In news

SF Pen Show Day One Report

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Karas Kustoms brought new Delrin colors and they eye-poppingly awesome
Karas Kustoms brought new Delrin colors and they eye-poppingly awesome

I tried to get some photos from the San Francisco Show on Friday. Many vendors were still setting up throughout the day but it was a good day to walk around and talk to vendors and friends.

The Curnow table filled with Backpocket journals and leather traveler's notebooks
The Curnow table filled with Backpocket journals and leather traveler’s notebooks
Jim from Franklin-Christoph tunes up the nib on my show special Pocket 20
Jim from Franklin-Christoph tunes up the nib on my show special Pocket 20

I even got to do a bit of shopping including getting one of those much-coveted show special editions from Franklin-Christoph. I got a Pocket 20 in a beautiful teal/turquoise swirly blue. I’ll have more details about it in a future post but its always such fun to get pictures of Jim at work tuning nibs and filing pens so that each customer leaves happy with their pen purchase.

Some of the beautiful Ranga options at Peyton Street Pen
Some of the beautiful Ranga options at Peyton Street Pen
A view of the Peyton Street Pens table
A view of the Peyton Street Pens table

I also got to see all the delectable colors of the Ranga acrylics and resins from Peyton Street Pens. I fell in love with in particular that Peyton Street fitted with a vintage nib. I’ll have more details about that later too but aren’t they beautiful? Like a tray full of candy!

Bookbinders Snake Ink limited edition box sets which sold out on Friday. They will have full-sized bottle available on Saturday
Bookbinders Snake Ink limited edition box sets which sold out on Friday. They will have full-sized bottle available on Saturday

Another eye catching offering in SF this year is the Snake Inks from Australia. They brought fabulously packaged 8-pack sample sets of all the colors in their range which sold out on Friday. They still have full-sized bottles available for the rest of the weekend which are equally well-packaged.

The Anderson Pens "wall of ink"
The Anderson Pens “wall of ink”
You can find me today at the Anderson Pens table, helping out!
You can find me today at the Anderson Pens table, helping out!

And of course, if you’re coming to the show, please come by the Anderson Pens table and say hello where I’ll be helping out on Saturday. Lots of fun stuff to buy too including the “wall of ink,” lots of paper and tons of amazing pens like Sailor, Lamy, Pilot and more. See you soon!

In feature

A New Perspective on the Facebook Office

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

Art and communal space

After I wrote my post on the new Facebook office spaces, my friend Andy made me put my money where my mouth was and invited me to Facebook to tour the offices for myself. Since that was one of my most commented upon posts I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the campus for myself.

@awelfle shows me how to find my way around Facebook on the touchscreen. I can find his desk, the Sweet Shop or the Instagram offices now.

Alan Turing Art from Dominos

Was the campus overwhelmingly large? Yes. So much so that there are shuttle buses and bicycles to get people from building to building. But is also filled with light and art and posters and a sense of play. It was also a lot quieter than I expected it to be. People were very respectful of the open seating and kept their voices down in the open areas. They used the closed conference rooms and outdoor areas, the coffee shops and other communal areas for conversations. It was actually a very congenial environment and not at all what I was expecting.

Outside the Facebook coffeshop

There was so much art. And posters and graphics all pinned haphazardly to the walls which gave the space a casual vibe and made it feel partially like a college campus and partially like Disneyland for coders.

Even the stairs are artified

I also work in a large office with tons of cubicles and an ongoing attempt to have “open seating” despite the photo from the previous post, Facebook’s space actually has a warm comfortable vibe of a loft apartment rather than a corporate office that stripped all the walls out of the cubicles. Each employees space has personal touches that show their personality, some more than others, of course. Some folks work on large desktop machines while others work on laptops to be more mobile. Some people work on mobile apps and just wander around with their phone in their hands. What a way to function!

Outdoor area at Bldg 20

All in all, it was an inspiring day and I feel quite differently about the landscape, both inside and out, of the Facebook offices. And I’m supremely jealous that the weather is such in California that Facebook employees can essentially work outside in the roof garden 11 months out of the year. Makes me dread January in KC.

Rooftop gardens, Bldg 20

For even more photos, check out my full Facebook HQ album on Flickr. And yes, I’m eating my words a little now. At least they taste like asian noodle bowl and mint chocolate chip ice cream.

In feature

Laptop Bag Round-up: 15″ Edition

Author AnaPosted on 11 Comments

After multiple weeks of going into work on Saturdays and/or Sundays in an effort to catch-up on work, I finally broke down and requested a laptop for work. I’m giving up my trusty, giantess iMac 27″ that I’ve been using. I’ll miss the luxury of acres of screen real estate, but I’m hoping to reclaim a little bit more time at home.

Having a work laptop means seeking out a new carry-all bag that could fit a large 15″ MacBook Pro when needed. Thanks to the a shoutout on Twitter last week, I got lots of recommendations. If you’ve ever in the market for a laptop bag, I thought I’d share some of the recommendations I received. Many were recommended more than once, often with caveats of having withstood years of use and abuse and traveled hundred or thousands of miles. I was so glad to see that folks were so satisfied with their bags —  from so many different bags.

laptopbags

In no particular order:

  1. Cocoon SLIM Backpack with GRid IT Organization System $89.99 (via Cocoon)
  2. The Maker’s Bag which holds a 13″ laptop $130 (via Tom Bihn)
  3. Cote & Ciel Seine Bowler also only holds a 13″ laptop $195 (via Cote & Ciel)
  4. Waterfield Vitesse Messenger bag from $159 (via sfbags.com)
  5. The Cadet $160 (via Tom Bihn)
  6. Inateck Carrying Case $19.99 (via Amazon)
  7. Cote & Ciel Moselle Backpack only holds 13″ laptop $195 (via Cote & Ciel)
  8. Uptown Laptop TSA-Friendly Backpack 2015 $119 (via Timbuk2)

I absolutely loved how unique and interesting the Cote & Ciel bags looked but the ones I liked the best were too small for the behemoth laptop sadly. And many of the bags large enough to truly hold a 15″ laptop for me were just too big (I’m only 5’4″) or too business-y looking for days when I might not need to schlep the laptop around. In the end, I had a nice chat with the folks at Tom Bihn who assured me that I could squash a 15″ laptop into The Maker’s Bag though it is not recommended. I just need to get it from the office to my car to my house and back — and usually just on the weekends so I’m willing to take my chances. (Just don’t tell my IT dept I said that!). So I placed my order this morning, before I hopped on a plane for SF. I also ordered their tool/pen wrap which can double as a DPN keeper (the knitters will know what that is!). How cool is that? So I think I’ll have a great EDC and can cram the behemoth laptop in when I need to.

Should I need to transport my laptop for a business trip I have an enormous Timbuk2 backpack that I bought for a trip to China a few years back that’s so big I could use it as a sleeping bag in a pinch.

Big shout out to everyone on Twitter who helped me on my hunt: Arman, Lee, Tindra, Ray, Calligraphy Nut, A Better Desk, Carmina, Dave, Jojo, Sandra, Ken, Brad and Daniel and even the folks at Tom Bihn!

In podcast

Art Supply Posse Ep. 12 Back To School

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

This week on Art Supply Posse we talk about back-to-school rituals, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and do a little follow-up about the A-word. It’s not our most art supply-centric episode – we’ll be back in our 1-subject notebooks next week. Also, we had a little recording issue so if the sound quality is a little off, that’s why. Our apologies, just grab your sketch tools and doodle through the episode and you won’t notice a thing!

In Link Love

Link Love: Write It, Sketch It, Ink It, Plan It, Then Photograph It

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

rp_link-anaPens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Paper & Notebooks:

Planners & Organizers:

Art & Art Supplies:

Other Interesting Things:

In news

Housekeeping: Keeping My Head Above The Rising Ink

Author AnaPosted on

housekeepingJust wanted to post a quick “housekeeping” post to let you know what’s going on around here.

First, I added some new links in the Guide Sheets to some other awesome resources from Leigh Reyes and Ink Journal. GO now and check them out! I plan on adding more guide sheet options in the future but Leigh and Tom have created so cool things that are definitely worth trying out.

Next, I reclaimed my mini GorillaPod from Bob so I’m hoping to add some videos to Instagram in the coming weeks. I’ll try to remember to post them here too but you may want to make sure you’re following me on Instagram to see any videos, stories and pen show silliness as it happens.

Finally, I know I am WAY behind on product reviews but have faith, as soon as I’m back from San Francisco there will be an avalanche of reviews. I have a metric ton of inks to review, about a gross of pencils, some fountain pens (both my own and loaners), some notebooks and sketchbooks and many Ask The Desk questions queued up to be answered. I have not forgotten, I’ve just gotten behind on EVERYTHING from laundry to work to life itself. So, don’t despair. I’ll get back to a more regular schedule in the next couple weeks.

If you have any questions, Ask The Desk topics or things you’re dying for my to review ASAP, drop me a line at chair (at) wellappointeddesk (dot) com and I’ll put them on the top of my list.

In Ask The Desk

Ask The Desk: Karas Kustoms RETRAKT/Cross Selectip Hack

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

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My favorite pen is the superb Cross Selectip rollerball. Sadly, all but two of the Cross pens that take this refill (and I’ve got a BUNCH) require you to uncap it to use it. Only the diminutive Cross Click, which is too small for my hand, and the Cross Edge, which I find impossible to open with one hand, operates without a cap. I’m looking for a pocket pen I can operate with one hand – either push-button or twist – that takes the Cross Selectip rollerball refill. Does anyone else make one? Thanks, Gary

The new Ti Arto Kickstater project from Big Idea Design claims to accommodate 200+ refills would be perfect but it, too, is a capped pen. So, I turn to the Karas Kustoms RETRAKT and a little refill hacking to solve your problem. The RETRAKT is available in aluminum and brass and is a wider barrel pen body, comparable in width to a Sharpie permanent marker so should feel quite substantial in the hand. I use and aluminum barrel version which is weighty but can be opened and closed with one hand. My husband has a heavier model with a brass grip section if you want something even more substantial. Prices for the RETRAKT start at $55.

selectip-hack-1

When you purchase a Cross Selectip rollerball refill, it comes with a little plastic cap. Keep this! It is the key to my little hack. Though I suspect a rubber band or string could be used as an alternative. I cut the wide part off and used about 1/8″ or 3mm of the plastic sheath as a spacer between the base of the refill and spring to provide a bit more length to the refill barrel for the spring to travel along. I also needed to shave a little bit of the nubs off the blue cap in order to fit into the barrel of the RETRAKT. You might find a little more plastic is better (or a little less) but there is more than enough left from the cap to experiment a bit.

selectip-hack-2

This last photo shows the Cross Selectip rollerball refill fully extended, with my little plastic mod and the spring inside. Voila! As Tom at Goldspot Pens likes to tease, I’ll hack any pen and any refill.

selectip-hack-3