In Paper Review

Sticky Note Day: Midori “Pickable” Sticky Notes

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Sticky Note Day: Midori “Pickable” Sticky Notes

Have you ever wondered about the Midori “Pickable” Sticky Note packs ($6.75 each)? They include three different paper stocks: white paper with a colored edging, kraft paper and a translucent colored paper stock. All three papers are in one booklet giving the users the option to choose or “pick” what sticky note to use on the fly instead of carrying three separate pads.

Oops, I stuck the pad of sticky notes back into the package sideways!

The packaging includes little drawings on the front showing how each section opens completely to easily remove a sticky note as needed and the back illustration includes text describing the paper: Fine Paper, Kraft Paper, and Tracing Paper. The text below the illustration indicates the number of sheets of each paper: 30 sheets of the Fine Paper, and 20 sheets each of Kraft and Tracing Paper.

In writing tests, the Fine Paper worked with all the different types of pens and pencil equally well. For a sticky note, I’d give the Fine Paper notes a 10 out of 10 as far as sticky notes go. Lovely!

The Kraft Paper worked best with felt tip, gel pens, rollerballs and pencils. The fountain pen ink beads up as did the Faber-Castell PITT brush ink and the water soluble Pentel Brush pens. I really like the look and feel of the kraft notes but the pens that work well with it is a bit limited and should be used with a bit of caution.

I was most excited to try the Tracing Paper sticky note because its translucent so it could be used decoratively or to add notes while still being able to see what is underneath but it is definitely a coated paper that is not conducive to any water-based inks. Even the Faber-Castell PITT brush, which is supposed to be waterproof, beaded up on the paper. Gel pens, felt tips, pencils and ball point all work fine and I suspect that a Sharpie would also work. This limited pen usefulness could be a sticking point (no pun intended) for some people but the idea of having a translucent sticky note makes me willing to endure its pen limitations in order to have see-through sticky notes in my tools.

The sets of sticky notes available currently looks like Midori replaced the tracing paper option in the set with a colored paper. The Natural set includes an ivory stock instead of tracing paper which might be a better option overall. The Warm set includes a lavender paper and the Cool set has a light blue paper in addition to the white Fine paper with colored edge and Kraft Paper options. I think, despite enjoying the concept of the translucent paper, I would probably prefer to have the newer sets with the colored papers.

What’s your favorite sticky note?

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.

In feature

Giveaway: Lihit Lab Smart Fit PuniLabo Zipper Pouches

Author Laura CameronPosted on 35 Comments

Last time I wandered through JetPens I was absolutely taken with the Lihit Lab Smart Fit PuniLabo Zipper Pouches ($22) available in a variety of animal prints. I couldn’t decide which one was cutest, so I ordered the Panda case and the Pig case.

These cases are zippered made of water-resistant silicone, and have zippers that allow you to open the case on 2 sides. With dimensions of 4.25″ x 7.5″ (11cm x 19cm) this pouch is perfect for a pocket notebook, a few pens, earbuds, or even your ID and credit cards and a phone. Whatever you want to carry with you the most!

I thought they were so fun, that these two cases are today’s giveaway!

What you’re entering to win:

  • I will select two winners (one for each case) who will win a Lihit Lab Smart Fit PuniLabo Zipper (one panda and one pig!).
  • Fountain pens and notebooks pictured NOT included. I will include a selection of Well-Appointed Desk SWAG and a few other goodies!

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me which case you would prefer? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site (wouldn’t a monkey case have been fun???). Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, May 17, 2024. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this giveaway were provided to us free of charge by Jetpens. Please see the About page for more details.

In Paper Review

Sketchbook Review: Hahnemühle The ZigZag Book

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Sketchbook Review: Hahnemühle The ZigZag Book

Review by Tina Koyama

I have a penchant for teeny-tiny things, especially art materials. Tiny pencils, paint palettes and sketchbooks may be adorable, but unfortunately, most are too small to be practical.

As an urban sketcher, I am constantly trying to strike the ideal balance between portability and useability, and my sweet spot for sketchbooks has long been the A6 size. Although it’s easy to find sketchbooks and notebooks in that size, they often contain inferior paper, especially when using wet media. My current favorite is made by Hahnemühle, which contains excellent watercolor paper. That’s why I got so excited when I saw that Hahnemühle makes a teeny-tiny, accordion-folded sketchbook with the same excellent paper that comes in the German company’s A6 size.

Called the ZigZag Book, the closed dimensions are about 2 ½-by-2 ½ inches (18 pages; $7). That’s small enough to fit easily into a pants pocket (alas, if only I had one). Heck, that’s small enough to fit in my palm! It has a handy elastic strap to keep it from flying open when you pull it out. (Shown below with a few other items for scale.)

Although individual pages are 2-inch squares, the accordion format allows a much longer panorama if you have a landscape in mind.

I’m familiar with two types of watercolor paper that Hahnemühle makes: its premium 100 percent cotton watercolor paper and its “academie” watercolor paper (which is still darn good for student grade). Other than its 300 gsm (140 lb.) weight, the ZigZag’s paper grade is not specified in the product description.

From my tests below, I honestly couldn’t tell which paper it is, though from the texture and weight, my guess is that it is 100 percent cotton. (The good news is that I’m unlikely to make sweeping, wet-in-wet washes of watercolor, where the paper quality makes a big difference; hard to be sweeping on 2 inches.)

I took the miniscule book out for a test run, and it’s so much fun! (Below, I used a Uni Pin 003 fine liner, Derwent Inktense pencils and Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle pencils.) Bonus: The page is so small, I finished this color sketch in about 10 minutes. Bring along a few markers or watercolor pencils, and you could take this on a backpacking hike or anywhere you want to be especially minimal. No more excuses – go out sketching this summer!

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

In Desk Set

Organizational Hack: Sticker Storage

Author Laura CameronPosted on 4 Comments

This year I’ve been journaling more, and I’ve ordered lots of fun supplies. I’ve added to my washi tape collection, and I’ve been buying stickers here and there. Which means my desk is full of journaling implements and they’re everywhere.

First, I decided to take a step back and devote a desk draw to my journaling pursuits, hoping to corral the mess. I lined up my washi tape in a pleasing row at the front of the drawer and dropped the multiple journals I’m keeping in there. Finally it was time to tackle the piles of stickers.

A few weeks ago I was browsing through JetPens and came across the Jam Studio Sticker Albums ($14-20). These aren’t complicated or fancy. They’re PVC covers, with 16 pages (or 32) slots for stickers, and there’s a zip pocket at the back. Everything is held together with a color coordinated elastic. I chose the Twinkle Aqua with longer sheets, which is approximately 5.5″ x 8″ (13.5 x 20 cm), and can accommodate 4″ x 6″ sticker sheets easily. But there are both larger and smaller albums available as well.

And in short, it’s perfect. Thanks to Jetpens for another great tool!

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

In Link Love

Link Love: A Pen Collector By Any Other Name?

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Link Love: A Pen Collector By Any Other Name?

We have referred to ourselves as pen addicts, pen junkies, pen nerds, etc etc… and none of these descriptions are particularly flattering. To some, these terms could even seem a little insensitive to anyone who actually deals with addiction. So, Chronicles of a Fountain Pen did some research for other descriptive terms that we could use to describe pen enthusiasts.

Which of these terms do you prefer?

  • Penneography – in the spirit of John Scheffer – means the study of pens,
  • Stileophile or Stylophile – one who loves pens,
  • Estilophile – synonym of “stileophile,” one who loves pens.
  • Archæostylophylogeny – the study of early fountain pens as it pertains to their evolution and grouping and how they split off from one another. (courtesy of the Vintage Pen Doctor)

The last one… its as hard to spell and pronounce as the term for stamp collectors, Philatelist. MY local pen club uses Stylophile but I kind of like Penographer or Penneographer. It leans into the “graphy” — writing part of pen love.

Link of The Week:

My life will never be the same after this! And my ink collection may actually diminish even faster!

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Pencils:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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In feature

Shop News: Ink Sale!

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Shop here!

I’ve gone through all my inks in my Ink 100 series and chosen selections and now is your chance to acquire all my overages. Inks are priced at approximately half of retail. And there are several rare and limited edition inks too!

The inks have been used for reviews, swatches or a fill or two so most bottles are almost completely full. They have all been stored out of the light and at room temperature.

Shop here and don’t delay. Patrons got an early preview of the sale so many items are already gone. If you want to be “in the know”, you can join our Patreon too. We’d love to have you part of the Patron family!

US Shipping only. No returns on inks.

In feature

Ink 100: Part 5 The Final Reveal

Author AnaPosted on 9 Comments
Ink 100: Part 5 The Final Reveal

This is the final part of my Ink 100 series. If this is the first time you’ve seen these posts, check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 to get caught up on this journey.

Since I started this project, my goal was to keep at least one or two bottles of ink across the ROYGBIV spectrum. For the sake of organziation,  I am going to reveal my final “ink keepers” in that same order. What I didn’t consider was some of the more unusual inks like the multi-chromes and shimmer inks. I have separated out the multi-chrome inks but I left the shimmers within their color category.

The biggest surprise in the process of this project was how sentimental I would become over certain inks. Some were purchased at specific events or when I was with a friend. Maybe a bottle was my first swap or remind me of a specific pen? I am glad I went through this process. I was able to make my ink collection feel a bit more manageable and it is easier for me to see what I have. Will I add new ink to my collection at some point? Probably. Will I pare down what I own a bit more? That might also be a possibility. Either way, I am happy to be able to sort through my collection more efficiently.

Now, on to what made the cut!

Red:

For the red category, I groups red-purples and pinks so its a much bigger category than I anticipated. I went into this project thinking I’m not really a red ink person so I’d keep one or two specific bottles. Instead, I ended up with 28 inks in this category.

Colorverse #31 Electron, Bungubox Lycoris Red and Sailor Jentle Irori can look orange or red depending on the paper and nib width.

There are two shimmers in the red group (No Fixed Address by Robert Oster and Pen BBS #140 Bloom Ink) and a couple super sheenrs: J. Herbin Rouge Hematite and Sailor Jentle Grenade, .

If you bet me 100 bottles of ink at the beginning of this project that I’d have more than 10 red/pink/red-purple inks, I would have taken that bet. You win! I had so many more. HA!

Orange/ Yellow/ Ochre/ Brown:

When I first planned this project, I forgot about browns and ochre colors so I am lumping orange and yellow together and it encompasses the brown, sepia, ochre colors as well. I ended up with 11 colors in this category. This included one shimmer ink (Pen BBS #111) and one pigment ink (Platinum Sepia Pigment Ink) and way more brown inks than I would have imagined I would need. Who knew I wouldn’t be able to part with brown ink? Not me.

Green:

Shockingly, I ended up with only 10 green inks and one is a shimmer ink. There are three inks which are very similar (Sailor Waka Uguisa, Pen BBS #342 Match Green Tea,  and Pen BBS #Tolstoy) so I need to probably ink these up and figure out which one or two will stay but they are all the closest to my dream green. I didn’t dave any kelly greens or bright green which, while I love them in general, I never use in a pen. The other greens I saved are unique and provide a nice range of hues.

Aqua/ Teal/ Blue/ Indigo:

I knew this would be my biggest group and it totals at 25 inks. This includes bluish greens, greenish blues, aquas, turquoise and tumbling into deeper blues.

As I got to the end of the sorting, I hit decision fatigue. Some of these inks are quite similar in color like Bora Bora Waters by Robert Oster and Inspired Blue by Waterman but they serve different purposes within my collection and therefore both are staying. Waterman inks are great for vintage pens and the Bora Bora Waters has slightly more sheen and safe for modern pens.

In my blue category, I have three shimmer inks: Pen BBS #338 Guardians of Good Fortune, J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor, and Van Dieman’s Parrot Fish.

Violet:

I ended up with nine violet/blue-violet inks. I love Monteverde Birthday Cake so much I was surprised that I kept any other violets but I found some violets in my collection that are similar but different from Birthday Cake. So, yeah! I have more inks to try and experiment with and I’m excited about that. Only one of the inks in this category is a shimmer: Colorverse #89 Mystic Mountain.

Neutrals:

This category is my grey and black inks.

I figured I’d only have one black ink (Platinum Carbon Black) but I forgot about Kyo-no-oto #1 Nurebairo which is a dry but sheeny black and I also kept the Colorverse Office Series Permanent Black and the Colorverse Pigment Black, Selectron. So, three out of four blacks are waterproof or water-resistant. I want to do more painting and multi-media work, so I’m keeping the additional blacks to see if they are a good alternative to Carbon Black.

I love grey inks so I should have guessed I would end up with eight different greys ranging from purply-grey, blue-grey and a neutral grey from Dominant Industry called Downpour. The last ink in this category in Colorverse Vortex Motion which is such a wonka-doodle sheening dark ink that is almost black but lean purply with a green sheen. Its also a bit sentimental to me.

Multi-Chromatics:

These seven inks are those color shifting colors and can look different on different papers or is a different color when wet than when it dries. I separated these out since they are hard to fold into the standard ROYGBIV rainbow. I saved seven inks in this group and they are mostly greens, blues and purples because that’s how I roll.

Final Thoughts:

The final count? 97 bottles of ink. I can’t believe I actually did it. And honestly, I don’t feel like I am at a loss for choice. I still have FOUR different blacks!

I was fairly ruthless in saving only the colors I truly loved rather than making decisions based on having “all the Sailor inks” or some other brand. If I were to break the inks down by brand, I kept about 23 bottle of Colorverse, 17 bottles of Sailor and 13 or so bottles of Robert Oster. Every other brand I kept less than 10 bottles. In some instances, I now have just one or two bottles from some brands and, other brands, I didn’t keep any of their inks.

My final selections are not a reflection on any brands. My decisions are entirely based on my personal preferences for color. In some cases, a color I particularly liked but had more than one bottle meant the decision came down to flow and usability for my particular pen preferences. I prefer fine nibs and drier inks so I based my decisions around those needs. Hence, more Sailor inks survived in my collection for their easy flow in fine nibs. With Colorverse, its a very dry ink but I keep a stash of White Lightning handy for just such moments.

Are any of the inks I kept on your favorite list? Are there any inks that you are surprised I kept?