Truly, I considered doing a post without a single mention of the viral infection that has left us all quarantined in our homes but I just couldn’t. So, I put most of the posts in their own section this week. That way, if you are sick to tears of all the gloom-and-doom, you can just skip that section altogether. However, I did my best to include more uplifting links throughout this week’s Link Love, even in the Coronavirus-related section. My hope is that we can all join together, separately — the mating call of introverts everywhere.
Pen-and-paper enthusiasts are probably the best suited for this sort of self-isolation. We have our notebooks, pens and inks and probably a stack of books, films and series we’ve been dying to start. I know I have unfinished knitting and sewing projects, an assortment of 30 Days of (fill in the blank) projects I’ve either started or wanted to do and a pile of cookbooks with recipes I’ve been wanting to try for ages.
As for entertaining the younger folks, online craft videos, cooking and other projects can keep them entertained. Drawing on paper grocery bags to create maps, costumes or stories might be a great way to spend an afternoon.
Don’t forget to include a little fitness into your quarantine. There are tons of videos on YouTube from yoga, pilates and other fitness gurus especially designed to do in the comfort of your own home. Going for a walk, pulling weeds in your garden or a bike ride can be your new gym regime for the foreseeable future.
I know we are all stressed about the future, our health (and the health of our families) and when the next pen show might occur. Until then, let’s host our own virtual pens shows, complete with workshops and classes, history lessons and the like.
We will continue to post reviews and ideas here to keep you all inspired.
Pens:
- Waterman Carène Black Sea Fountain Pen (via Gourmet Pens)
- Nakaya Dorsal Fin 2 in Heki-Tamenuri (via The Pen Addict)
- Pilot Long/Short (via Flex & Other Follies)
- Pen Review: Leonardo Furore with Rose Gold Trim (via The Gentleman Stationer)
Ink:
- KWZI Sheen Machine – Saturated but Flowy! (via Gourmet Pens)
- An Ink Swatch Tarot Deck (via FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART)
- Troublemaker Freedom Park Rose (via Mountain of Ink)
- Kyo-no-oto 09 Sakuranezumi (via Mountain of Ink)
Pencils:
- The Best Truly American Pencil: New Releases from Musgrave Pencil Company (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Mirado B 1. (via Pencil Revolution!)
- Demo: Stay Sharp (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
Notebooks & Paper:
- Guest Post – Filofax Clipbook Personal – my ‘Goldilocks’ Filofax? – Jane (via Philofaxy)
- How to Make a Beautiful Envelope: A Guest Post (via The Postman’s Knock)
- Analogue v digital: journalling (via Nero’s Notes)
- Single Sheet of Paper Zine (via swissmiss)
- The Massive List Of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Ratings (via Fountain Pen Love)
- Baron Fig: Work Play Confidant III Review. (via The Finer Point)
- Weighing in (via Austin Kleon)
- Disinfecting Notebooks for Coronavirus (via Notebook Stories)
Art & Creativity:
- Drewscape’s Singapore 2050 Comic Interview (via Parka Blogs)
- 9 of the Best Paint Palettes for Mixing Pigments of All Kinds (via My Modern Met)
- Walkit sketching bags (via Liz Steel)
- How colour, pattern and materials become therapeutic (via Creative Boom)
- Creating patterns with your own stamps (via Flow Magazine)
Other Interesting Things:
- Things I’ve learned in the Fountain Pen Hobby : Sudhir Kalyanikar (via Inked Happiness)
- Exclusive: The city of Chicago has a new brand (via Fat Company)
- Why I don’t think blogging is dead (via My Giant Strawberry)
Coronavirus-related:
- COVID-19 comics (via wibble wibble)
- Recommended Analogue-Inspired Books to Read While You’re Shut In (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Tips on working from home: how to stay motivated and sane (via Creative Boom)
- Details on our COVID-19 Closure (via CW Pencil Enterprise)
- Rare Editions & Getting to Know Each Other (via Field Notes)
- My Life Under Coronavirus Quarantine. (via Apple-Pine)
- Adobe gives students free at-home Creative Cloud access during Covid-19 crisis (via It’s Nice That)
- 2,500 Museums You Can Now Visit Virtually (via Hyperallergic)
- “Viral” Movies About Outbreaks and Pandemics to Watch While You Social Distance (via Hyperallergic)
- Soothing live animal webcams to watch while you’re stuck at home (via The Verge)
- Despite Anxious Times, Museums Offer a “Moment of Zen” on Twitter (via Hyperallergic)
- Apple’s developer conference goes entirely online (via It’s Nice That)
- The benefits of kindness (via Flow Magazine)
Texting with a friend, she asked if I would be bored stuck at home. I texted back absolutely not! I have two shelves of unread books, three felt applique craft kits, a shelf of blank notebooks and a drawer of bottled ink, all my drawing pencils and colored pencils and gouache and ephemera for collages. She thought I was kidding so I sent pictures. 🙂