The Well-Appointed Desk

I got a sample of Noodler’s Dostoyevsky ink (19.50 for 30z bottle or $1.75 per sample) because I need more teal blue grey ink like I need a hole in my head. Right? But there was rationale here, folks. Several of the teal blue grey inks I own are limited edition inks like the Montblanc Meisterstück Blue Hour and Pelikan Edelstein Aquarmarine. As far as I know, Dostoyevsky is a regular ink color in the Noodler’s line-up not to mention considerably more affordable than either the Montblanc or the Pelikan Edelstein inks. So, let’s talk about the overall quality.

Noodler's Dostoyevsky writing samples

The color has lots of shading and was relatively smooth performing. In my water test, it did not shift much which leads me to wonder if it might stain. Anderson Pens Ink Tool lists the ink as a permanent and waterproof ink so its definitely not an ink to be left in a vintage pen. My sample for the water test was not left to dry for more than a minute so it probably was not completely dry. But its good to know that this is a permanent ink. I may try it out in my Lamy Joy for drawing. It could prove interesting!

Noodler's Dostoyevsky comparison

I re-tested the waterproofiness several hours later with similar results to the water droplet test shown above so the ink isn’t PERMANENT permanent. There was definitely some color travel but it would definitely hold up well for a writer’s notebook but not enough to be used with watercolor for sketching purposes like Platinum Carbon Black.

Overall, I like the color and shading enough to consider Dostoyevsky as an option to replace the limited edition teal blue greys when they run out.

CJ helps with ink review

If you happen to ever see a stray hair in any of my reviews, this is why. I have helpers. Three furry ones and one of them always decides they need to sit on my review, my lap, my table, in the box or be pet at some point during my review process. Today, CJ looked so content it was hard to boot her off the review. Can you blame me?

Anderson Pens is a sponsor of this blog but I purchased this sample and all opinions are my own.

In podcast

Art Supply Posse Episode 1: Let’s Talk About Sketchbooks, Baby

AnaJune 6, 2016

The first full episode of the Art Supply Posse is up and Heather and I talk about sketchbooks– the building block of any good art supply stash.

For full show notes and to subscribe, listen to or download the episode, go here.

This week is a bonus week because you’ll be getting TWO episodes. Our second episode should go up on our regular schedule on Wednesday night as well so I hope you enjoy getting to binge this week.

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: Assorted Dozen

AnaJune 3, 2016

FF-AsstDzn

In honor of National Donut (or the more formal “Doughnut”) Day (and we all know I love a good donut), I’m dressing today up with chocolate, sprinkles and a good glaze!

Face Mug $18 (via Uncommon Goods)
J. Herbin Cacao du Bresil (30ml Bottle) $11 (via Anderson Pens)
Hello Sweetie doughnut umbrella $19 (via Paperchase)
Diamine Wild Strawberry Ink 30 ml $7.50 (via JetPens)
Retro 51 Coffee Tornado Rollerball Pen $39 (via Goldspot Pens)
Caran D’Ache 849 Pop Dots pink granite ballpoint € 22 (via Fontoplumo)
Midori Spiral Ring Notebook – A5 Slim – Camel $14 (via JetPens)
Sailor Professional Gear Color Series Fountain Pen in Ivory (vanilla) $248 (via Pen Chalet)
Delta Journal Ivory Swirl Fountain Pen $316 (via Pen Boutique)
Donut Talk to Me Digital Wallpaper (via Betty Magazine)
Coffee and Donuts Art print $25 (via I Love Doodle)
Bung Box Valentine’s Chocolate Ink 50ml $43 (via Vanness Pen Shop)

In news

The Big Reveal: We Started a Podcast!

AnaJune 2, 20169 Comments

I mentioned last week that I had a project in the works… well, here it is:

Heather Rivard and I decided to start a podcast! It’s all about art supplies. We collectively decided to start it when we had the thought “how come there isn’t a podcast about art supplies like there is for pens and pencils?” It occurred to us that maybe we ought to start it.

The show is called Art Supply Posse and iTunes just approved our feed so our Pilot episode it live. We will post our first real episode soon and will start posting regular episodes on Wednesday evenings. More information will be included in the episodes and on the Art Supply Posse website.

Please let us know what you think of the show, tell your friends, subscribe, and follow our Twitter feed. Thanks so much!

In feature

PSA: Cleaning Up Your Email InBox with Unroll.Me

AnaJune 2, 2016June 2, 20161 Comment

I recently discovered Unroll.Me which quickly and easily let’s you sort through all those newsletters you’ve subscribed to and will help you unsubscribe from the ones you don’t want. Then it allows you to sort the newsletters you do want to keep into a digest format called a “roll-up” or leave them in your email inbox if that’s more appropriate.

I used the web-based service and it took about 10 minutes to sort through the massive list of email newsletters I was receiving and decide which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to roll-up or leave in my inbox. I was able to unsubscribe from 31 newsletters in one go! The roll-up is then delivered daily as one email that I can read through instead of potentially 20 different emails. Joy!

Unroll.Me cleanup

The service is free which is awesome and is also available an iOS app. I’ll need to go through a few more email accounts later and will try out the iOS app for those account.

I think Unroll.Me is a good alternative to my current system which has been using a bunch of rules to filter newsletters into folders which end up getting ignored which is the method I’ve been using. I know that there are some other services available to accomplish a similar task like Sanebox which is frequently recommended by Mac Power Users but this free service seems like a nice “training wheels” version for me before I invest in a paid-for service which might be more power than I need.

This is not a promotional post. I just found this website and I liked the service so I’m sharing it with you as a public service in hopes that you’ll like it too and will help streamline your digital work process.