I’ve had one of those days that makes this new calendar product just about the most perfect thing to share with you today. Its the Mehffirmations 365-day tearaway calendar. Everyday, you get a snarky or slightly demotivating statement. I can think of a few friends who would appreciate this. And for a mere $14.99, I might invest in a couple of them.
PS: Apologies for no posts earlier today but the ogres of the offices put the screws to me today. I promise to double-up today!
Lauren Conrad collected some great tips on interviewing like a pro. Some of the tips are specifically lady-related (hair out of your face) but many tips can apply to men as well (like not tweeting post-interview and writing a thank you note).
I love her tips but I didn’t think the image Lauren used represented the proper look for an interview. The skirt and sweater combo was perfect but the messy hair and the sandals were not appropriate for an interview. She needed that ‘do tied into a sleek low ponytail and flats or modest heels. So says me. I say, ladies, find your inner Grace Kelly prior to a big meeting or interview and save the sandals and loose ‘do for casual Fridays.
(via Lauren Conrad)
Need a bright stocking stuffer for a younger relative or just something to brighten up your office through the grey days of winter? These inexpensive, color composition notebooks from Office Depot are just $2.99 each. Get a whole stack and feel fine handing one to a co-worker who forgot to bring paper to a meeting. I suspect this is cheap notebook paper best used with pencil or a rollerball or gel pen but for $2.99, I’m willing to leave my fountain pens aside for the day.
Pair those notebooks with a set of colorful Jonathan Adler pencils from See Jane Work. The set of 10 pencils is an array of colorful patterns is just $10 and comes in a tube. These may not be the best quality graphite but they will certainly put a smile on your face and a little color in that beige cubicle.
(Thanks to Shelley over on Pinterest for picking these out!)
All you vintage Esterbrook fountain pen fans might want to take a close look at this collection. See anything unusual? These pens all belong to my friend Rob L. He has been squirreling away vintage fountain pens for as long as I’ve known him. This week, he brought his rare and unusual Esterbrooks to share with me — and as a result, with you as well!
If you’re not familiar with Esterbrooks, I’ll fill you in on what makes these so special. The first pen on the left is a lovely root beer color and is considered the early-1940s bandless $1.00 pen. What makes this one unusual is the lack of a chrome ring around the cap opening. The turquoise pen is a $1.50 super-rare cracked ice model that is difficult to find, and when you do, the auction prices get ridiculous. Rob wouldn’t tell me what he paid for it simply saying he got “a really good deal on it”. The middle pen is a early model J-series Visumaster (circa 1941 or so) which is so unique because of the striping pattern and a small clear plastic band around the grip to see your ink flow. The black pen is an early 30s V-Clip. The last pen is a hard rubber pen in the $1.00 style. According to the information I could find online, by the time the $1.00 pens were introduced, Esterbrook had switched to plastic. This one remains a bit of a mystery.
With Esterbrooks, you can easily collect the pen bodies separate from your nib preference. The nibs can easily be swapped out so that’s why I didn’t bother to show the actual nibs of these Esterbrooks. Rob squirrels away NOS Esterbrook nib units too, so as long as he finds a pen body he likes, he can put in his favorite nib unit. He kindly provided me with my 9128 flexible nib, mint in the box, so I say, “Keep squirreling those Esterbrook parts, Rob!”
If you’ve seen my Esterbrook collection, you’ll know that I have mostly J-Series Transitionals and Double Jewels which date from the 1940s to the early 50s so seeing Rob’s rare vintage gems was quite a treat. Sadly, he made me give them back.
(shoutout to Esterbrook.net for all the handy information, and to Rick Conner’s Penspotters, Anderson Pens and Ward-o-Matic for the vintage ads!)
Since I’ve been on the subject of brush pens, I thought I’d share a tip for getting more mileage out of the brush tips in Faber-Castell PITT Brush pens. All you need to do is use a rag or paper towel and gently grab the worn out tip of the pen and pull. Out it will pop and on the reverse end will be a brand-new and hopefully much finer point on the other end. Just insert the tip back in to the pen gently, holding the tip with your towel on the sides. Don’t push on the tip to reinsert it or you’ll squash the nice crisp point. Hopefully, this will help you get a few more pages out of your PITT brush pens.
I haven’t tried this with any other disposable brush pen but if its one-step away from the trash can, it might be worth trying this technique to try to keep it working for you as long as possible.
Keep the pointy side sharp!
I have been stockpiling brush pens for awhile now and I though I’d do a little round-up of the ones I’ve liked the best. These are all basically disposable pocket pens that use either a felt/fiber sponge-like material for the tip or a more rubbery polymer material for the tip. None of these use actual bristle-style brushes. When I did the actual drawing test I could not identify two of the pens as all the writing on the pen is in Japanese. After some careful study, I noticed the Mitsubishi logo on both pens and was able to establish that they were from Uni-Ball (a division of Mistubishi). Please read the notes for details as some of the writing sample information in the photo is not accurate. Sorry!
From top to bottom:
The numbers to the left are my personal ranking of the pens though I like them all for various uses. My favorite was the Uni-Ball Pocket Brush with the finer point. It lays down a dark black and can create a lot of line variation from thick to very fine. The Uni-Ball Double Sided Pocket Brush was #2 only because I didn’t figure out until after I shot the photos that the opposite end of the pen held the same point as the Uni-Ball pocket brush so it is really the top of my list. The thick porous end is great fun with lots of variation in lightweights. I use this pen in place of a Sharpie permanent a lot of the time because it doesn’t make my writing all clumpy like the stubby end of a Sharpie even though it isn’t waterproof. The Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen was the finest point, good for writing at small sizes or detail work in drawing. It was pretty water resistant. The Copic Multiliner Brush S is a long point with a porous felt-like tip. It seemed the most likely to suffer wear and dull at the point but was the most water-resistant.
These pens are lots of fun to use and are not so expensive that you couldn’t grab one or two and try them out. If you’ve ever wanted to play around with a flexible nib, these are a fun introduction and brush lettering can be quite a beautiful thing!
Here’s a few other brush pen round-ups you might like:
I’ve mentioned other brush pens in the past like my favorite bristle-style, the Pentel pocket brush which is refillable. There is also the Faber-Castell brush pens, the Sakura Pigma Brush pens and many others. I’ve tried to stick with the pens that are more inclined to be used for writing or Sketchnoting rather than the large array of watercolor inspired pens. Please let me know if I missed your favorite.
Vintage toy typewriter collection. Mmmmm, start the love of typewriters and writing young!
(via Collectors Weekly)
