I Need A Pen Store!

Last week, Frank from Fontoplumo launched a new website, ineedapenstore.com. His goal was to create a centralized location to help people who might be looking for nice pen shops around the world.  The site will also list manufacturers.
As the site is just getting started, a  lot of shops and info still needs to be added. But you can help! There are multiple ways people can add or suggest a shop:
  1. On the website, click “add “and choose “visitor”, then enter the details
  2. Email Hello@ineedapenstore.com to recommend a shop. Please try to include as much information as possible.
  3. 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.
At the moment, the search area needs an option to “search by country” or an option to key in a country and see what stores are in that country. When traveling to another country, I am not likely to know a specific city name or town that might be just outside a major metropolitan area. I do hope that this option is added.
Also, I wish the map on the home page was clickable. The US is a big country but we have statistically very few brick-and-mortar pen shops. I just want to click and see ALL THE SHOPS!
Have you submitted your favorite local pen shop yet?

Link Love: The Other Stanley Cup

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:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:


Thanks for reading The Well-Appointed Desk. If you’d like to show your support with cold, hard cash, join our Patreon. You can also support our our sponsors by clicking on links in our posts or leave a note with your order letting them know you heard about them here. Your patronage supports this site. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

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

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

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

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!

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:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Planners & Organization:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Thanks for being a loyal reader of this site. Please support our sponsors or join our Patreon. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!