Today’s intro is going to be a little brief. This weekend I came down with a cold. By Sunday, I had to wonder… is it a cold? So, in a torrential downpour on Sunday, I went for a COVID-19 test, just to be sure. It was negative. Yeah, I don’t have the ‘rona. But I still have a cold. So, I have been slogging through the week with the sniffles and a cough and today my voice sounds all weird and gravelly — more so than usual. But no ‘rona. So I’m relieved, but still annoyed.
I highly recommend reading our lone pencil post this week that delves into some patent disputes in the history of pens and pencils. It makes me wonder if these patent disputes regarding pen and pencil shapes could or do happen today?
Two lifelong debates are settled here this week: the first about how to store your pens and the other on which way toilet paper should be rolled.
Finally, big thanks to Laura and her exhaustive efforts, the Pen Show Schedule has been updated and includes all current show dates and links for 2021 and what we know for 2022.
Pens:
- Platinum Curidas Retractable Fountain Pen (via Gourmet Pens)
- Pineider Arco Blue Bee (via dapprman)
- What Do I Look For in a Ballpoint Refill? (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Pen Boutique Exclusive Apollo Soyuz Retro 51 (via Pen Boutique Ltd)
- How to Store Pens (via JetPens)
Ink:
- Taccia Ukiyo-e Hokusai-Sabimidori (via Inkdependence!)
- Orange!! (via Ink Addict)
- What Are Typical Sheen And Ink Color Combinations? – Fountain Pen Love
- Cult pens – Sweet Sixteen, beautiful and mine! all mine, mine, MINE! (via Fountain Pen Ink Art)
- L’Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Heure Doree (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
- Inkuisition – Birmingham Pen Co. (via The Poor Penman)
- Van Dieman’s Spotted Sun Orchid (via Mountain of Ink)
- Monteverde Sapphire on Kokuyo Campus (via Inkcredible Colours)
- Diplomat Fountain Pen Ink Comparison (via Pen Chalet)
- Sailor Ink Studio Number System Explained (via Yoseka Stationery)
Pencils:
- A Pox Upon All Things Round (via The Leadhead’s Pencil Blog)
Notebooks & Paper:
- TRU RED Graphed Journal (via Mountain of Ink)
- Thinkers Notebook (5mm dot grid softcover) and Thinkers App review (via All About Planners)
- Page Lifters (via Philofaxy)
- Emily Ley for At a Glance Planner versus the Original Emily Ley Simplified Planner: Which is better? (via All About Planners)
- Notebook Review: Staples TRU RED Starter Journal (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Yoseka Stationery Notebook for Fountain Pen Lovers (via Gourmet Pens)
- Pebble Stationery co’s Artisan cosmo light x liberty london wiltshire a5 notebook (via Fountain Pen Ink Art)
Art & Creativity:
- Cross Back Apron In Spectrum Cotton (via Purl Soho)
- The New Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course is Here! (via The Postman’s Knock)
- Watch as David Hockney Pages Through His Sketchbook (via kottke.org)
- Alternatives for Manganese Blue PB33 (via Parka Blogs)
- A Beautiful Guide to Colors in the Natural World, Revisited 200 Years Later (via Hyperallergic)
- How prop design transports actors into a different world: Annie Atkins on career tips, Wes Anderson and more (via It’s Nice That)
- How Lee Miller Cast Her Surrealist Eye on British Vogue (via Hyperallergic)
- Stonehenge Papers: Cold, Hot, White, Lenox (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
- Review: Daniel Smith Watercolor tube paint (via Parka Blogs)
Other Interesting Things:
- Minimizing smearing: Balancing pen, ink, and paper choices (via mnmlscholar)
- Original Patent Drawing Puts an End to the Great Toilet Paper Debate (via My Modern Met)
- The Sparks Brothers (via kottke.org)
- Fauxliage – Disguised Cell Phone Towers (via kottke.org)
We need each other. Please support our sponsors and affiliates. Your patronage will let them know you appreciate their support of the pen community. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!
