In Ink Review

Ink Review: Kaweco Palm Green

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

Kaweco Palm Green ink

Kaweco Palm Green is a vivid, “true green” ink. What is really unique about this green is that it has a reddish halo around the edges of the letters as the ink dries. This effect might not appeal to everyone but I think it gives this color a lot of dimension and interesting shading. The shading is more noticeable on the swab (that’s not a camera halo!) pictured below.

Kaweco Palm Green ink comparison

When compared with some of the other green inks in my stash, it definitely fills a gap. Palm Green is darker green than the Private Reserve Spearmint and more true green than the Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine. While the Diamine Ultra Green and PR Spearmint seem similar to the Kaweco Palm Green, they do not have the wonderful red halo.

I’m quite pleased with the color of the Kaweco Palm Green and look forward to using it regularly.

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

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable um, Saturday: Love is in the Air

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments

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It’s almost Valentine’s Day and what a wonderful excuse to buy a new pen, preferably in red. Or share your love of pens with someone you love?

  • Midori D-Clips Double Heart 3rd Edition £5.99 (via The Journal Shop)
  • Lamy Studio Fountain Pen in Wild Rubin $79.20 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Kaweco Art Sport in Rosit $81 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Operation Heartbreak by Duff Cooper £12 (via Persephone Books)
  • Love Conquers All Letterpress Card $4 (via Hammerpress)
  • Fisher Space Pen in Red Cherry $23 (via Jet Pens)
  • Noodler’s Widow Maker Red Ink $12.50 (via Goulet Pens)
  • Gin & Tonic Valentine’s Day Card $5.95 (via Kate’s Paperie)
  • Fabio Ricci Lepidus Medium Hardcover Notebook in Red $11.21 (via Pencils.com)
  • Caran d’Ache Totally Swiss Ballpoint Pen $23.75 (via Pencils.com)
  • Pentel Ain Clic Knock Triangular Eraser with Clip in Metallic Red $2.50 (via Jet Pens)
  • Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag $99 (via Timbuk2)
  • J. Herbin Fountain Pen Ink in Heart-Shaped Bottle in Rouge Opéra $22.50 (via Jet Pens)
  • Uni NanoDia Red Lead Pencil Pack of 2 $3.30 (via Jet Pens)
  • Rifle Paper Co Happy Valentine’s Day Heart Card $6.24 (via Notemaker)
  • Pilot Capless Decimo Red Fountain Pen 18K Gold Nib $247.50 (via Jet Pens)
In news

Giveaway Winner: Well-Appointed Desk Postal Stamps

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

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Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing for the two Well-Appointed Desk stamps. I’m so glad you all like my stamp designs!

And now, to our giveaway winner:

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Congrats to Will! I’ll be contacting you via email to make shipping arrangements.

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Thanks again to everyone who entered and good luck on your LetterMo/InCoWriMo challenge this month!

In Tools

Take That, Square Corners!

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

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There’s a certain advantage to living with a printer. I get business cards at an exceptionally good price. I also get access to some very specialized equipment. Like an industrial-grade corner rounder. The model we have is a Lassco and its got some miles on it but would you believe they still sell them? They are available on Amazon for about $160 with either a 0.5″ corner or a 0.25″ corner. The blades are replaceable as well to the tune of about $85.

This is not a purchase for the faint of heart. You might be better off making friends with a local printer who may have one of these squirreled away in the corner of their shop somewhere that they might let you borrow. Or keep an eye out for one at a local auction or flea market.

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One of the first things I did with my inserts for my Midori Traveler’s Notebook was to put the corner rounder to good use and soften those sharp corners. It make the notebooks look more finished and gives them a Field Notes vibe.

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Amazingly, the notebooks all easily rounded without a lot of force or any jagged edges. Industrial, for sure. And super easy to use since its all manual. It works like a standard three-hole punch but for corners rather than holes.

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Don’t they look so much better? I imagine the same trick could be accomplished, albeit a bit slower, with a handheld corner rounder available in the craft supply big box store near you for about $10.

Now, excuse me while I go ROUND ALL THE THINGS!

In Link Love

Link Love: Analog Love and Miscellany

Author AnaPosted on

rp_link-ana1.jpgPosts of the Week:
Oh, my. There are those in the pen community that love vintage Esterbrook fountain pens. Esterbrook was my personal gateway into fountain pens so I have particularly warm feelings towards the vintage pens. However, a new manufacturer has picked up the name and started to sell new designs under the Esterbrook moniker and even using the same naming conventions but these new pens don’t look at all like their ancestors. If you haven’t heard about or seen the new Esterbrook pen line, these links should get you up to speed. They are pretty even-handed about the new Esterbrooks but there is certainly more divisive opinions available if you venture into any of the big pen forums.

Fountain Pens

Inks:

Pens:

Pencils, Etc.

Writing, Penmanship & Letter-Writing:

Notebooks & Paper:

Planners & Organizing:

Other Interesting Stuff:

In feature

Social Preparedness Kits from Egg Press

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

social preparedness kit

The Social Preparedness Kit from Egg Press is a new collection of tools and materials to make keeping in touch, postally-speaking, an easy and good-looking option. The site will be selling products that span the range from canvas pouches to contain your correspondence to paper goods like letterpress-printed Write-On-Velopes  (a foldable letter sheet that doubles as an envelope) and card sets.

Products will be available for sale soon so check back on their shop or on their blog to find out when they will be officially released.

I love the document-sized pouches and the Write-On-Velopes.I can’t wait until they are available for purchase.

I hope the Social Preparedness Kit product line is successful for Egg Press because I get lots of questions about where to buy good and interesting stationery sets beyond notecards so maybe SPK will expand to letter sets soon!

SPK from Egg Press

In news

Pen Addict Podcast Reveals…

Author AnaPosted on 7 Comments

penaddict podcast logo

If you don’t or haven’t listened to this week’s episode of The Pen Addict podcast, I have a little spoiler for you.

Thanks to the generosity of Brad and Myke and all the listeners to the show, the Kickstarter  that they launched last week has exceeded their goals and expectations. As a result, the boys have kindly invited me to join them in Atlanta as the “third wheel” — I mean “third co-host”.

I am so flattered that I will be able to participate in this event and that Brad and Myke have been so generous to me.And I am grateful to all the backers who have made this possible. I promise to have lots of pictures, stories and products to show you when I return.

It will be the first pen show I’ve ever attended so please send me your recommendations as to what I should not miss at a pen show.