In feature

Orange You Glad It’s Tuesday Giveaway

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

Orange you glad?

This is the second of the color-themed sample giveaways in honor of the third anniversary of The Well-Appointed Desk. Today’s giveaway is all about orange. Featured in this assortment is an “On The Road” Penguin Books notebook, a pocket-sized Rhodia pad, a set of three Field Notes Expedition notebooks, and a Palomino Blackwing Pearl. Some items may have been used for writing tests and review but are practically new (or brand new in some cases). More items may be added.

To enter, just leave a comment and try to rhyme with the word “orange”. Easy-peasy, citrus peely.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Thursday. 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. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money.

(Shoutout to JetPens and all the other nice folks who’ve given me samples to review over the years)

In Fountain Pen Review

Review: Pilot Cocoon Fountain Pen

Author AnaPosted on 10 Comments

Pilot Cocoon Fountain Pen

At first glance, the Pilot Cocoon looks like nothing more than a Pilot Metropolitan in a fancy box. It does bear a striking resemblance to the Pilot Metropolitan in its outer appearance, though the lovely midnight blue anodized color is not something spotted in the Metropolitan line. In its fancy box is an ink cartridge and a CON-50 converter which is a nice treat. But the big news is hidden under the friction-click cap. Its hides a beautiful little fine nib. If you prefer your fountain pen nibs on the slender-to-hairline side of the range, than this little discovery will be of particular interest to you.

Cocoon vs. Metropolitan

Out of the box, I loaded the Cocoon with Caran D’ache Storm and set about testing if this nib was worth the price bump. Turns out, it glides just as smoothly on paper as its wider cousin but with a fine delicate line which is much more to my tastes.

Pilot Cocoon writing sample

The Metropolitan is definitely the better deal, pricewise, especially if you prefer the medium nib. Actually, the Metropolitan is a ridiculously good deal at $14.50. But even at the $40-ish price point ($25 higher than the Metropolitan), I do not feel cheated or ripped off. Its easy to compare the Cocoon (and the Metropolitan) to the Pilot Prera as well, though the branding on the Prera nib say “super quality” suggesting it may be a slightly higher quality nib. In the end, the Cocoon is a beautifully simple fountain pen with a great quality, steel nib and an ink converter.

Cocoon vs. Metropolitan

Is it worth the price difference to the Metropolitan? That’s a personal preference. I still believe that if you find a good quality fountain pen under $50 that you like using everyday, you have yourself a good pen and a good deal. This is just one of those cases where it doesn’t feel like there should be a $25 discrepancy between a medium nib fountain pen and a fine nib.

Cocoon Pen and goodies

PS: A big thank you shout-out to Yvonne (@Woosang on Twitter and ADN) for sending me this lovely pen in a fabulously Aussie-centric care package. I am truly touched by your generosity and I do love this pen.

(J Stationery stocks the fine nib Pilot Cocoon for $39.95 in five different colors. JetPens carries the Pilot Cocoon in the medium nib in four colors or the silver body with a fine nib for $45)

In feature

Lime Green Giveaway

Author AnaPosted on

The lime load

This is the first of the color-themed sample giveaways in honor of the third anniversary of The Well-Appointed Desk. Today’s giveaway is an assortment of items in my favorite hue — three notebooks of varying sizes including a Green Room composition book and a plethora of green pens and pencils. The pens were used for writing tests and review but are practically new. All the notebooks are unused. More items may be added.

To enter, just leave a comment and tell me how you ended up reading The Well-Appointed Desk. Did you find me by way of Google search, link from another site (please let me know which one) or are you not sure what you’re doing here but love free stuff?

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. 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. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money.

(Shoutout to JetPens and all the other nice folks who’ve given me samples to review over the years)

In feature

Three Years of The Well-Appointed Desk

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

3yearbanner

Today is the third anniversary of The Well-Appointed Desk. In that time, I’ve posted over 1800 times, reviewed dozens of pens, notebooks and other office supplies, given away lots of goodies and made tons of new friends. I am amazed that I find new things to talk about every day!

To celebrate, I am going to give away a pile of samples. Everyday this week I am giving away a stack of goodies — some were review products with one or two pages used in the back for pen testing, some are brand-spankin’ new. Keep your eyes peeled.

giveaways

Here’s a sneak peek of the assortments to be given away this week. Happy blogiversary to me (and to you)!

In feature

Field Notes Night Sky Edition

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Field Notes Night Sky Edition Summer 2013

Whenever the folks over at Coudal announce a new edition of the Colors series, the frenzy to get a set (or four) begins. I am lucky enough to have a subscription so as soon as the emails go out announcing the latest series, I know at least two sets of the books are winging their way to me. For Summer 2013, the new set is called Night Sky. The aesthetic is a smooth black, uncoated cardstock cover (French Construction 100#C in blacktop) with gray ink for the logo, branding and information. The back features constellations of the night sky in gray, dotted with holographic foil stars. It looks magical!

Inside, the folks at Field Notes must have heard the enthusiasm over the Finch 70#T used in the America The Beautiful sets because the same stock has been used for Night Sky in the 50#T weight — a little lighter weight but should hold up pretty well. Instead of lines or grid, they have printed each page with reticle graph markings in gray that evoke star charts and NASA photos.

I would like to remind you that these limited edition sets sell out very quickly so if you want one, I recommend you hop over to the Field Notes shop right now and order one because chances are, by this time next week, they will be sold out.

nightsky1 nightsky2

I will follow up with some writing samples in a few days and compare it to the 70#T paper used in the America The Beautiful set (which I realized I never tested).

View all the images of the new Field Notes Night Sky Colors set on Flickr.

In feature, Ink Review

June Ink Drop Reveal?

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IMG_9451

This month, Goulet Pens decided to trip up the Ink Drop subscribers with a “What’s in a Name?” theme. In other words, they send unlabelled vials and its our chance to guess the colors. If you guess correctly and enter your guess into the contest on Ink Nouveau, you could win a bottle of the ink. I must confess, I am absolutely clueless. None of the inks had a distinctive odor so that ruled out scented inks… after that… hmmm…?

I thought I might know a couple but, upon closer inspection, I am pretty sure my guesses are wrong. Inkdependence didn’t provide any clues in his write-up and I haven’t seen anyone else post about the colors yet. Any guesses?

Inks were tested on my new Quo Vadis Habana blank bright white notebook using a Noodlers Creaper flex pen.