Several months ago, friend of the blog Ruth sent me this delightful ink sample vial holder and pen rest. Yes, it’s a sleeping cat which we all know is our lazy intern Ollie sleeping on the job again. This is one of my favorite daily-use tools now. If you’ve ever struggled with how to dip into a sample vial without spilling it or not having to try to recap it one-handed, you need a Sleeping Cat or Ink’s Best Friend. Since receiving mine earlier this year, I’ve used it for all my ink sampling and trust me, I do a lot of ink sampling. The only issues I’ve had is that it is a challenge to get the small glass sample vials from Ferris Wheel Press (from their Charger Sets) out of the holder and/or capped without getting inky fingers. This problem does not exist with the standard plastic 5ml vial. The regular 5ml vials are tall enough to lift out easily and replace the cap as needed.
After a little sleuthing, I discovered that the 3D printed “Ink-a-pet” was created by a 7-year-old boy named Calvin with some CAD help from his mom and some shop-set-up work from his dad, Daniel. I absolutely love the entrepreneurial spirit of the pen community but I double-down on the love when the products are created by amazingly talented kids.
Each Ink-a-pet is just $7 each and will help Calvin continue his pen passion well into adulthood (hopefully!).
Over the summer, Calvin has created a few new designs including the Inktopus (shown above). I believe Intopus and Squidney would definitely be friends. They shall be introduced soon!
Thanks to Calvin for becoming one of the youngest and most ambitious members of our pen community. I hope every supports this young entrpeneur.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by a friend who probably didn’t expect me to write a review about it. For more information about purchasing an Ink-a-Pet or buying one for a friend, visit Ink-A-Pen. Please see the About page for more details.
I just ordered an Inktopus, can’t wait!
And I already have my pink inktopus (Pinktopus?) and a thank you card from Calvin. This is by far the best thing that’s happened all week.
This is one of my favorite posts of yours.
Have you tried putting a piece of cotton ball in the bottom of the bottle holder when using the glass vials? This may raise it high enough without causing other issues.
Off to shop from Calvin.
Nifty! I had been looking around for something like this for a while, when I realized that my empty Herbin ink bottle (traditional D shape) is perfect as sample holder and pen rest. I also recently ordered a Lihit Lab pen holder from Cult Pens, which I theorize may also be good at holding samples (petals at top accommodate whatever you insert).
Wow, what an adorable and practical accessory! It’s heartwarming to hear about young talents like Calvin making their mark in the pen community. This Ink-A-Pet holder sounds like a game-changer for ink enthusiasts. Kudos to Calvin for his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit!