Pens! Fresh off my last post about small but perfectly formed collections, here's the latest on mine. It's grown, just a little bit. What's in since the last SotC: Pilot Capless LS. I listed this for sale soon after it arrived, because while it's by far my favourite Vanishing Point, I didn't fall in love … Continue reading State of the collection: June 2020
inks
Diving in to the world of Ferris Wheel Press
I'm a closet (graphic) design lover. I will stop in the street to admire a carefully chosen colour palette, and I mentally applaud when I see evidence of good typography practices in an advert or on packaging. So Canadian brand Ferris Wheel Press is kinda like catnip to me. As they'll proudly tell you, they … Continue reading Diving in to the world of Ferris Wheel Press
Anderillium Inks: the Cephalopod series
I already posted a quick introduction to Anderillium Inks, but here's a bit more detail about each of the colours, and most importantly, a few comparisons so you can judge what you're getting against some more familiar inks. Each of the inks is pH neutral, water-based and water-soluble, and hand-made in-house in Florida. The colours … Continue reading Anderillium Inks: the Cephalopod series
Snippets: Lamy notebooks, Anderillium inks, Pebble notebook and more
I became a dad (again) at the weekend, so my "free time for blogs" bucket has felt pretty empty the last few days, and I expect that state of affairs to continue. But a few quick updates to make you aware of: Lamy notebooks: worth a buy Write Here sent me a couple of the … Continue reading Snippets: Lamy notebooks, Anderillium inks, Pebble notebook and more
12 blues I’ve stuck with
A commenter recently asked whether I still reached for a particular blue ink, more than a year after I reviewed it. The answer was 'no', but it got me thinking about which inks I do still regularly reach for. Even after I cleared out a load of 70 inks earlier this summer, I still have … Continue reading 12 blues I’ve stuck with
Why (and how) I just sold 70 bottles of ink
I've said it before that ink accumulation is a much bigger problem (at least for me) than accumulating pens. Ink is cheap (ish), so it hardly seems worth selling individual bottles. It's heavy and fragile, so it's a pain to post. And when you use an ink, you're actually consuming it — a used pen … Continue reading Why (and how) I just sold 70 bottles of ink
Inky fingers, June 2019
I've had a few requests recently for ink-related posts. Despite my mediocre photography, I thought I'd share a few inks that I'm really enjoying at the moment — and a few that disappointed. Winners Edelstein Star Ruby After the faded sadness that was Edelstein Ruby, Star Ruby is simply fantastic. Vibrant, well-behaved, non-staining, and a … Continue reading Inky fingers, June 2019
My Japan haul: ink, paper and more
As is my way, I went to Japan with an exhaustively researched shopping list. I knew which items I wanted to investigate, I knew where was likely to stock them, and I knew roughly how much they were going to cost. But I still gave myself a few surprises. Inks Tokyo is the home of … Continue reading My Japan haul: ink, paper and more
12 inks for 2019: progress report and substitutions
If you remember way back to the start of the year, I set myself a challenge of using only 12 inks for my daily use in 2019. My only exceptions were to be for reviews and other 'one off' uses. So, three months in, how am I getting on? In short: much better than I … Continue reading 12 inks for 2019: progress report and substitutions
12 inks for 2019
What does an empty ink bottle look like? I watched in amazement in 2018 as people on my Instagram feed actually finished bottles of ink. The #emptyinkbottlechallenge seemed to me as crazy, admirable and impossible as running an ultramarathon. As of today, I have 166 full-size bottles of ink (excluding sample vials and duplicates), and … Continue reading 12 inks for 2019
