Right now, in the Midwest, it is no longer winter but its not quite spring yet. This in-between weather is similar to my in-between feeling in my stationery world as well.
I am almost finished with a notebook, a Stalogy A5 that I’ve been using to journal. I’m not quite finished but close enough to consider what the next notebook will be. Do I stay in the same notebook cover (Curnow turquoise cover) and just buy another Stalogy notebook or do I try to mix things up? To be honest, actually being at a point where I’ve almost finished a notebook is a new sensation for me. I often get bored or lose momentum on a particular notebook far sooner than I reach the end of the book. It feels a little risky to mess with a formula that has actually had me writing just to try something new.
In my stationery cupboard, I have a few notebooks that I could pull off the shelf to be my next journal:
Okay, many more than a few. I recently bought a several more Midi sized Paperblanks with the 110 and 120 gsm paper. Like so many people, when you find the paper you love, you stockpile it. We have all seen how quickly paper can change or be discontinued. I prefer the 68gsm Tomoe River paper and have been stockpiling it for sometime as well. I actually traded some of the lighter weight OG Tomoe River for the 68gsm because, as a lefty, I just can’t justify the dry-time/smear-likelihood of the lighter weight. I’ll sacrifice a little sheen not to have ink all over me, my notebook and everything else.
I’ve been on a purple ink trend all winter. Both my daily use pens (Don’t shoot me. They are both Sailor ProGear Slim fountain pens with EF nibs.) have been filled with purple-y inks (Monteverde Birthday Cake and Lennon Tool Bar Morning Glory which are almost identical and Monteverde Blueberry Muffin which is much more of a burgundy than purple). The Monteverde Birthday Cake is a seriously underrated ink. It has a great range of shading and it sheens under the right conditions too.
I’ve been using these three inks so consistently that that I have actually put a dent into the amount of ink in the bottles. Is this the year I actually finish a bottle of ink or am I ready to move to a different color family?
What’s your feeling on this mid-season malaise? Do you feel the itch to change things up or, if you’ve had success with a pen/ink/paper combo, do you stick with it? Do you have favorites you go back to time and time again?
I’ve fallen in love with the Van Dieman line of inks. They offer some awesome shimmer inks and there are many to choose from. If shimmer ink are to your liking they have many regular inks too. A husband and wife team from down under in Tasmania. Don’t know how long they’ve around.
That’s awesome! I don’t have many Van Dieman’s inks. Maybe I’ll pick some up in Atlanta! Thanks for the tip.
Are any of the notebooks in your stash A5, and would fit the turquoise cover? Is it the cover that made you pick up the notebook and write? Or is it the Stalogy that made you pick it up and write? Maybe answering those questions will help you decide.
I’m trying to write every day in a Markings Bulleting Log Journal I got at Office Depot. It stands up to stub and italic nibs with no bleed through and show through. I have never kept a diary or journal. If I can keep writing in the Markings notebook, then maybe I’ll finally become a journal writer. That would be good with five Leuchtturm notebooks sitting unused. Oh heck, I have even more notebooks sitting unused. Sigh.
Ah, the age old question: is it the cover or the notebook? I guess I’ll have to try one of my other A5 notebooks in the cover and/or one of the B6 and see if the writing magic persists.
Apicia Premium with any shading ink. My Newton,
Thompson, Pilot VP, Diplomat Traveller or if wanting finer—Parker 51 would all be in writing rotation. I currently have several books of different Japanese papers to use up before I get another Apicia, though. Oh—and that book of rice paper…but hope to just paint it that one. Oh—and some Archer and Olive paper. And an Exceed notebook. And a Baron and Fig. And a Fabriano. Hmmm. Ohhhh. I forgot !! I also love French ruled paper from Clairefontaine—maybe I should get a notebook of that next time….choices!!???
I am so glad I’m not alone in the “too many choices, too many notebooks” 🙂
I have a Sailor Pro Gear Slim Soda Pop Blue fountain pen with a Broad nib. I have several Sailors with Broad nibs, but on this particular pen, the nib has tons of personality and feels AWESOME on my Cosmo paper. I have that pen filled with a matching ink, Robert Oster Clearwater Rain. It’s such a good combo that I just keep using it over and over. And I reach for that pen several times daily because I just enjoy writing with it so much!
Oh, that is a beautiful pen and ink combo! When the combo works well, its hard not to reach for it!