton of different nib sizes. Ok… I guess I’ve given myself a few reasons.

Despite really liking my TWSBI ECOs, I’ve never actually branched out and tried any of their other pens. (I take that back, I tried the TWSBI Swipe a while ago and thought it was ok.) But this time I saw the TWSBI Diamond Mini AL in Grape (a limited edition color!; $62.50) and decided to give the more expensive model a go!

The Diamond Mini AL is TWSBI’s version of a pocket pen. It is styled similarly to the other pens, in the sense that it has a transparent plastic barrel which gives you a bird’s eye view of the piston filling system. There are differences though. The grip and part of the piston system are designed in aluminum. The barrel of the pen is faceted (hence the “Diamond” feel and look). While the ECO and the SWIPE tend to be boxier, with edges on the cap, the Diamond Mini’s edges are rounded, and the cap is tapered. Overall while the ECO is utilitarian, the Diamond Mini is a bit sleeker looking.

I decided to compare a few pens that I use as daily writers to give you a sense of size.

L to R: TWSBI Eco, TWSBI Diamond Mini AL, Kaweco AL Sport, Sailor Pro-Gear Slim.

While the pens vary quite a bit in length when capped, when uncapped the Diamond Mini AL and the Kaweco AL Sport aren’t that different in length. The nibs, however, do have a size differential. In terms of weight they’re very similar: The Pro Gear comes in at 19gm, the ECO at 20, the AL Sport at 21g, and finally the Diamond Mini AL is the heaviest at 23g. But that’s not a HUGE range.

So what do I think? If I’m entirely 100% honest, I don’t feel much of a writing difference between the ECO and the Diamond Mini AL. This is my first extra fine nib from TWSBI, and given that TWSBI tends to use western-style nibs, I don’t find the extra fine to be scratchy in the least. In fact I quite like it. The pen is a bit weightier in my hand, and it’s smaller in size, but I have small hands and it seems like a comfortable writer. So what would make me pay more for the Diamond AL Mini? To me, it comes down to aesthetics. The Mini is fun, and often I do prefer aluminum to plastic (see my preferences for Kawecos!), but given that I don’t see a huge writing difference, I feel like I’m more apt to stick with the ECOs than amass another collection.

Do you have a favorite TWSBI? I’d love to hear about it!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge or at a discount for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Fountain Pen Review

Mini-Review: Kaweco Sage Fountain Pen (& Frosted Blush Pitaya)

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Mini-Review: Kaweco Sage Fountain Pen (& Frosted Blush Pitaya)

We have reviewed the classic Kaweco Sport fountain pen many times but we continue to come back to it. It is a great gateway pen and its is inexpensive enough to live in your bag or on your desk at work. So, of course, you need more than one, right?

So, over the past few weeks, I’ve acquired TWO new models into my collection: the Smooth Sage ($29, EF nib) and the Frosted Blush Pitaya ($24.50, B nib).

The B nib in the Blush Pitaya in focus — look at that tipping!
The EF nib in the Sage in focus– so pointy!

I must confess that this is the first Kaweco Sport with a B nib and I am surprised  how much I am enjoying it. It  isn’t as broad and the BB I tested out years ago and preformed like a Sharpie marker.

Needless to say, my recommendation is that if you’ve never purchased a Kaweco Sport, what in the world are you waiting for? There are dozens of color options and you can even upgrade to the AL-Sport if you want a shiny, and more durable version. We like those too.

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