Ink Review: Sailor 50 States New Mexico

Ink Review: Sailor 50 States New Mexico

Initially, I was attracted to this ink specifically because I used to live in New Mexico and I knew immediately that the color was inspired by the love for turquoise jewelry in New Mexico. I was too poor to purchase any turquoise jewelry while I was living there so I thought buying the ink would…

Ink Review: Oblation Papers Oregon Marionberry (2025 PNW Pen Show Exclusive 2025)

Ink Review: Oblation Papers Oregon Marionberry (2025 PNW Pen Show Exclusive 2025)

Oblation Papers & Press in Portland, OR released a custom ink for the Pacific Northwest Pen Show in collaboration with Anderillium Inks called Oregon Marionberry. Each bottle comes in a small 15ml brown glass bottle with beautiful letterpress labels. The ink is a burgundy, red-purple with a tiny bit of shading, no sheening and no…

Ink Review: Sailor 50 States: Wyoming (possibly the perfect green)

Ink Review: Sailor 50 States: Wyoming (possibly the perfect green)

If you’ve been following The Well-Appointed Desk for awhile, you might have noticed that green is my favorite color, particularly chartreuse, yellow-greens. However, over the years, I’ve found that chartreuse colors are challenging in fountain pen inks. They either get too bright or too light. Not dingy enough for me, nor do they hit the…

Ink Review: Diamine Medusa’s Gaze (Dromgoole’s Exclusive)

Ink Review: Diamine Medusa’s Gaze (Dromgoole’s Exclusive)

Dromgoole’s collaborated with Diamine to create two inks: Bleu Horse and Medusa’s Gaze ($24). They are both shimmery jewels but I decided to grab a bottle of Medusa’s Gaze to start because I liked the name. I buy nail polish with the same logic. The shimmer particles can be seen in the bottom of the…

The Mad Scientist Method of Mixing Your Own Fountain Pen Ink Colors

As a long time reader of this site, I’m honored to share my experience mixing waterproof inks! I’m Thien-Kim, a romance novelist, amateur artist, and coffee addict who refuses to count how many bottles of ink she owns. Thank you, Ana for having me! I blame my cats for my obsession with waterproof fountain pen…