The Well-Appointed Desk

I had to run some errands today and one required that I go to my local art supply store, Blick Art Materials. While there, I wandered down the pen aisle and remembered why I love shopping at art supply stores. First, there are individual pens and pencils available for purchase and scrap paper to test the colors and nib widths. The staff and clientele all love pens, paper, ink and other creative tools so they are always fun conversationalists. And finally, it is instant gratification for just a few dollars.

I looked for new and unusual colors in the felt tip pen aisle — one of my favorite types of pens. Since I was able to swatch the colors, I was able to get colors I actually liked (I put several back because they were too light, too similar or not unique enough from my collection) from my favorite brands: Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, Stabilo Point 88 , Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Pens and Marvy LePens.

I grabbed a few fun colors. I particularly like the Staedtler Triplus Fineline in “Brown” which looks like a deep pumpkin orange to me and the “Olive Green” which is in the range of my favorite murky swampy green hue. The Stabilo Point 88 Olive Green looks more like a deep forest green or a green black but I like it. The Pitt Brush pen is a light mossy green but called “Earth Green”. There were so many unique colors to choose from and the Pitt Brush Pens I own currently have lasted forever so I might get a couple more colors next time I pop into Blick.

I continue to add to my Marvy LePen collection with the Pale Mauve –quite a bit lighter than I expected–but it adds to the collection and the Sepia and Black to round out my assortment. I think there are only a few colors in the LePen line I don’t own yet. It was a childhood favorite and I still love them. Some of that love is probably nostalgia but they keep making good pens, in good colors at good prices so how can I resist?

The selection of rollerball and gel pens at Blick was a bit lacking so I didn’t find anything else I wanted but I was tickled to see that they are starting to stock things like Tom’s Studio pens, Platinum Carbon Black ink and an array of converters including Pilot, Sailor and Platinum!

In closing, sometimes its okay to add more of what you love to your stationery collection. And also, its okay to add to your collection one pen at a time. Sets seem like a great deal but if you end up with colors or nib/tip sizes you won’t use, its not the good deal you thought it would be. Local art supply shops are great options for finding open stock (items available in bins, not in sets or in blister packs) pens and pencils and they often will allow you to test the nibs and colors on sample papers or in your own notebook.

Maybe you don’t have an art supply or stationery shop near you to peruse but maybe the local office store, big box, drugstore or dollar store can provide a little stationery delight for you. We all love expensive grail fountain pens, fancy inks and high-end notebooks and planners but we also have a soft spot for the pens we loved as a kid, composition notebooks or stickers from Daiso. Its okay to splurge if your splurge is under $20.

The items featured in this review were purchased with my own money. I am not an affiliate and receive no compensation for this post. I just like my local Blick Art Materials store.