This week was planned to be my big Pencil Week with lots of links and reviews but, due to a family emergency, I will have to postpone it. It may be a little quiet around here for a few days but please visit some of the other wonderful blogs I’ve listed in the sidebar to keep you informed until I return.
When is a Signature not a Signature?
When is a signature not a signature? According to the Smithsonian, when the President of the United States needs to sign things, he employs an Autopen, a device that reproduces his signature with an actual pen. So, its his signature… but not.
The device is a descendant of a creation used as far back as the Jefferson White House, though Jefferson’s device served quite a different purpose.
Read more at the Smithsonian.
Planning a Move on Paper
Cassandra Ketrick is planning to relocate to New York City in February so, as a good and loyal paper junkie, she built a custom moving planner to organize all the things she needs to accomplish in the next few weeks. There are more photos of her planner available on her web site.
Pentel B-100 Pen Review
Several months ago, my friend sent me this lovely little oddity. It is the Pentel B-100 Pen. Overall, the pen looks like your standard budget disposable pen. But its not what it appears. The body of all the pens are green (Pantone Color of the Year Emerald, I might add) with the tips indicating the color. Mine is a clear red ink but the pen is also available in black from Kiosk. It wasn’t until I started writing with it that I realized it was quite unusual.
The pen has some line-width variation I would not have expected in a rollerball or fiber-tipped pen. It writes almost like a stub nib fountain pen or a small calligraphy nib. Looking closely at the point I couldn’t quite figure out exactly what it is. My best guess is that it is a rollerball but the translucent plastic casing around the ball is slightly flexible allowing the line to flow a bit differently than a rigid plastic rollerball.
It is not water-proof but water-resistant enough to be used on envelopes or folders. On my testing paper (the Miquelrius grid notebook), I got a little bit of show through on the back side of the page but it was nominal. On good quality paper, this pen could be used on both the front and reverse of the paper without any readability issues.
Overall, I quite like this pen. It wrote smoothly, offered line variation not often found in a disposable pen and the body is a lovely green, concealing the fun of bright, red ink inside.
Pens are sold individually for $4 each from Kiosk with a wonderful little card with a story about the pen.
18th Century Hidden Storage
This desk was built by the Roentgen brothers in the 18th century and is full of hidden compartments and unique features. If you like this, you might also like this 18th century, French mechanical table.
(via Neatorama and a tip from mjh)
Color Your Year, Pantone-style
Color your world, or at least your wall, with the 2013 Pantone calendar ($14.99). Designed by the legendary design firm Pentagram, each month is a pixel grid of colorliciousness. There is also a weekly desk agenda ($16.99) which also features a bevvy of color and inspiration.
(via Felt & Wire, Pentagram and Amazon)
Pipin’ Hot Desk Plans
The folks over at Carolina just built a beautiful, simple worktable from cast iron plumbers pipes and a heavy wood top. The table can be crafted at counter height or at dining height. It looks a little vintage Parisian workshop and a little steampunk-y. The Cartolina blog has download links to build your own table.
(via Poppytalk)