Pencil Array
10 Ways to Declutter your Desk
There are ten great (if sometimes obvious) tips for keeping a clear desk and a clear head over on Remodelista. Clean, sort, organize and manage your time are things we all need to be reminded about occasionally. I’m particularly fond of the advice to use Unroll.me to remove your name from slews of subscription emails and SelfControl to forcibly block sites from yourself for certain windows of time (hello, Pinterest!) for we of little self-control.
(via Remodelista)
News: Planner Camp
Planner Camp is an online class, forum and resources to help you create your own planner to organize and plan your perfect year. Planner Camp starts on Monday and costs $49US. Some of the topics and features of the project include:
- Three weeks of private posts, tips and video tutorials
- Access to a private student Facebook Group
- Pre-designed planner templates for you to customize into your perfect planner, fast!
- Weekly video based lessons on customizing the planner templates using Adobe InDesign ®.
Don’t have it? Don’t worry! Check the FAQ for details on the affordable month to month access option & 30 Day Free Trial.
- Pre-designed templates that are customized to work with two tried & true binding systems: Filofax ® (A5 size) & M by Staples™ Arc Customizable Notebooks (Junior size).
- Advice for printing at home or working with a professional printer, including strategies to minimize costs.
- Unique design ideas to help you create a year built around your values & passions! From taking great care of yourself to accomplishing your goals, feeling fabulous, and having as much fun as you can dream up.
- Weekly open office hours for one-on-one student questions, design support and troubleshooting.
(via Freckled Nest)
Rustic Pallet Desks
In my search for woodsy, natural feeling workspaces, I stumbled upon the idea of building desks, tables and shelving out of reclaimed shipping pallets and wooden crates. There was an extensive article on MyInteriorDesign.it where I found many of the photos shown above. Some refinished the pallets, sanded or stained to a lovely finish while other options left the material in its raw state with all the stains and wear-and-tear from its previous life clearly visible. The fold-up pallet desk is a good option for those with little space or for the kids to use for homework or craft projects.
Instructions for building your own pallet fold-away desk cane be found at Thistlewood Farms.
Link Love: The Deja Vu Edition
A lot of topics I’ve mentioned in the past, have made appearances on other blogs this week. I thought I’d start with those…
Note: In this section, the first link is my original post and the links in parentheses are the posts from other bloggers.
- Write Notepads (via Pencil Revolution and My Pen Needs Ink)
- Standard Memorandum (review via Ed Jelley and Unroyal Warrant)
- Hobonichi Planner (review from Notebook Stories)
- Plants in the workplace (via Fast Company)
And now back to our regularly scheduled Link Love:
Paper:
- Arc Customizable Notebook System (via Office Supply Geek)
- Notebooks (via Put This On)
- Ink Samples in a Maruman Mnemosyne Word Book (via Pen Addict)
Pencils, Pens & Ink:
- TWSBI Vac 700 (via That One Pen)
- Fountain Pen Experts Share Their Favorite Pen (via Best Fountain Pen)
- Kaweco Art Sport in Alabaster (via Clicky Post)
- Weekly Loadout: Mike Dudek (via Ed Jelley)
- TWSBI Classic (via That One Pen)
- Kickstarter: Hands-On with the Masterstoke Airfoil Ballpoint Pen (via Ed Jelley)
- Esterbrook #1314 Flexible Stub (via Fountain Pen Quest)
- Tombow Mono 100 Review (via Pencil Revolution)
- Diamine Registrar’s Ink (via Ed Jelley)
Misc:
- Accidental Early Review of the Nock Co. Brasstown (via The Daily Carry)
- Colored Staples That Actually Work (via Office Supply Geek)
- Good Stuff on my Desk (via Inkophile)
Ask The Desk: Clogged Fountain Pens
Tom asks:
Several of my fountain pens seem to be clogged. Certainly the ink does not flow as freely as it did when they were new.
The tried and true cures – such as soaking in a bowl of warm water with two drops of ammonia – do not seem to work.
What is the approved 21st Century approach?
Many thanks,
Tom
I have not had a lot of clogging issues myself. I have purchased several old pens that needed cleaning and I just let them soak in warm water for several days, changing the water every day and then flushing the pen completely with good success.
Since it sound like you have more serious issues, I put a call out to some of the folks out on Twitter and here are there responses:
- Azizah from Gourmet Pens: Can you disassemble it? Soak it in 10% ammonia and 90% water (section and nib) and flush it out with water.. Should clear it.
- Inktronics says: Time for a total tear down and getting the toothbrush out.
- FPGeeks says: After Azizah’s advice, next step would be to use ultrasonic cleaner.
- Anderson Pens says: How long did they let it soak? Overnight at least if no ultrasonic or use a bulb to force water through the feed.
I would also wonder about the ink that you are using if you are continuing to have clogging issues. You may want to try a new, different ink once you get your pen cleaned out to see if the issue was a result of gritty ink.
I hope these tips help. Let us all know if you have any luck.
Evergreen Office Spaces
With all the grey, bleak weather around these days, I got the itch to redesign my office speace with lush greens and natural woods. I want to create an oasis of greenery, woodsy beauty indoors.
Putting a desk near the window takes advantage of natural light without being distracting.
I love how functional this space is – and crammed to the gills. The Vitra vintage plastic wall (available new from Design Within Reach for a mere $475) caddy is a great way to keep tools handy and makes an office space feel more like a workshop.
