Laura and I had an idea a couple weeks ago to start featuring some of our favorite folks from the pen community. Every so often, we’ll have a post of someone amazing we’ve found on YouTube, Instargam, TikTok or wherever we find them on the internet.
To kick off our new series, I want to introduce Jenn Smith, an artist, designer and fountain pen and ink enthusiast. She has creating a woodworked sample vial holder with Nagomi Woodworking and fills her Instagram feed with beautiful swatches of ink in her lovely penmanship.
It was actually cool this morning. Like, I needed a sweater and socks! I immediately went out and bought some Pumpkin Spice Coffee because in my heart, Autumn is coming and I’m ready to embrace it with two hands — one with a steamy mug and the other with fresh muffin. Hello, Autumn! We missed you.
That makes me want to get out my moody, misty, darker colors in pens and inks. I have always loved grey inks and particularly purply greyish inks. I discovered that I have a few in my stash and have added a few others recently so I thought I’d compare them this week.
Sailor Chu Shu has been one of my favorite grey inks for years — its definitely a purply grey with a cool undertone. Last year, I discovered Diamine (Green Edition) Ghost which is lighter and a bit of a multichromatic purple-grey with an undertone of yellow (sort of). I have a teeny 15ml bottle of Colorverse Anti-Matter that came in a set with Matter which was a 60ml pigment black. I liked both inks but wished I could get a larger bottle of Anti-Matter. Though, at this point with Chu Shu and Ghost, I have plenty of greyish purple that looks very similar. In DC, I picked up a bottle of Diamine (Black Edition) Marley which is closest to Anti-Matter — a sort of purple-black. Finally, Kala Abstraction Pigment Ink in Mongolian Sandstorm which leans slightly more mauve and is water resistant.
Looking at all the colors on a single page shows a little bit more variation in the colors. Marley looks a bit more raspberry to Ghost which is more blackberry and Chu Shu looks almost like grape juice and Anti-Matter looks like plum.
I like all of these and I’m curious which shade will rise to the top of my most-used list. Which one is your favorite?
DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
I am off to San Francisco today but I am getting so excited for Autumn and 2026 planner season. Next Monday is the official launch day for Hobonichi and, for us stationery folks, the official start of Autumn. To get prepared, check out some of these posts:
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As Ana shared in her post last week, there’s another contender for Mocha Mousse ink! Monteverde is stepping into the ring with MP1 Mocha Mousse. The pen & ink will be debuting soon, but Yafa gave us a little bit of a sneak peek at the ink in giving Ana a few vials!
Monteverde’s Mocha Mousse is exactly what I think of when I think of Mocha Mousse. It’s rich, velvety chocolate brown with just a hint of red in there. I don’t know if it matches the Pantone color super closely, but it makes my mouth water!
The ink itself is a shader, with no sheen. Just lovely chocolately goodness. I did notice that in heavy ink droplet applications it feathered a bit on my Mnemosyne notebook paper, but I didn’t see the same result on my Crossfield Journal (old Tomoe River).
So how does it stack up? I put it right next to Endless Alchemy’s Mocha Mousse Delight and the two are pretty close. The lighter parts of the Monteverde version are close to the darker parts of Endless Alchemy’s version, although I do think Endless Alchemy’s version is a tad bit yellower.
Are you sick of Mocha Mousse yet? Or jamming along with it?
DISCLAIMER: Special thanks to Yafa Brands who sent us the ink sample for the purposes of review. Other items may have been received for review, or purchased with our own funds. Please see the About page for more details.
I’ve loved my Galen Leather 3-Slot Pen Case that I’ve had for years (EIGHT YEARS!!!) so I was excited to compare the feel and color with a new Havana Brown case.
What I most noticed is that the color of the 3-Slot case has darkened significantly over the years. It is frequently handled and carried (YMMV). I think the Havana Brown case has a very similar color quality to my aged and patina-ed standard Crazy Horse case.
From left to right, Galen 40-Slot Zippered Pen Case in Crazy Horse Honey Ochre,Galen 10-Slot Zippered Pen Case in Crazy Horse Havana Brown and an almost 10-year old Galen 3-Slot Zipper Pen Case in Crazy Horse Brown (the color has darkened significantly over time)
One of the most notable differences between the two shades of Crazy Horse (Honey Ochre and Havana Brown) is the interior suede colors. The Honey Ochre has a very honey yellow colored suede interior while the Havana Brown interior is a warmer russet brown.
There are two suede flaps that cover the pens. I’m still inclined to think that one flap would be enough and that the two flaps is overkill. Though if you are concerned about the zipper touching the pens inside the case, the sueded flaps definitely provide some protection.
I own mostly smaller pens but I thought I’d fill the case with a wide assortment and include my larger models to test how well they all fit.
The larger Benu pens (two pens on the far right) were a bit difficult to squeeze under the elastics but all the other pens fit fine. Super long pens might not fit but I didn’t run into any issues with the other sizes. Super slim pens might fit loosely.
I have a Girologio 10-pen case (previously reviewed in denim) which is notably larger in size overall. The slim proportions of the Galen 10-Slot case make it less bulky and more portable but if you keep larger-than-average pens, could feel snug.
DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
This is just a quick reminder that there are only a few days left before the San Francisco Pen Show. There are still a few spots left in my workshops so you ill want to sign-up as soon as possible so that I pack enough kits and that you don’t miss your chance to take one of these workshops:
Sign up here to reserve your spot in one of the four workshops I’ll be hosting:
I have been using Kaweco Caramel Brown ink almost all year long in my journal and planners. I have refilled the same pen with this deep chocolatey brown repeatedly. The bottle is actually starting to run dry so I wanted to poke around my collection to see if I can find the back-up option.
The other inks in my stash are slightly different in hue but they are all good options when my current bottle runs out or if I want to swap out my “signature” brown.
I would say of the inks in my current the new Monteverde Mocha Mousse (I was given a bottle at the DC Pen Show but its not available for sale yet. I think it will be released with the MP1 Mocha Mousse pen which is due to drop sometime in August). Next up would be the Coffee Break ink from Colorverse. Its a little lighter in color but is a warm brown and would feel a little woodsy, a little vintage and a little cozy. Robert Oster Caffe Crema is a favorite ink of mine. Its a yellow-y brown hue with some sheen (sometimes, a little bluish rim will appear on the edges of letterforms on certain papers with certain nibs) and shading.
My last option would be the KWZ It Smells Like Coffee. I feel like I should eventually learn my lesson that I do not like scented inks. Yes, it does smell like coffee but an hour later, it still smells like coffee and I keep thinking I have coffee on my fingers or spilled on me and I start looking around. Now my notebook will forever smell like coffee and I won’t be able to shake the odor. Sigh… The color is a bit darker brown than Caramel Brown with a slight cool undertone.
So, I think I’ll probably refill my pen with Mocha Mousse or Coffee Break next time it needs a refill.
Do you have a favorite brown ink? Let me know in the comments!
