Several months ago, the team that creates Formal Dept (illustrator Kate Pugsley and industrial designer Charlie McArthur) launched a Kickstarter to develop a watercolor dish and cup set. I was super excited to see the project reach it’s goal. Unfortunately, the Kickstarter launched in the middle of pandemic lockdown which affected the outcome and it…
Review by Tina Koyama It’s no secret that I love Tombow Irojiten colored pencils, inside and out. Aside from their beautiful glossy white lacquer and even more beautiful end caps, these wax-based pencils are a delight to use. As much as I could go on about them, I won’t repeat what I wrote in my…
Review by Laura Cameron Some lovely friends sent me an even lovelier gift this holiday season: the new Franklin Christoph Penvelope 3 ($25) in Cranberry. This natural wood fiber (NWF) 3-pen case is a perfect fit in my handbag and will hold 3-5 of my favorite pens. (if you don’t mind them touching!) The NWF…
Review by Tina Koyama One distinctive characteristic of the popular Palomino Blackwing pencil is its trademark large, flat eraser and ferrule that make the Blackwing about an inch longer than conventional woodcased pencils. While I have many pencil cases, most are not quite long enough to accommodate new or freshly sharpened Blackwings. I’ve been looking…
Over the past six years (yes, NockCo has been at this case making for awhile now) or so NockCo has made quite a few pen cases. I’ve had the honor and privilege of getting to test drive most of them. This has given me the ability to really see when and where certain cases shine.…
Review by Tina Koyama Conventional wallets don’t seem to meet my needs anymore. Like many people, I carry a lot more plastic than paper these days. Most wallet designs still offer plenty of space for cash while being relatively stingy with card slots. I was attracted to the design of the Kurochiku Accordion Card Case…
What surprised me most about the Galen Leather Crazy Horse Brown 40-Pen Case ($95) when it arrived was how compact it was. The idea of carrying 40 pens in one case is pretty epic. Galen Leather has figured out how to make what should be an insanely large case into one that’s actually usable. And…
