The Well-Appointed Desk

Ask The Desk: That’s not a pen!

AnaFebruary 3, 2014Leave a comment

I received an actual letter from Leah a week or so ago. She asked lots of different questions about pens and tools so I thought I’d include some of my answers here as well as in a letter to her.

She asked:

What pen/nib did you use for the titles of your 12 Days of Inkmas?

The secret is that I didn’t use a pen at all. I used a brush!

I got the idea to use a brush from seeing some ink “swabs” on European Paper. They were using a brush to create a lovely little ink swab. I like that a brush was easy to clean and I wasn’t creating a landfill full of q-tips in sampling inks each month.

I’ve used several different brushes that I’ve accumulated over the years to not only create “swabs” but also to create a more interesting header for the 12 Days of Inkmas. I’ve tried to keep up the habit for future ink samples and reviews as I can see the range of shading with the inks this way.

EDIT: The word “Wide Strokes” was done with the Scharff FINELINE 3000 #3, not the #6. Oops!

brushes22 — From left to right: Robert Simmons #2 red Kolinsky hair and synthetic filaments round brush, A. Langnickel 670 #5 Red Sable script brush, Scharff Kolinsky red sable FINELINE 3000 #3 round and #6, and a Silverwhite synthetic 1500S #2 Round.

I’ve acquired brushes over the years from friends, yard sales and various art supply stores. I’m stunned to see how expensive the Scharff #6 brush is ($67)! I’ll definitely take better care of it. I’m confident that any good quality round brush recommended for watercolor, acrylic or oil would make a perfect tool for “swabs” and ink tests. Visit your local art supply or craft shop to pick up a couple.

Just remember to wash out your brushes in water, squeeze dry and reshape the tip to dry. Don’t scrub them and make the bristles flair out or you risk breaking the fibers and/or hairs. Always dry your brushes with the tip up and don’t leave them sit indefinitely in your wash water or the bristles will bend at a weird angle. If you let them cake with inks or paints, try The Masters brush cleaner. It will save just about all your brushes!

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MINE! Sticky Notes

AnaJanuary 31, 2014Leave a comment

Need to keep the snack-stealing, pencil-nabbing, cube-dwelling troglodytes from running away with your beloved office supplies or snacks? The KnockKnock MINE! sticky notes might do the trick. They are standard 3×3″ squares with removable adhesive and a place to clearly establish your ownership. $3.99 for a 100-sheet pad. Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

I have a CRAP sticky notes pad and, while they are not the stickiest sticky notes in the world, I always get comments on how fun they are.

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Ask The Desk: Letters in Downton Abbey

AnaJanuary 31, 20141 Comment

Ask The Desk Header

Hello!
There were some beautiful shots of envelopes and letters on last week’s Downton Abbey episode. I can’t find images of them online. Any thoughts on how to find them? LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR BLOG!
Laura

Laura, Thanks so much for your letter. I feel like I must have been wrapped up in the story this week, watching Downton Abbey because I didn’t even notice the letters! I too searched the internet but so far screenshots from Season 4 are sparse. But you are in luck! Last week’s episode can be viewed and replayed through March 9, 2014 on PBS. I watched up to the Ritz letter for Alfred so you can get a better look at the mark on the envelope.

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Who’s Notebook?

AnaJanuary 30, 2014Leave a comment

I’ve been obsessively following the hullabaloo around the BBC reveal of the new Peter Capaldi Doctor Who costume and the start of filming of the latest season. While the choice of actors to play the twelfth Doctor and their choice of costume for the “100% Rebel Time Lord” has been hotly debated, that’s not what I wanted to discuss. What, exactly, did I want to discuss that could be related to office supply geekdom? The TARDIS diary, of course!

TARDIS-journal

I don’t know why I didn’t think about it sooner but the notebook that River Song carries around to track the timeline of herself and the Doctor has been made into an official product. Of course it has. There are two versions available of the iconic TARDIS diary: a limited edition version with embossed, leather-look cover and 440 textured and parchment, aged-looking pages. It measures 7.25″ x 6.25″ and includes a hidden message. This version was a convention exclusive and carries a steep collectible price of $79.99. Alternately, there is less pricey option that features 160 lined pages on bright white stock. The book is 8″ x 5″ and is a mere $11.99.

who-notebooks

Other options for River Song-styled notebooks are available on Etsy if you are willing to search. I found this one by Patiak that looks really fun.

Now back to our regularly scheduled, non-fan-girl office supply blog, already in progress.

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How green is my pencil?

AnaJanuary 29, 20141 Comment

Green Pencils

Thanks to Johnny at Pencil Revolution, I am now the owner of a lovely selection of green pencils. Not green as in environmentally sensitive but green as in outside paint colors. They look lovely in combination with all my other green office supplies but what’s most pleasant is that they are pretty good writers too.

Musgrave Cub Pencil

The Musgrave Pencil Co. CUB 3030T is a large diameter round pencil. Based on its size, I suspect it is meant as a kid’s learning pencil but its not as large as some children’s pencils. And its actually a smooth writer. Because of the diameter, I didn’t have a lot of sharpener options so I used the large diameter size of my Lefty sharpener from Pencil Things. Its about the same diameter as some of the colored pencils I own.

Paper Mate Earth Write Pencil

The PaperMate Earth Write #2 HB pencil is a deep evergreen with silver foil stamp, silver ferrule and a nicely contrasting mint eraser. The eraser doesn’t work particularly well but it looks nice. The pencil is a hexagonal shape and standard diameter. Sadly, I found it a little scratchy to use but not terrible. At the right price, these are nice looking. Office Depot lists a box of 48 for $8 so that’s a good price for a pencil of this quality. Teachers might want to pick up a box or two for their classrooms.

Dixon Ticonderoga Neon Green Pencil

The Dixon Ticonderoga SOFT #2 HB was part of a dozen neon painted pencils in a variety pack purchased at Target for $2.89. These pencils were made in Mexico. Its a standard hexagonal wood cased pencil with the traditional evergreen metallic ferrule with school bus yellow srtipes which is used on the classic yellow pencils and on the black versions as well. The branding is foil stamped in bright kelly green. Its a lot of different shades of green on one pencil. The pink eraser works okay, better than the green eraser on the Earth Write.

The bright neon paint makes it feel like an updated classic. The neon multi-pack would be a big hit with kids for sure. It writes pretty smoothly for a mass market pencil.

Thanks to Johnny for a package full of happy pencils!

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February is InCoWriMo & LetterMo

AnaJanuary 28, 2014Leave a comment

InCoWriMo, stands for International Correspondence Writing Month, which rhymes with “Ink a Rhino”. The goal is to write one letter, card, note, or postcard everyday for the entire month of February.

February is also LetterMo, as in A Month of Letters, a concept started by author Mary Robinette Kowal several years ago but whose mantle has been taken up across the blogosphere.The website is facing a few technical glitches this morning but should be ironed out soon. In the meantime, the Facebook page is up and running and will post when the site is working again.

Both collectives’ goals are the same, write a letter everyday for the month of February.

Since I have an enormous pile of letters to reply to, hopefully, February’s letter writing push will help me get caught up.

If you want to participate and need someone to write to, you can drop me a line, show off your favorite ink color or latest pen acquisition: