Wooden desks wear beautifully and look great. Here’s a few for your “new desk” file. (The last desk with classic early 60s and built-in shelving is my favorite for sure. You?)
(Click on each photo to go to the source website)
Wooden Desk Wonders
Ask The Desk: Pocket, 18-month and Fountain Pen Friendly
One of the questions on the docket for the Pen Addict podcast this week was from Anthony Sculimbrene (@everydaycomment) regarding a pocket-sized calendar agenda with good quality paper for fountain pens and 18-month or an autumn start was preferable. This is a seriously specific request and, sadly, not many options are available. But I was able to find a few options.
First, I went to Quo Vadis whose reputation for fountain pen friendly paper is universally acknowledged. I was able to find three options, of a diminutive size, all with 64g paper and using an academic calendar (starting in August or September):
I love my current Paperblanks planner but its a larger size. Paperblanks does offer an array of sizes and configurations but are no longer listing their 18-month planners on their site. A few can still be found on Amazon with a couple different cover options.
And finally, you can always take matters into your own hands and use the DIY Planner site and print out the Hipster PDA onto your favorite paper stock.
I hope this will help you on your way. There are definitely more options available if you are willing to wait for the new calendar year.
Desk Accessories for Cubicle Hell
If you, like me, are trapped in daily beige cubicle hell at work, desk accessories are a great way to bring some color and personality into a workspace you might not have a lot of aethetic control over otherwise. The easiest items to add to your space are a personally chosen pencil cup(s), stapler and/or tape dispenser, a paper tray, file folders and items for decor like photographs, artwork or a desk calendar.
I believe in collecting desk items that are both functional and appeal to you aesthetically. For pen cups, you could purchase an assortment of drinking glasses or coffee mugs that appeal to you.
If you are a fan of vintage products, scour your local antique malls and thrift shops (or check out The Desk shop) for classic tape dispensers, staplers and desk trays. Estate sales and yard sales are also great opportunities to find old office supplies. Many retirees bring home their box of old drafting tools and desk items that languish for years. I’ve scored great metal rulers, staplers and bags of old pencils this way. I found a set of vintage coffee mugs that, while being slender, are perfect for sorting out my various pens and pencils: gel pens in one cup, pencils in another, etc.
If you are looking for something clean and modern, Poppin’s coordinated desk items may be just the ticket for you. Container Store also sells lots of clear acrylic and colored plastic containers that might be just right for your desk.
There are also lots of options to use found objects and apply some DIY craftiness to them. I posted about a shoebox converted to a large pen holder when filled with cut paper tubes of various sizes.
I think its important to make your workspace appealing to you whether its a small desk tucked in the corner of an industrial warehouse or a vintage Herman Miller AO2 cubicle. In the same way that its worth it to spend a few extra dollars on a pen or a notebook you like, finding desk items you like will make your work surroundings feel more appealing and conducive to those big ideas.
Good places to look for desk accessories:
(for inspiration, visit my Pinterest board Desk Accessories or skim through previous posts tagged Desk Accessory)
Ask The Desk: My Camera Equipment
Andy Welfle best known for his pencil blog, Woodclinched, recently asked about my camera set-up. Its not something I normally talk about here but a lot of jobs require capturing images so I thought this was as good time to cover my hardware.
I actually use four different cameras depending on my circumstances. These have been accumulated over several years so don’t ever think you need to go out and buy four set-ups to get decent shots. Any one of these is a good place to start.
My largest rig is kept mostly in my home office and is used for a good deal of the posts on the blog and for the shop. It is made up of:
- Canon Rebel (Eos) T1i
- Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 macro AF lens
- Canon Speedlite 430EX strobe
- Adorama 5-in-1 portable light reflector
- 30-Inch Photo Soft Box Light
Canon is up to a T5i version of the camera body, adding more, bigger, faster, and perks like built-in filters. Prior to inheriting the T1i from a friend (its on long-term loan) I’d been using a Canon Rebel XTi that I’d used for over 100K images before the light meter went out on it. It could probably be repaired, I just haven’t gotten around to it.
If you are considering the purchase of a dSLR, spend more money on the lens than the camera. And skip the kit lens. The Sigma lens I use almost exclusively. It works great is low light and built-in macro was just what I wanted. Its not the fastest auto focus lens in the world but my pens and inks don’t tend to run off that often. Sadly, its no longer in production, the closest alternative would probably be this 17-70mm f/2.8-4. If it ever came to it, I’d probably end up replacing it with two different lenses — one macro lens and then a good quality standard zoom. I also use a stock Canon EF 50mm lens f1.8 (that used to be sold with film cameras) as a great low light portrait lens and those can be snagged for about $125 new but can easily be found secondhand for less.
My travel kit is a smaller, less obtrusive set-up. This is a good quality camera for getting shots at antique shops, fairs, and general life stuff:
- Olympus Pen E-P3
- with a 17mm f2.8 pancake lens
- and the stock 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens
The only downside of the Olympus Pen is that I do not currently have a macro lens for it. There is currently only one macro lens available for the micro 4/3s mount and its quite expensive. Its hard to get good pictures of pens and other small items without one. I almost exclusively use the pancake lens because it will basically let me shoot in the dark. The image quality is excellent and great for everyday photography. There are of course some digital dirt at higher ISOs but what I lose in image quality, I make up for in portability and low profile handling. This camera is far less intrusive for people than a long lens dSLR.
I also keep a camera stashed at work for quick shots. It’s a Canon Powershot S90 (the newest version of this camera is now the S100). It also gets called into service when traveling or is just kept at the bottom of my bag. Its a great camera for its size and includes a macro feature for capturing close-up shots of pen nibs.
And the last camera is the one I always have with me, my iPhone. The lens quality on mobile phone cameras continue to improve so this is often a perfectly acceptable option. My iPhone 4s has an 8MP camera which is just slightly below the 10MP in my S90 though without the option for white balance adjustment, exposure compensation or shooting in RAW format. But still.. and there are some great, reasonably priced photo editing apps that can get me from shooting the photo to posting on Twitter, Flickr, Instagram or even the blog without ever having to sit down in front of my computer.
I use Aperture for the Mac for image processing and post full sized image to Flickr. I ted to shoot in RAW most often.
Please let me know if you have any other questions about my photos or camera equipment. I am, by no means, a pro but I can certainly give you any advice I have gleaned over many years of trial and error.
Tune Your Dial!
Tonight I’m recording my third appearance on the venerated pen podcast, The Pen Addict (episode 71) which should be available for download by Friday (I think).
Topics to be discussed may include pencil love, cameras and enlivening your cube dwelling. Tune in to find for sure if we stick to the topics. Or send us a suggestion on Twitter @wellapptdesk or @dowdyism.
If you haven’t listened to previous appearances of yours truly on the Pen Addict Podcast, you can find the episodes here and here.
Sale: Pelikan M205 Highlighter Fountain Pen
This week, Levenger is selling the Pelikan M205 highlighter pen set with BB (double broad) nib and bottle of fluorescent yellow ink for $87, reduced from the regular retail price of $175.
Sale is good through Sunday and the discount code is HILITE9.
This pen can be filled with other inks and would work as a lovely yellow demonstrator if a highlighter fountain pen doesn’t appeal to you. I really wanted the new demonstrator green version of the M205 but its hard to pass up this one at half price.
Scout Books Originals
Scout Books have introduced illustrated cover versions of their 3.5×5″ pocket notebooks. The Animals set by Meg Hunt features three whimsical designs on each of the three notebooks in the set in full color. Similarly, the Cosmos set by Andrea Kalfas also has a unique design on each blank book in the stellar set: Perseus, Virgo and Capricorn. There is also the Flora & Fauna set by Perrin. The three designs in this set feature bugs, flowers, snakes and bell jars in a limited palette of red and blues.
I like all three sets. I think they’d make great gift ideas for pen geeks and art lovers alike. Each set is blank paper, includes three books and cost $10 per set. Of course, you can still purchase the plain kraft cover editions which are available in a wider variety or writing paper inside or consider having some custom made as well.
