Pen Show season is in full swing right now. The Baltimore, Long Island and London pen shows have just passed and the Arkansas and Atlanta are coming up in the next few weeks. That said, the fears of a pandemic-level outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has already lead to the cancellation of one pen show event (the Maruzen World Fountain Pen Exhibition in Japan). While I understand the fears that people have about the virus, we are already seeing the loss of revenue for vendors (as well as hotels, restaurants, airlines, etc) in other fields as a result of events being cancelled (SXSW, Vogue Knitting Live Seattle, YarnCon Chicago, etc). As someone who both attends and vends at pen shows, I fear the financial repercussions as much as the health risks.
Do I have a recommendation or conclusion about this? I do not. But I have links for a song generator for your hand washing routine and opinions from others about the implications of viral fears.
And did I mention that the 6th Annual Pen Addict Live event is live on Kickstarter? Brad, Myke and I may be the only people at the Atlanta Pen Show if Covid-19 continues to spread but at least we will be filming it!
Speaking of podcasts, be sure to listen to Erasable 135 which was recorded live at the BWI Pen Show and featured some pencil talk from both Brad Dowdy and me.
Pens:
- Narwhal Piston-Fill Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
- Sharpie Roller and S-Gel Pen Review (via The Poor Penman)
- Leonardo Momento Zero Blue Hawaii Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
- AmazonBasics Fountain Pen (via Parka Blogs)
- The Origin Story Behind Pelikan’s Original M800 Tortoiseshell Brown (via The Pelikan’s Perch)
Ink:
- Vote on the next color of Herbin Anniversary Ink! (via Quo Vadis Blog)
- Akkerman Gourmet Pens Pink Ink Looks Fab in the Esterbrook Estie Lilac (100% Unbiased.) (via Gourmet Pens)
- Shimmering Ink Shoot-Out (via Too many pens)
- Diamine Amaranth (via Mountain of Ink)
- Pure Pens Inks (via Mountain of Ink)
Pencils:
- Erasable Live 135. (via Pencil Revolution!)
- Vintage Colored Pencils: Caran d’Ache Aquarelle (Another Mystery) (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
- On Erasers (via Yale Daily News)
- On varieties of pencils (via The Princetonian)
Notebooks & Paper:
- Life L Writing Paper Review (via Fountain Pen Love)
- 4 reasons to start a diary (via Flow Magazine)
- Muji Notebook Review: A6 Slim (via Notebook Stories)
- Japan’s Obsession with Paper (via Notebook Stories)
- Tru Red Notebook Review from Staples (via Notebook Stories)
- How to make a zine from a single sheet of paper (via Austin Kleon)
Art & Creativity:
- Book Review: Get Up & Gouache by Jessica Smith (via Parka Blogs)
- Book Review: 365 Days of Creativity: Inspire Your Imagination with Art Every Day (via Parka Blogs)
- New to Art? Make Sure You Know These Tips for Drawing Black and White (via My Modern Met)
- Linguistic Constellations (via Kottke.org)
- Day Two : #OneWeek100People 2020 : From Silhouettes to Puzzle-People (via Citizen Sketcher)
- ONE WEEK 100 PEOPLE: Sketching Challenge (March 9-13, 2020) (via Apple-Pine)
Typewriters:
- Typewriter paintings by Pawel Kuczynski (via The Typewriter Revolution blog)
- Tom Carment’s Typewriter Paintings (via oz.Typewriter)
- Changing the Feed Rollers on a Bijou (Erika) Model 5 Portable Typewriter (via oz.Typewriter)
Other Interesting Things:
- The Pen Addict Live 2020: Atlanta and Dallas by NockCo (via Kickstarter)
- Baltimore Pen Show 2020 Vacation Slideshow (via Penquisition)
- Fountain Pen Quest Trail Log – Long Island Pen Show Edition (via Fountain Pen Quest)
- Review: Lochby Tool Wrap for Artists and Writers (via Parka Blogs)
- Dots, Dashes, and Lines Form Astronomical Maps Painted by Shane Drinkwater (via Colossal)
- 4K 60Fps Video Shows Colorized Footage Of NYC In 1911 (via Design You Trust)
- Coming Soon: ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ for Nintendo Switch (via Tools and Toys)
- 5 tips for a good morning routine (via Flow Magazine)
- Our Subpar National Parks (via Kottke.org)
Covid-19:
- Wash Your Lyrics (via every social media thread this week)
- A Daily Report on How COVID-19 Is Impacting the Art World (via Hyperallergic)
- Pens Shows and Covid-19 Virus – Updated Attendee Info 23:40 6/3/20 (via dapprman)
- How to Stop the Spread of COVID-19: Cancel Everything (via Kottke.org)
- COVID-19 Empties Out Public Spaces (via Kottke.org)
- Hand Washing for Coronavirus |Vintage Nurses (via Glamour Daze)
Ugh, sorry to hear that this is causing you financial difficulties. Possibly related: any estimate on when those wonderful Sherlock Holmes notebooks are likely to be released? =)
We are expecting the notebooks to be available in about 2 weeks. Just sent all the files to the printer.