In feature

House Industries Goes to the Desk

Author AnaPosted on

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I have been a loyal supporter of the type design gurus at House Industries since the early 90s. They have a flair for the vintage and an eye for detail seldom rivaled so when I heard they were introducing a line of office supplies to their already extensive repertoire, I knew it would be good.

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House Industries has partnered with Chronicle Books to create a box set of 100 letter-centric postcards ($19.95), a set of four pocket notebooks ($9.95) featuring their graphics on the covers and a set of die cut labels and stickers ($10.95).

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(via Chronicle Books and House Industries)

In feature

Handwriting Makes You Smarter

Author AnaPosted on 10 Comments

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In the September 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living, there was an article title “Is Handwriting Becoming Extinct?” written by Joanne Chen. The article dives more deeply into the psychological, brain development and creative benefits of writing than I would normally expect from a newsstand magazine usually focused on home decor and recipes. It discusses several scientific studies that researched the advantages of writing on cognitive development, memory and comprehension.

What we here all know, that writing helps us think, organize and remember (“I’m writing it down to remember it now”), is clearly a scientifically proven fact, one that we should help to nurture in ourselves and in others. Digital doesn’t solve everything and might be making up even more forgetful.

I would love to share a link to the article but I could not find it on the Martha Stewart web site. Maybe when the October issue is published, they will post the article on their site. In the meantime, the September issue is on newsstands (the article is on page 158) as well as being available from the iTunes newsstand for $3.99. The issue is the How-To edition with lots of organizational tips which might appeal to you as well.

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In feature

Ballpoint Showdown Follow-Up #2 (Giveaway winner and comments)

Author AnaPosted on

First, I want to thank everyone who commented and posted questions.

Debmohn2013 asked for a comparison of the blue ink versions of these pens so I’ve added that to my to-do list. Look for that in the coming weeks.

Phillip Kallenburg asked why I didn’t talk about the feel of the barrel in my hand. Phillip, since these pens are available in a multitude of different configurations like multi-pens, silicone barrel retractables and even as refills, I decided that it was a very mutable aspect. The Vicuna, Acroball and Surari were all almost identical retractables with a “padded” grip style. The Acroball uses a ridged silicone which was the squishiest. The Surari has a firmer rubber grip but still felt nice in the hand. The Vicuna is more of a matte textured plastic with undulating ridges in the grip area and the hardest of the three. The Jetstream I used is a plain, smooth plastic barrel. Does that help?

*Wisher*, remember the Acroball does not dry quickly on coated postcard and greeting cards stocks but works great on plain papers.

Zoe, I didn’t like ballpoint pens either. I mean I REALLY didn’t like them. These pens changed my mind. I think you should definitely try them out. If you don’t like them, you can make a friend or co-worker happy by passing them along.

And finally… the winner of the $25 Gift Certificate from Jet Pens is…

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And its Jackie from Addicted to Pens And Paper! Congrats! You should receive your gift certificate via email this weekend.

Thanks again to everyone who entered and if you haven’t seen the advertisements for each brand of pens, check out yesterday’s post!

In feature

Kaweco Fantasie Fountain Pen

Author AnaPosted on

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There is a new Kaweco fountain pen to ogle. Its called the Fantasie Fountain Pen. There’s a ballpoint option available as well and the refill is actually listed as a G2 and looks like a standard Parker-style refill. It’s designed with a raw brass body designed to accept decorative FIMO dough to the exterior. I love the raw brass and suspect that in its natural state, the pen should patina beautifully but I’m intrigued about the idea of wrapping a pen with FIMO dough (a type of polymer clay that can be hardened in the oven). It would give the pen a very different feel in the hand and would be one-of-a-kind.

The Kaweco Fantasie Fountain pen retails for $54.50 and the ballpoint for $40.50.

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In video

Video: Hybrid Ballpoint Follow-Up

Author AnaPosted on

After writing my reviews of the hybrid ballpoints, I found an ad for the Pilot Acroball that sort of horrified my senses. So then I had to look further to see if Pentel, Uni Ball or Zebra stooped to similar stereotypes. So I’ve collected them all for you here.

Seriously? This is another Bic For Her travesty (read the reviews for entertainment). Shame on you, Pilot.

This Uni Jetstream video just sells the pens and stops trying to stereotype all women as shopaholics with a penchant for matching their pen to their outfits.

Both Surari and Vicuna features ice skating as a metaphor for the pens’ smoothness. Points to Surari for weirdness of the ice skating zebra.

Judged entirely based on the promotional videos, I give the lead to Zebra Surari. Runner-up is Uni Jetstream but they lost first place because of the goofy music.

How would you rate these? Are you more or less compelled to buy any of these pens?