Ferris Wheel Press has amazed me with the number of new inks they have recently released. This month was no exception, with four additional inks. Three of the inks are shown here today – The Velvet Ballet, Land of Shanghai-La, and Atlas Iron Ore.
The Velvet Ballet is a great holiday or winter ink – not a bright holly berry red, but a moody maroon or burgundy reminiscent of heavy velvet curtains in a theater.
Ferris Wheel Press Wondrous Winterberry – a holiday release from 2021, is a brighter red. Diamine Oxblood is a good color match, although The Velvet Ballet is darker.
When I first swatched The Velvet Ballet, I thought it was quite light on sparkle compared to other Ferris Wheel Press inks. Once the swatch dried, however, I realized that it seems to use sparkle that is less… thick? I believe the sparkle is finer in this ink than those I’ve worked with in the past.
The Land of Shanghai-La ink is an ink created in connection with the Shangri-La Hotels Canada.
This ink is a tough one to fit into a color category – it reminds me of a dark version of Stipula Musk Green, but it doesn’t look like that ink up close. The overall impression in person is definitely a brown with green undertones – the photo below looks dramatically different than it does to my eyes without the camera. The image below shows as a dark green with yellow undertones. This isn’t what I saw, though!
The shimmer in Land of Shangri-La is lighter in shade than the FerriTales rose gold shimmer – it is called out as champagne. I believe that’s why I perceived this as a much browner ink. However, when I tried to capture that color in a photo, it did not cooperate.
Finally, Atlas Iron Ore. This is a special edition ink with Atlas Stationers in Chicago – a perfect color for them!
The base ink color in Atlas Iron Ore is more of a faded black than a dark grey. Monteverde Coal Noir is close, but is lighter than the Atlas ink.
The shimmer in Atlas Iron Ore gives an overall impression of a metallic iron.
The impression of the three inks I’ve shown here today make me imagine a moody Christmas or an evening close to the winter solstice. Days that are mostly night, chilly weather and a warm fireplace, plenty of heavy clothes. The perfect time for hot chocolate.
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