- On the website, click “add “and choose “visitor”, then enter the details
- Email Hello@ineedapenstore.com to recommend a shop. Please try to include as much information as possible.
- There are links on the bottom of the website to WhatsApp, telegram, Facebook and Instagram so you can send a message with your favorite pen shop that way.
Link Love: The Other Stanley Cup
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been utterly fascinated by the fervor surrounding the Stanley Pink Tumbler collabs that turned a January morning at Target into Black Friday Mayhem (see the link below in “Other Interesting Things”). It’s an incident that has led to conjecture, concern, head shaking and more. Is it another example of the never ending trend cycles that have been exacerbated by social media? Or are people just getting swept up in the excitement and enthusiasm?I have no specific desire or interest to own a Stanley water container, but I have been guilty of getting swept up in the FOMO and excitement around a limited edition ink or pen. Haven’t we all?
Pens:
- Review: M600 Red-White (2023) (via The Pelikan’s Perch)
- Dip Pens Part 2: Ink and Watercolour (via Writing at Large)
- News: M200 Orange Delight Special Edition (via The Pelikan’s Perch)
- Dessa Can’t Do Without Her Pilot Razor Point (via The Cramped)
Ink:
- Introducing the T.G.S. Fountain Pen Ink Review Archive! (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- thINKthursday – Sailor 50 States Virginia (via Anderson Pens Blog)
- Ink Battle: Sailor and Sailor (via Rachel’s Reflections)
- space works: colorverse nasa blue (via A Fleeting Ripple)
- Offbeat Blue Inks: Trying Darker Teals and Turquoises (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Robert Oster Woolacombe Bay (via Inkcredible Colours)
- Ink Review #2484: Private Reserve Tropical Blue (via Mountain of Ink)
- Troublemaker Inks Petrichor Review (via The Pen Addict)
Pencils:
- Namisu Pulsar Polycarbonate Mechanical Pencil Review (via The Pen Addict)
- Vintage Berol Prismacolor “Limited Edition” Set (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
Notebooks & Paper:
- The Saga continues… (via Nero’s Notes)
- Studio Neat: Panobook (via Stationery Pizza)
- The harmony in a simple index tab (via mnmlscholar)
- Changing Your Set Up? (via Philofaxy)
- How I Pocket Notebook | cygnoir.net (via The Cramped)
- On Keeping A Daily Log – Rhoneisms (via The Cramped)
- Baby Steps into Bullet Journaling (via Modern Daily Knitting)
- Journaling Series: My Current Journaling Setup (via Writing at Large)
Art & Creativity:
- The creative’s guide to resolutions: how to set and keep your goals for 2024 (via Creative Boom)
- Do We Still Collectively Care About the Pantone COY? Color Experts Weigh In (via Dieline – Design, Branding & Packaging Inspiration)
- Tips on starting an art journal, and why it can boost your creativity in 2024 (via Creative Boom
- Saying Goodbye to the Christmas Tree (via Apple-Pine)
Other Interesting Things:
- On the quest for a life well lived and loved. // Love Letter, January (via Baum-kuchen)
- The Stanley Water Bottle Craze, Explained (via Kottke.org)
- With gratitude and more gratitude (via Baum-kuchen)
- Sharing Our 2024 Goals (via Yoseka Stationery)
- 2024 Philadelphia Pen Show Recap (via The Pen Addict)
- Philly Pen Show Chat 2024 (via Gourmet Pens)
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Planners and STICKERS Oh my!
So this year is the first year that I’ve really tried to go all out in my journaling. I find myself using my Paper Republic calendar more for work and everyday to dos, but I’m enjoying trying to jot down a few bullet points each day in a journal I’m keeping (and so far I haven’t missed a day!).
This has meant that I’ve also been looking for some visual elements to add to my journal. I already loved washi tape and had several rolls, but my knitting group started discussing stickers and I appear to have fallen down a bit of a rabbit hole. Here are a few of the things I’ve bought (and of course handy shopping links for you as well!)
First up, I have to shout out Symposi Press. While the shop is current closed for medical leave, the owner is a knitter and I have some lovely knit night stickers from her. I also see yarn ball, sweaters and more in her sold items. I can’t wait for her to come back so I can purchase a few more items!
Whimsy Inkk kind of has my heart. From skulls to mermaids to holidays and farm animals, I sort of want one of everything in her shop! And these aren’t just labels, they’re high quality glossy stickers!
Etsy really is a treasure trove of sticker makers. When I wanted something simple and easy for holidays and to do lists, Jude Anne Designs let me choose fonts and colors and ordering was easy!
I’ve got a few more things on order that I’ll share in the future, but I have to ask. Do you use stickers? Who are your favorite artists to support?
Writing as Part of Slow Living Movement
(This post, while started before last week’s AI post, seems like an appropriate follow-up.)
As the standstill of the COVID lockdown becomes a distant memory, our society has become more and more hurried again. How many times have you replied to the question, “How are you doing?” with the reply “Busy!” or heard someone else do the same? What are we so bust doing? And are we happy to be doing all this “busyness”?
I catch myself doing this too. Always in a hurry, thinking I must complete this task or that. I run around with a never ending to-do list or wake in the middle of the night with yet another “Oh no, I forgot to do (fill-in-the-blank)!”
I don’t want to go back to lockdown life (though I miss the sourdough and jigsaw puzzles) but I also don’t want to race around my days like everything is urgent. I want to make time for reading, assembling those jigsaw puzzles, going for walk or writing in my journal. I want to learn to bake my own sourdough, sit and knit, lay on the ground watch the clouds pass overhead.
The rushed, stressful pace that I feel my life taking is neither healthy nor satisfying. I want to leave time for thinking. Being bored is a good thing! As fellow pen-and-paper lovers, I suspect you feel similarly. We need time to reflect and process.
Taking more time to do things is a central tenet of The Slow Living Movement. This lifestyle (or ethos, or whatever you want to call it) started gaining attention along side the minimalist movement — pre-pandemic. When we were all forced to slow down, fewer people discussed Slow Living as anything more than our life at the time. Now that things are pacing back up, I think more and more about doing less and less.
Some of the core concepts behind Ryder Carroll’s Bullet Journal system is prioritizing and, in the process, removing “must-do’s” from your list if you’ve continued to migrate tasks week after week — is it still something you need or want to do? It’s about using the act of writing as a way of making contentious choices.
As an introvert and a bookish human, I think I’ve always wanted a slower life. I find that taking time to write everyday helps me feel more grounded and my brain feels less chaotic. I relish hobbies that require that I take time like knitting, reading and making art.
Where do you stand on the fast- or slow-paced life? Does writing and pens help you fit more in or help you cherry pick fewer tasks to persue?
Fashionable Friday: Peachy Keen
- Hobonichi Techo Weeks Cover in Liberty Fabrics Hollyhocks ($129)
- YSTUDIO Glamour Evolve Rollerball Pen in Sunset Orange ($49.95)
- Mark’s A5 Academic Weekly Planner 2024 in Mountain Orange ($31.50)
- Pentel Fude Touch Brush Sign Pen in Coral Orange ($2.50)
- Pennonia Rági Bubblegum Ink ($16 for 60ml bottle)
- IWI Colors of Nature Spring Equinox Ink ($3.75 for 4ml sample)
- Midori 12-month Diary Gate Pink ($14.60)
- Pantone Color of the Year Limited Edition Mug 2024 ($30)
- Peach Bellini Signature Single Wick Candle ($16.95)
- KBShimmer You Wanna Peach Of Me Nail Polish ($12.00)
- TONYMOLY Peach Hand Cream ($10.96)
- “Garde la pêche” (loosely translates to “Stay Feeling Good”) Peach Enamel Pin ($12.59)
- Mini Peach Sticker ($2.75)
DISCLAIMER: Some items in this post include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.i
AI in the Pen Community
I don’t think it occurred to me that AI might ever rear its head into the pen and stationery community. Since so much of what we use in this community is hard goods and, often, very timeless goods at that, it does seem surprising that AI would ever be a topic we might discuss. However, Laura brought it to my attention that a recent release from Ferris Wheel Press The 2024 Aurorealis Limited Edition Ink utilized AI in its development and packaging design.
Notable design details:
-
By embracing new technology, we’ve used AI to help conceptualise Cybearnice’s high-fashion futuristic garb, complete with stylish damask details and anti-radiation technology.
The description definitely makes me wonder if the copy for their promotion of the product wasn’t also written by AI.
The addition of “anti-radiation technology” is seriously suss as well. Is Ferris Wheel Press suggesting other inks or inks from other manufacturers are radioactive? Even if its just supposed to be “playful” wording, I don’t think you should joke about radiation.
Beyond the oddness of the promotional copy, as a pen-and-ink consumer, are you more or less likely to purchase a product that you know to be created with AI?
More discussion about the Ferris Wheel Aurorealis ink can be found on Reddit.
Link Love: The One Without A Title!
The first pen show of 2024 is in the books. Don’t miss Philadelphia Pen Show: The Short Show Recap from The Gentleman Stationer!
Also, great minds think alike: Stationery.Pizza also posted about using a syringe to fill a TWSBI this week!
Pens:
- BENU Talisman Hawks Eye Unboxing and Review (via Penultimate Dave)
- Zodiac Pen Company Aries Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
- Refilling the VAC700R with Syringes (via Stationery.Pizza)
- Opus 88 Demo 2022 Color of the Year Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
- Dip Pens Part 1: Some Basics (via Writing at Large)
- Pen Review: The TWSBI Precision Fountain Pen (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Pen Resolutions Tag 2024 (via Rachel’s Reflections)
- A Bock Mystery (via Rachel’s Reflections)
- The One In Which I Admit the Pen Floodgates Opened (via From the Pen Cup)
Ink:
- Ink Review #2479: R&K Isatis Tinctoria (via Mountain of Ink)
- Robert Oster Palo Verde (via Inkcredible Colours)
- Currently Inked January 2024 (via Wonder Pens)
- The Chartist Inks Swatch Tests (via FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART)
- 17 Ink Questions (via Dime Novel Raven)
- Ink Review #795: Laban Greek Mythology Apollo Orange (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
Pencils:
- Blackwings (via Nero’s Notes)
- The 27 Best Pencils for 2024: Wooden and Mechanical Pencils (via JetPens)
- Review: AFMAT Electric Pencil Sharpener (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
Notebooks & Paper:
- 2024 Notebook Maximalism (via The Pen Addict)
Planners & Organization:
- LH Agenda Planner Review (Goal Planner with horizontal plus notes weekly layout) (via All About Planners)
- Planning Household and Garden Tasks (via Philofaxy)
- 2024 CALENDARS/DIARIES (via print & pattern)
- Habit trackers track, even when I’m not tracking (via mnmlscholar)
- Analogue System 2024 (via Wonder Pens)
- GTD System (via Hjertnes)
Art & Creativity:
- My fountain pen drawings in 2023 (via Inkcredible Colours)
- Reboot your creativity: how to reclaim momentum if your January is dragging (via Creative Boom)
- Super fun watercolour experiments sketching fruit and veg (via Liz Steel)
- Reflections on a Year of Journaling (via The Pen Addict)
- Color Therapy (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
- Winter Europe Trip: Sketching Tools (via Apple-Pine)
- What are we looking for? (via A Gathering of Curiosities)
- Japan Trip 2024: Journal Comix Report, 15 January (via Urban Adventure League)
Other Interesting Things:
- AI can do your homework. Now what? (via Kottke)
- The Quencher Cup Craze: Stanley’s Next Move Could Mean Sustainability Success or Disaster (via Dieline)
- New Love Stamp Flies into Your Post Office (via USPS)
- Top 10 Work Backpacks 2024 (via Carrylogy)
- Eating my Hats: Diamine Early Dusk and Leonardo Andromeda (via A Gathering of Curiosities)
- LEGO Ideas 21345 Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Camera (via Tools and Toys)
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