In feature

Out of Print Library Card Pouch

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

Library Card Pouch

The Out of Print Yellow Library Card Pouch was a little gem I spied on Amazon for $14.99. I stuck it on my wishlist as a reminder to order it later. Well, my darling husband spied it there and bought it for me.

It’s about 6×9″ in size, perfect as a carryall for pens, pencils, and related tools. Its made of bright yellow canvas, printed with blue library card lines and has a matching blue zipper.

Library Card Pouch filled

I tossed all my regular “daily carry” tools into with plenty of room to spare for some washi tape, glue stick and other items I might add for letter writing on the road. The canvas isn’t lined or heavyweight so its not as sturdy as my usual LWA member pouch. I love the look and the bright color but it isn’t sturdy enough to usurp the LWA pouch as my EDC. I might use the Library Card Pouch when traveling or to carry my knitting tools. Either way, I might pull out my embroidery tools and embellish it with some embroidered text. What book might it be and who else checked it out?

In Book Review

Book: Letters To My Future Self

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

Letters To My Future Self Cover

Letters to My Future Self ($14.95 MSRP) is a marvelously designed little book that contains self-sealing letters and prompts to write letters to yourself. The book was designed by Lea Redmond best know for the World’s Smallest Post Service Kit.

Letters To My Future Self Inner Page

The letters fold up and include designed stamps, labels and wonderful air mail patterns.

Letters To My Future Self Folded Envelope

On the back of each page is the prompt for the letter and a place to add the date your wrote it and the date it should be opened again.

Letters To My Future Self Unfolded Letter/Envelope

When you unfold the page, there is a full sheet of paper to write your letter to yourself. They remind me of Postalettes or the WWII V-Mail. I haven’t tried writing on the paper but it feels like a good quality 80lb text weight or so. This paper will probably withstand a fine-nibbed fountain pen or any good quality gel, rollerball, or ballpoint. Pencil would be good too.

Letters To My Future Self Sticker Sheet

In the back of the book are stickers for sealing the envelopes.

Letters To My Future Self Back Cover

The book includes a dozen letters to write and the hard cover string-bound spine gives a nice look to the whole package. There is also a Letters to My Baby book and several journals for grandchildren, neices and nephews all under the category of “Paper Time Capsule“.

I think the whole collection is incredibly well done and a great way to inspire me to write some goals and some “how I feel now” to refer to sometime later. If you’re not inclined to maintain  a full-fledged journal, this may be a great way to take a letter per week or, since there’s twelve, a letter per month, and get some words on paper.

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

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: In the Navy

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

in-the-navy

I never thought I’d develop a fondness for navy. I was always inclined to favor black or grey but navy looks good with bright pops of color and easily as warm, rich browns. It can be nautical or French with hits of red and stripes, or thoroughly modern with a warm pink. Mixed with Kelly green, it’s totally preppy. And it looks fabulous with lime (I’m just sayin’). I was inspired by this librarian chic ensemble and imagined the best office accessories to compliment it.

  • Letts of London Noteletts Large Yellow Ruled Notebook $14.95 (via Pen Boutique)
  • Kaweco Sport Yellow Cab Fountain Pen £16,95 (via Fontoplumo)*
  • If I Do Say So Myself Large Notebook $24 (via Kate Spade)
  • White + Navy West 18th 3-Drawer File Cabinet $199 (via Poppin)
  • A.G. Spalding & Bros Hexagonal Body Ballpoint Pen in Navy $16.50 (via Jet Pens)
  • Sun-Star Stickyle Pen-Style Scissors in Navy Blue $8.25 (via Jet Pens)
  • Diamine Sargasso Sea Ink $12.95 (via Goulet Pens)
  • Private Reserve Buttercup Ink $11 (via Goulet Pens)
  • KUM Magnesium 2 Hole Pencil Sharpener $3.50 (via European Paper)
  • Dixon Ticonderoga, box of 12 pre-sharpened $3.17 (via Dick Blick)
  • Navy Tape Dispenser $12 (via Poppin)

(Outfit from Boden)

* Argh! I hung this whole post on the gorgeous, yellow cab Kaweco Sport which is no longer available. I recommend the Kaweco Art Sport in Amecitrin £89,50, if you’re in the market for a bright yellow pocket fountain pen.

In Link Love

Link Love: Hobby or Obssession?

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

rp_link-ana.jpgPost of the Week:
This is the follow-up to the post last week and continues to consider and evaluate pen purchasing for fun, profit and completeness (one of everything from a series).
Liking Pens Part II: Can Pens Be An Investment? (via Clicky Post)

Pens:

Inks:

Pencils:

Paper & Notebooks:

Other great stuff:

-1And finally,
Pen Chalet is hosting a giveaway on Sheaffer commemorative items including a silver Sheaffer coin and the book 100 years of Sheaffer. There are three copies of the book available and the grand prize winner will also receive the commemorative coin. Lots of ways to enter too

In Pen Review

From The Archives: Marvy LePen

Author AnaPosted on 100 Comments

Marvy Le Pen Array

from-the-archives

Over the last four years of writing The Well-Appointed Desk, I’ve mentioned my propensity for Mary Le Pens but I realized I’ve never actually published a review. I initially discovered Le Pen in my pre-teens and it may be THE PEN that lead me to where I am today. Before finding LePens, I had only known black, blue or red ballpoints and the occasional rollerballs. Le Pens opened my eyes to good quality “felt tip” pens in a wide array of colors at a price I could afford on a teenager’s allowance. By the time I graduated from college, I found it harder to find Le Pens and I assumed they had faded from the world like so many other things. Then a couple years ago, I stumbled across them in my local art supply store and I bought just about every color that was available.

Marvy Le Pen writing sample

Ergonomically, they isn’t much to recommend them. Encased in a slim, straight, plastic cylinder with a snap cap and a simple silver clip that can easily be bent out of shape, and a nylon/fiber tip point that wears down over time, they are not in the same league as many pens I’ve reviewed over the years. But with a retail price of $1.15, these 0.3mm, acid-free, smudge-proof markers are some of my favorite pens. There are more than a dozen colors available and my favorites are the deeper, more complex colors like the gray, orchid, olive and teal. A full set of all 18 colors is available on Jet Pens.

Full set of Le Pens

Giveaway: To share my love and devotion for LePens, I’d like to give one lucky reader a full set of 18 Le Pens, compliments of Jet Pens. Just leave a note in the comments and tell me which color is (or could be) your favorite Le Pen to be officially entered.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Sunday, September 28, 2014. 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 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 30 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. US readers only this time, thanks!