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

In Desk Set

The Desk Set: Cluttered but Clean

Author AnaPosted on

The Desk Set Header

desk-set-busy

(From left to right, top to bottom: Better Homes & Gardens, Brownstoner, Jeremy Bittermann for The New York Times, Danielle de Lange.)

I hope these spaces feel colorful and inspiring. So many of the images I find around the internet of workspaces lately have been stark white and barren and don’t feel like inviting workspaces. These spaces felt tidy but productive with evidence of people actually utilizing the space for a variety of tasks.

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: Steampunk Patina

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

FF-Steampunk

  • Grolier Ornamentali Journal (via Paperblanks)
  • Retro 51 Tornado Metalsmith Roller Ball Pen “Lincoln” (via JetPens, Anderson Pens, Goldspot Pens and others)
  • Fisher Space Pen .375 Caliber Cartridge Ballpoint Pen (via Pen Chalet)
  • Fisher Bullet Pen in Titanium Copper Zirconium Nitride (via Goldspot Pens)
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Mini Ink in Syo-ro Pine Tree Dew (Gray Turquoise) (via JetPens)
  • Steampunk Peacock Brooch (via Etsy)
  • Anderson Badger Black Ink (formerly Scribal Workshop Kraken) (via Anderson Pens)
  • Vintage Aerostation Print (via Etsy)
  • Kaweco Liliput fountain pen in copper (via Fontoplumo and JetPens)
  • Wherever You Arm Shot Glass (via Modcloth)
  • De Atramentis Copper Brown Ink (via Goldspot Pens)
  • Tea at 2,000 Feet iPhone Case (via Society6)
  • RETRAKT in Copper (via Karas Kustoms and JetPens)
  • Sailor Fountain Pen Jentle Yama-dori (Copper Pheasant – Teal) Ink (via JetPens)
  • Midori Traveler’s Notebook (via JetPens)
  • Diamine Ancient Copper Mini Ink (via JetPens)

Big shout out to Lori at Franklin-Christoph for the steampunk idea. Smart and beautiful, that one.

In Pencil Review

Pencil Review: Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood 348 HB

Author AnaPosted on 10 Comments

Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood Pencil HB

What can I say about the Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood 348 HB pencil? Its beautiful. It also costs $5.45 per pencil. Who pays $5.45 for a pencil? I do. Why? Curiosity. And its pretty.

Aside: Caran d’Ache is known for producing some of the best colored pencils and watercolor pencils in the world that can also cost upwards of $5 per pencil and I’m considering investing in those too. Does that make me crazy? Maybe.

The Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood pencil is a beautiful beech wood pencil, stained dark with no additional shellac. It smells like a campfire. (Yes, I sniffed the pencil). The end is dip-sealed with glossy red enamel and the white Swiss cross is printed on the end. The lettering is printed in a crisp white foil along one fact of this hexagonal pencil.

Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood Pencil HB

I love hex pencils and the Swiss Wood is slightly wider than a standard hex pencil. It may be too wide to fit some standard sharpeners but it fit fine in my  Palomino/KUM two-step long point sharpener.

Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood Pencil HB

Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood Pencil HB

The experience writing with this pencil seemed to be “oh, this is how a pencil should feel.” It was smooth and silent on the paper. When scratching back and forth, I got a good dense color. The Swiss Wood just coasted along on the paper and kept a good point in the process. With some effort, I could smudge it but while writing I did not notice any graphite on the heel of my hand which is a true test for any lefty.

It erased with almost no trace of the previous scribblings with my “oops!” eraser that lives on my desk.

When compared to the Field Notes pencil, it was so apparent how much grittier the FN pencil was than the Swiss Wood. Of course, the FN pencil is a freebie but I assume most of my fine readers own at least one of these pencils so when I say the Swiss Wood is leaps and bounds better to write with than most pencils, you have basis for comparison. I also compared the Swiss Wodd to my favorite go-to pencil, the Faber-Castell Grip 2001 HB. The Grip 2001 was definitely a lighter graphite and scratchier than the Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood. Am I going to have to throw it over for a gross of Swiss Woods? Maybe!

Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood Pencil HB

I’m inclined to think that, if you’re a bit of a pencil snob, its worth it to add a few of these Swiss Wood pencils to your collection. I think I might like the writing experience better than the Palomino Blackwings (blasphemous, I know.) but the Blackwings actually look like a bargain-priced pencil next to the Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood.

But, even at $5.45 (comparable to the cost of your average Venti Vanilla Latte), the Swiss Wood is worth trying. Just skip the latte today.

Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood Pencil HB

In Link Love

Link Love: TWSBI Eco & S. Jane Mills

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
How awesome is this portrait of me and Link for this week's Link Love? It was created by s.Jane Mills using Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Copic Sketch Markers, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, and a Uniball Signo white gel pen. She rocks! Dont' forget to check out her blog for more awesomeness!
How awesome is this portrait of me and Link for this week’s Link Love!?!?? It was created by s.Jane Mills using Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Copic Sketch Markers, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, and a Uniball Signo white gel pen. She rocks! Dont’ forget to check out her blog for more awesomeness!

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks:

Planner & Organizers:

Other Interesting Things:

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 Book Review

Book Review: Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists’ Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists’ Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum by Liza Kirwin is a wonderful peek into the notes, doodles and letters from artists, writers and poets. There are typed notes and handwritten notes, some legible and some unintelligible.

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

Ah, Franz Kline’s grocery list is as unremarkable as mine but his liquor bill is extravagant!

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

I love this list of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings written by his father N.C. Wyeth. The penmanship is beautiful.

 

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

This is a close up of the Wyeth list. Look at the grey ink and stub italic!

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

Kinetic sculpture artist Alexander Calder drew these lovely sketches in a letter. Clearly also fountain pen. It looks like he added water to tone some of the areas. So interesting!

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

This is a close-up of Calder’s address book in a warm sepia ink.

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum

This is probably my absolute favorite page. It’s Adolf Konrad’s packing list, beautifully illustrated in gouache. I love the addition, on the next page, of Alfred in his skivvies like a paper doll self-portrait.

Needless to say, I recommend picking up this book if you get a chance. Its printed on a smooth, uncoated stock and bound with a softcover that feels a bit like a notebook rather than a fancy book. I thumb through it often and enjoy the detailed information on the accompanying pages. Its interesting to see how sloppy and how tidy some of the most loved artists and writers actually were. So telling!