In Link Love

Link Love

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
linklove-glee
(This week’s Link Love art was created in Manga Studio by fellow knitter and nerdy kindred spirit, Glee Norto. Just warms my nerd heart, this one! What notebook is that? A Midori Traveler’s Notebook, of course!!)

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Planning & Organizers:

Other interesting stuff:

Big thanks to Elwin and the Star Lord (doesn’t that sound like a band name?) for all your help this week. Couldn’t have done this without you!

Submit your Link love art: To be the featured artist on an upcoming Link Love, write, draw, photograph, or doodle an original “Link Love” image. It can be lettering, calligraphy, your own interpretation of Link or anything else you think might relate to the weekly list of pen/pencil-centric blog links. Email your submission to me at chair@wellappointeddesk.com. Please include any link information you’d like in the image credit (your name, Twitter handle, Instagram, blog, etc). Also include any information about inks, tools, paper, etc used in your creation. Please let me know that I have permission to publish your work in Link Love and that the image is your original piece.

In Fountain Pen Review

Finally! Kaweco Skyline Sport in Pink

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

Kaweco Skyline Sport in Pink with green pens

The long-awaited, new Kaweco Skyline Sport in pink (€17,95) has finally landed stateside!

Now that its here and you can see its the first (and possible the only) pink pen I own. The great thing about the Kaweco Sport series is that the prices for them are so reasonable, I don’t feel too bad about buying them in ALL the colors available.

Kaweco Skyline Sport Pink

Like previous Skyline models, the pen features silver detailing instead of the traditional gold found on the standard Sport line. Its a very lightweight pen making it great as a pocket carry but not necessarily the most comfortable tool for writing the next great novel. Though I’ve written enough letters with my assortment of plastic-barreled Kaweco to qualify as a novel at this point so its all a matter of personal preference.

Like all other Skyline and Sport models, the cap posts easily and the faceted barrel cap keep the pen from rolling off the table, even without the addition of a clip.

Kaweco Skyline Sport Pink

I got the Skyline in pink with an EF nib. I like a finer nib on my Kaweco Sport pens as they often get combined with small pocket notebooks for on-the-go writing that benefit from tiny writing and pens that don’t lay too much ink down.

Kaweco Skyline Sport Pink

I don’t normally make an effort to match my ink color to the pen barrel but I made an exception in this case. The pink Skyline screamed for some pink ink. I found that the best color match is the Platinum Cyclamen Pink ink. Its almost the exact same color as the pen body.

Kaweco Skyline Sport Pink

The Skyline in pink and I are going to have a bright colorful week. I mean, really, how can I not with a pocket full of bright pink like this pen?

Honestly, I can’t wait to see what colors Kaweco will offer the Skyline in next. I’d love a lilac and a sunny yellow one. How about you?

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Montblanc Midnight Hour

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

MontBlanc Blue Hour Ink

I must confess right away that the new Montblanc Meisterstück Blue Hour Twilight Blue ($17 for a 30ml bottle), despite its lengthy name, is an ink color that is totally in my wheelhouse. Initially I was thinking it was a blue black but its actually more of a dark teal/black, if that makes sense. It reminds me more of a dark stormy sea blue than a midnight sky blue.

MontBlanc Blue Hour Ink

Blue Hour looks more like a blue black when wet and then dries to a more greenish deep teal blue. The ink dries pretty quickly. I managed to not have any smudges while writing this sample page so that’s saying something. I really like the square, ripple glass bottles that Montblanc has been using for their inks this year. The JFK and Pink Ink also came in these bottles.

MontBlanc Blue Hour Ink

I had lots of similar ink colors. Similar, but not the same as Blue Hour. In the swab sample, there’s a little reddish halo to the Blue Hour sample which reminds me of Sailor Jentle Yama Dori and Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku (both of which are favorite inks of mine) but the Blue Hour ink is more greenish than Ku-Jaku and a bit lighter overall than the Yama Dori. So, do you need Blue Hour if you have any of these ink colors? Logically no, but since when are pen addicts logical?

All-in-all, Blue Hour fills a sliver of a gap in my teal-y blue/black ink collection that I’m glad to have filled. This ink seems to be selling out quickly so if you’re interested in acquiring a bottle, I recommend that you act fast. I couldn’t find any specific info whether Blue Hour would be a limited edition color but as an ink hoarder, I’m not taking any chances.

MontBlanc Blue Hour Ink

Oops! I always forget to go back and add water to me test page. In this case, I photographed everything before realizing I didn’t do the water test. With a few stroked of a wet paint brush, the ink definitely lifted and moved quickly. Plus side, it should be pretty easy to clean out of your pens. Minus side, this ink is not recommended for documents that require permanent ink. It might make for interesting drawings as the ink can be blended nicely like a watercolor.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Pen Boutique for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In news

Guess Who’s Coming to Kansas City?

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

mike rohde

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist a click bait title.) MIKE ROHDE!!!!!!!!

If you are in Kansas City, and you read this blog, you are probably going to want to hop over to the KC Coffee & Design and register to attend the Friday lecture (FREE!) and the Saturday Sketchnotes Workshop ($75) coming at the end of August. And if you happen to attend either of this events, be sure to look for me and say hello. I’ll be the one trying to hug Mike.

Don't forget to buy his book!
Don’t forget to buy his book!

 

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: Over the Rainbow

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

FF-rainbow

This Fashionable Friday was just way too much and there were way too many options to choose from. So many ink brands offer a huge rainbow of colors or many notebook manufacturers offer a rainbow of cover options (I’m looking at you, Rhodiarama and Leuchtturm1917) that it was hard to fit everything on one page.

  • Rainbow Pencils 3-pack for £5 (via Duncan Shotton)
  • Retro 51 Tornado Classic Lacquer Rollerball in Purple $21 (via Jet Pens)
  • Lamy Safari Fountain Pen in blue $29.60 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Kaweco Sport Ice fountain pen green £17,95 (via Fontoplumo)
  • Aurora Talentum Finesse Yellow Fountain Pen Chrome Trim 14Kt Nib $224 (via Anderson Pens)
  • Conklin All American Sunburst Orange Fine Point Fountain Pen $75.95 (via Goldspot Pens)
  • Pilot Elabo Fountain Pen with Soft Medium Nib in Red $159 (via JetPens)
  • Iwako Color Daruma 7-Piece Eraser Set $5.75 (via JetPens)
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji (Autumn Leaves) Mini Ink $14 (via JetPens)
  • Bright Ideas Journal $14.95 (via Chronicle Books)
  • Rainbow Leather Journal with Artist Papers $100 (via Jenni Bick)
  • RainboWand 5-pack $8 per set (via Etsy)
  • The Bolt in a rainbow of colors $55 (via Karas Kustoms)
  • Platinum Mixable Mix-Free Bottled Ink in Sunny Yellow (also available in eight other eye-popping rainbow colors) $15 (via Pen Chalet)
In Link Love

Link Love: Sharpeners, Ink, & Owl Ink

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
This week's submission is from Elaine Ku. You can see more of her pen love and calligraphy on Instagram, Twitter: @owlinkdesign or at her beautiful new blog: owl-ink.com
This week’s submission is from Elaine Ku, AKA Owl Ink. You can see more of her pen love and calligraphy on Instagram, Twitter or at her beautiful new blog.

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Planners & Organizers:

Other interesting things:

In video

Video: How It’s Made: Space Pens, Colored Pencils, Fountain Pens & More

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

I found a great collection of pen-and-pencil-centric How Its Made videos. Some you may seen but I thought this would make for great lunchtime viewing. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/ymJKmFMugrc

This next video is how Aurora Fountain Pens are made:

This is the manufacturing process of Caran d’Ache colored pencils:

https://youtu.be/5-b2q3jQ414

This next video is in Japanese subtitles with no spoken dialogue but its how Pilot makes its fountain pens so I thought it would be fun to watch even without narration. The first eight minutes is all about how the nibs are constructed which is a little slow to watch but fascinating!

https://youtu.be/UsvvOvOaRdY