The Well-Appointed Desk

Today is Groundhog Day and we currently have about 5 inches of snow here in the Midwest and it’s still coming down! Most of the US is covered in snow, ice or rain. I think today is a good day to stay home, snuggle under blankets, drink hot cocoa and play with your pens. Sure, you might have to work for a little while but make sure your work set-up is warm and cozy today. Put on some warm socks, your favorite sweater and convince a cat or dog to nap on or near you while you work.

2022 Year of the Tiger

Today (technically yesterday) was also the start of Chinese New Year. It’s the Year of the Tiger. If weather allows, order some dumplings from your favorite local Chinese restaurant (or make your own!). Eat an orange for good luck, have some tea and greet friends, family or furry ones by saying “Gong hei fat choy”, which means ‘Wishing you happiness and prosperity’ in Cantonese. In Mandarin, say “gōng xǐ fā cái” (gong-sshee faa-tseye). (For pronunciation guides, check out this site.)

Stay warm! And Gong Hei Fat Choy!

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In Art Supplies

Letter Writing and Coloring: Secret Garden Postcards

Laura CameronFebruary 1, 2022February 1, 202220 Comments

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m absolute balls at letter writing. I love to receive mail, but I’m terrible at responding. So I’m a big fan of the postcard. A fun photo, a short snippet of text, and someone has happy mail!

Where do you stand on coloring? I love looking at art and color, and I like to color, but in general I don’t think I’m very good at it. I second guess my color placement all the time.

So how does a girl resolve these likes and dislikes? The Secret Garden Postcards from Jetpens ($11.75 for a book of 20). I was thrilled to find them the last time I was shopping and I’ve been looking forward to getting a chance to color them. These postcards are pulled from the gorgeous artwork of Johanna Basford, and the larger coloring book of the same name.

The postcards are easily detachable from a glue binding, and ready to be colored and sent to your nearest and dearest. I’ve only spent a bit working on the first one, but I am enjoying it (though what was I thinking with all those colors for the tail?) I’m using a combination of Inkjoy Gels, Marvy LePens and a few other pens I’ve picked up along the way. I’ve been desperately looking for my Sakura Gelly Rolls, but I may need to place an order for some more of those! (And I’m soooo tempted to buy this set.)

So… who wants a postcard? I can’t make any guarantees on how timely they’ll be, but I’d love to send you a postcard I’ve colored, and I’ll throw an uncolored one in so you can pass the love on! Just leave a comment here and I’ll contact you for your mailing address when I’m ready. The book only has 20 postcards, so I’ve got a max of 10 people for this one.

In Tools

Giveaway Winner: Saki Roll Pen Case

Laura CameronJanuary 31, 2022January 30, 20221 Comment

Thanks to everyone who entered with contest for the Saki Pen Rolls! Congratulations to 2 winners: Gloria and Zoey. I’ll be sending your goodies out to you soon!

In Planners & Organizers

Follow-up: Leuchtturm 1917 Some Lines a Day

Laura CameronJanuary 31, 2022January 30, 20227 Comments

By Tina Koyama

It has been more than a year since I reviewed the Leuchtturm 1917 Some Lines a Day five-year diary, so I thought it might be a good time to check in and let you know how I’ve been doing with it.

Distressed at the time about some negative thoughts and feelings I had been having, I intended with Some Lines a Day to focus on writing at least one kind thought about someone each day. On most days, it was easy to think of at least one person to think a kind thought about. Often it was related to a kindness someone had shown me. But occasionally I was so angry, sad or despondent that it was a challenge to pull myself out of my own head to think about someone else – and having the diary to write in gave me a reason to do so.

I didn’t always have perfect attendance; some days I left blank, but I rarely skipped more than one day. After about half the year, though, I fell off the wagon completely and wasn’t sure if I’d ever pick up the five-year diary again.

Since I had begun the book on my birthday in November 2020, a year later on my birthday I started reading some of those early entries. I was surprised to find it gratifying and sometimes moving to be reminded of whoever I had thought and written about each day. Reading made me realize that now the book would have two rewards: Thinking about something positive and also recalling whatever positive thought I had had a year prior. It had become a “memory book” and not just a diary.

In November 2021, I started writing in it again with a more general theme of gratitude and appreciation. Most of my entries are still about people, but now I also acknowledge situations or events that are not necessarily associated with specific individuals. As I read the entry for the prior year on the same page, I see the full value of keeping a diary in this format: Without having to dig through my shelves or closet to look for old journals, I can see in an instant whatever or whoever I was thinking about a year ago. Yes, it’s only a few lines a day, but that’s all I need to pull myself out of my own head to recall a good moment.

According to one source, 68 percent of resolution-making Americans will break them by Feb. 1. Although I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, I’m here to say that it’s OK to fall off the wagon and then get back on again. Just because you’ve abandoned a diary, a sketchbook or whatever you had committed to using doesn’t mean it’s forever. If it gave you joy then and might give you joy again, just start again.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

In feature, Ink Review

Ink Line Review: Robert Oster Cities of America

Jessica ColesJanuary 27, 2022January 27, 20223 Comments

New ink!

Robert Oster has started to release inks inspired by various cities in the United States. As of today, seven inks have been released:

Napa, California- a deep wine red
Chicago, Illinois- steely, snow-inspired blue
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma- a grassy plains green
Kansas City, Kansas- a golden brown inspired by the wheat belt
Miami, Florida- a blue-green inspired by the water
New York, New York- bright red for The Big Apple
Las Vegas, Nevada- a shimmering purple inspired by the glitz of Las Vegas

I purchased my samples from Vanness where they were $3.00 ($3.75 for Las Vegas) for 4mL and the bottles run $18 for 50mL ($26 for Las Vegas).

Oklahoma City is a grassy green color, somewhere between Robert Oster Lemon Grass and Robert Oster Grun-Schwarz. This is going to be one that Ana likes!

Napa is a fabulous burgundy – very much a wine color.

Chicago. This one is probably my favorite (other than Las Vegas, because, of course, it’s purple)This is an ink that shows multiple layers of color – not quite multi-chromatic, but almost. It is very close in color to several vintage iron gall blue-black inks.

New York is a bold red lighter than Robert Oster Red Candy.

Kansas City is a great ink for shading. I would say ripe wheat is about right for this color description – a brownish gold.

Miami is an ink that I had expected to be more turquoise. Like Chicago, it is close to several vintage blue-black iron gall inks but it leans much more towards the blue side.

The swatches I had seen of Robert Oster Las Vegas looked nothing like the color that came out of this sample. Las Vegas is a mid-lavender with plenty of sparkle – either silver or a pale blue. Although the sparkle is hard to see in this photo, the second photo below is better.

WONDERFUL sparkle. Amazing purple. This ink makes me feel like I’m 8 years old again.

I mentioned that Chicago and Miami both looked like vintage blue-black inks – here they are side by side.

Below are swatches of the seven inks on Tomoe River Paper:

And Las Vegas shimmer close-up on Tomoe River paper:

The seven inks on Cosmo Air Light paper:

And the Las Vegas shimmer shot on Cosmo Air Light paper:

Tomoe River paper is on the left and Cosmo Air Light paper on the right. The difference in how color shows on the two paper types still amazes me – on CAL, Miami is darker but Chicago and Napa are lighter.

So there you have it! Robert Oster Cities of America inks:

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided at a discount for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: … and Bears

AnaJanuary 26, 2022January 26, 20221 Comment

In an effort to get back on schedule, this week’s Link Love is being posted without an editorial intro. It’s also not being published after 4pm. You’re welcome!

Pens:

Taking myself out of my pen and ink choices (via mnmlscholar)
The Best Gel Pens for Planners (via JetPens)
Conklin Endura Abalone Shell 1898 Limited Edition with Gunmetal Trim (via dapprman)
Foreign (and also Domestic) Urushi (via Crónicas Estilográficas)

Ink:

Kobe 37 Minatojima Island Blue (via Mountain of Ink)
Hot Stuff! Sailor 50 State Ink Series – Louisiana! (via Anderson Pens Blog)
Robert Oster Cities of America Miami Fountain Pen Ink Review (via The Pen Addict)
Wearingeul swatch tests (via FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART)
Wearingeul Jekyll to Hyde (via FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART)
Papier Plume Midnight Blue (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
Wearingeul: high-concept inks from Korea (via UK fountain pens)

Pencils:

Blackwing Volume 6 (via Stationery 🍕 )

Notebooks & Paper:

trying out: kobeha graphilo paper (via Ink Sharks/ink between the teeth)
A look back at Basildon Bond writing paper. (via Fountain pen blog)
How Compact is Compact A5 (via Philofaxy)
Flatability – What is that all about…. (via Philofaxy)
Paper Review: What Is Bank Paper, and Why Is It So Popular? (via The Gentleman Stationer)
Review: Rembrandt watercolour brush (series 100) (via Parka Blogs)

Art & Creativity:

My $25 Sketch Kit (Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
Layers in my sketchbooks: Part 3 – Materials (via Apple-Pine)
Stars, Circles, and Symbols in Primary Colors Form Astrological Maps and Coded Works by Shane Drinkwater (via Colossal)
“Almost too beautiful to be true”: Inside Hayao Miyazaki’s genius (via It’s Nice That)

Other Interesting Things:

Photographer Suzannah Gabriel on how postgrad study helps you grow professionally (via Creative Boom)
Arresting Photos Document the Polar Bears Occupying an Abandoned Weather Station in Russia (via Colossal)
How Cascatelli, the Hot New Pasta Shape, Is Made (via Kottke.org)
An Annual ‘Giant Letter’ Installation Displays a Heartfelt Note from a 100-Foot-Tall Boy Named Bobby (via Colossal)
Job satisfaction, happiness and work-life balance for creatives is lower than national average (via It’s Nice That)
Look away from the pit (via Austin Kleon)
Please, for goodness’ sake, start a mailing list (via Austin Kleon)

We need each other. Please support our sponsors, affiliates or join our Patreon. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In Tools

Product Review: Midori P-51 Paper Clips

AnaJanuary 25, 2022January 25, 20227 Comments

I spent hours this morning trying to find the web site link that I found showing the most amazing use for the Midori P-51 Clips ) but I couldn’t find it. I think it came from Modern Daily Knitting but I could not find the original post. I am going to give them credit for it anyway.

I use Midori P-51 clips ($5.50 for a pack of 18, available in 10 different designs. I bought the bunny rabbits as they seemed the most “fibery”) to tame my circular knitting needles. When I am done knitting for the day, I slide a bunny clip over the cord of the circular needles. If the project is small enough, both ends of the cord can be slipped into one clip. If the project is larger or getting a bit difficult to tame, slide a clip on each end of the needle where the flexible cord meets the needle. This will keep your yarn from sliding off the needles as well as keep all your stitch markers in place. You can find other, fancy needle tip covers but a pack of 18 of these darling little clips which come in an array of colors tames half a dozen projects currently on the needles with clips to spare (or share!).

This is just one of many off-label uses I’ve found for office supplies. I also use binder clips to seal bags of snack foods and I keep a hand stapler in my tea drawer to close my fill-it-yourself tea bags. I’m sure I have other unusual uses for office supplies that I can’t remember at this moment. What are your life hacks with office supplies?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.