The Well-Appointed Desk

I did an epic sketchbook review a few weeks back and I included watercolor swatch tests in each sketchbook. Those swatches were created using the Viviva Colorsheets (original set of 16 colors is currently available for $20, new Inktober edition for 2021 is coming soon).

Viviva Colorsheets have been on the market for a couple years but this is the first time I’ve tested them. Tina has reviewed them in the past but I thought it would be handy to (1) try them myself and (2) provide another perspective about the product.

The Colorsheets come in a folded heavy cardstock booklet with a square of thick, dried watercolor pigment for each color included. Each page in the Viviva Colorsheet booklet has four colors, two on each side of the fold with water resistant, translucent divider stock in between. The divider stock helps to keep the colors from merging together, particularly if they are still damp.

The bottom of the pages are stair stepped with a color key to make finding colors faster and easier.

Often, the dried paint swatches do not look at all like the color they are when applied to paper. Doing a swatch key is definitely important in order to recognize each color accurately.

The set of Viviva Colorsheets I purchased was the 2020 Inktober edition which featured 20 colors. Two of the colors were basically black and an opaque-ish white which I seldom use in watercolor.

Above are swatch tests on three different papers — the top is the Leuctturm1917 sketchbook then the Stillman & Birn Delta and finally (bottom) Alpha.

There is a little bit of color shifting depending on the paper stock but overall the colors are pretty consistent on good multimedia or watercolor paper.

The swatch above is in the Shinola Sketchbook.

I get hung up on the three largely similar shades of red and the dusk orange and gold ochre being nearly identical as well. On some papers, the Vermillion or Burnt Umber also looked quite similar.

I’ve been trained that with a portable watercolor palette, you need a red, yellow and blue — each with one in a warm version of the color and a cool version. Then maybe a specific pre-mixed green, a a warm and cool earth tone (ochre and sepia, for example) then whatever is your whimsy — maybe a pre-mixed pink or purple, payne’s grey, etc. So, 10-12 colors maximum and then mix thee rest.

There is a coated paper palette included that can be attached into the back of the booklet but it’s relatively small so I am not sure how effective it would be for mixing paint. The paper squares of pigment are difficult to look at and determine how much pigment is left on each square. Also, if you use up one color in the palette there is (currently) no easy way to replace that one color short of buying a whole new set.

I like the idea of having a very portable little watercolor palette to keep tucked in my bag with a waterbrush so I have quick, easy access to colors when I need them. This set is definitely small but lacks a truly functional mixing palette and no easy way to replace or add new colors easily. I still think a small watercolor pan set with swappable pans which can be replaced or refilled is still the better solution. If I decide I want to paint four pages in my sketchbook blue, I want to know I have enough blue paint and that I can add more pigment to my palette as needed.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. The Viviva Colorsheets were purchased with my own money however. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

Ink Overview: Esterbrook Ink

AnaAugust 5, 2021August 4, 20216 Comments

Esterbook introduced its own ink line with the same enthusiasm for color that it has shown in its Estie pen line. I was lucky enough to get a hold of five of their standard ink colors and three of the shimmer colors. As far as I can tell, the inks are not yet available for sale but I decided to go ahead and whet your appetite anyway.

Details regarding pricing and full color range have not yet been announced so I will provide an overview from the samples I have on hand.

The Esterbrook inks are available in 50ml bottles, similar in shape to Kaweco inks and

The samples I received were:

Aqua and Shimmer Aqua
Tangerine and Shimmer Tangerine
Cobalt Blue
Evergreen
Scarlet
Shimmer Lilac

I suspect there is a standard Lilac formulations and the potential for shimmer variations of the Scarlet, Cobalt Blue and Evergreen though I do not have confirmation about this.

All three shimmer inks I received have gold particles. The particles seem very fine but seem to settle in the bottle quickly so, despite the fineness of the particles, I suspect pens will need to be rolled regularly while using in order to keep them evenly distributed. I does make me wonder if the next Estie won’t be a demonstrator model to take full advantage of showing off the ink colors and shimmer particles?

The color difference between the Aqua and Cobalt Blue is very minor. Instinctually, if an ink is called Aqua, I tend to expect it to be more, well, aqua. The Esterbrook Aqua is much more of a royal blue. The Scarlet and Tangerine are pleasing shades of “stock colors” while the Evergreen and Shimmer Lilac are more adventurous colors in an IIO (initial ink offering). Both the Lilac and Evergreen seem to have been designed to coordinate with the Estie pen colors.

Shimmer Ink Comparisons:

I don’t have a ton of shimmer inks but I was surprised to discover that I had very close matches for all three of the Esterbrook shimmer inks. Depending on the price per bottles from Esterbrook, there are some options or alternatives for each ink color.

Esterbrook Evergreen is a dark pine-y green. Finding similar ink colors was a game of finding other dark greens that were neither too blue or too yellow. The Ferris Wheel Press Misguided Mistletoe, though a shimmer ink, was the closest match. The other deep greens were either a little darker or a little more blue.

Esterbrook Scarlet is a classic red albeit a little on the orange side. There is no sheening like several of the comparison swatches (Irori and Aka, specifically).

Esterbrook Tangerine is sitting in that sweet spot of oranges that is so popular these days in the pen community. Esterbrook Tangerine is very close in color to Robert Oster x Pen Addict Fire on Fire. I’d be hard pressed to tell them apart if they were not on labelled cards.

Finally, the Esterbrook Cobalt and Aqua. I found these two inks too similar in hue for a first ink launch. I also think that the Aqua ink was not what most would view as aqua. I’ve included swatches above that are colors I tend to associate when I hear the word aqua. I think the Cobalt Blue is a good rich blue to include in aa first ink release but the Aqua left me seriously wanting.

Overall, the launch of the Esterbrook ink line is interesting. The color range chosen is a bit different than many classic pen companies (Waterman, Sheaffer, Cross, etc) but covers similar ground. The addition of shimmers to its IIO (initial ink offering) is a bold move. I’m curious to see if this is all the colors that Esterbrook is planning to do or if this is just the first collection of many.

Tools:

Pens: Midori bullet pencil modified dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), Shawn Newton Esterbrook Nib Holder with #9556 nib
Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
Brush: Blick Synthetic Round #0
Ink: Esterbrook Ink Collection ($? for 50ml bottle)

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

In Link Love

Link Love: A Farewell to Susan

AnaAugust 4, 2021August 4, 20211 Comment

This week marks the departure of Susan Pigott from The Pen Addict as she forges ahead in a new life challenge. I was amused when reading her post that many of her favorite reviews and posts over the years were also products I have also loved reviewing. While Susan may be leaving The Pen Addict for now, I don’t think she is leaving the pen community forever. Best of luck to you in your new adventures. Your beautiful photos and posts will be missed.

Hey Susan, if you ever want to guest post here on The Desk, you are always welcome!

We need each other. Please support our sponsors and affiliates. Your patronage will let them know you appreciate their support of the pen community. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In photo

Yarn + Ink Palette: Bold and graphic!

Laura CameronAugust 3, 2021August 3, 20212 Comments

Another project off my needles and another ink palette. What’s funny is that when the yarn arrived, I didn’t think the colors would work well together. But they do!

The Pattern: Lady Fingers Sweater by Morgan Woltersdorf (Ravelry link)

The Yarn: Zen Yarn Garden Superfine DK in Red, Silver, Teal, Yellow and Orange

The Inks:

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Puggy’s Best High Stationer Note Book

AnaAugust 2, 2021August 2, 20211 Comment

The Puggy’s Best High Stationer Notebook from Hightide had a lot to recommend it when I found it. It’s approximately A6 sized (4.1×5.7″), it was filled with blank, recycled paper, and cost just $7 (600¥). It has a kraft paperstock cover and has a smooth, glue-bound spine. Everything about it says “understated Japanese stationery”.

The notebook I ordered has 100 sheets of paper but the Hightide web site indicates the “small” notebook only has 66 pages now. Either way, at $7 it’s still a steal. But remember that old adage “you get what you pay for”? In this case, it very much applies.

Upon opening the notebook, I cracked/tore the spine from the text block. Clearly there was too much glue along the spine.

In testing the paper, most of my favorite writing tools did not perform well on the slightly toothy, natural white paper.

I tested several pages using a range of tools. Above, you can see on the left that the page behind it can been seen through the paper. Even though the paper feels fairly thick (no paper weight info was given), there is still evidence of show through.

The page above is the back side of the righthand page from the previous photo. Most fountain pens bleed through but worse than that, fountain pen ink splines! I haven’t tested a notebook in a long time that had this level of bleeding and feathering that the Puggy’s Best suffers from.

Even brush markers look splotchy in the way color is absorbed into the paper.

This close-up above will more clearly show the splining issue. At the bottom of the photo is a fine nib that looks slightly spline-y and splotchy. The TWSBI 1.1mm stub really shows the issue.

Above is a fine nib WingSung S and you can see where the ink travels through the fibers creating the splines. This is my biggest pet peeve with paper. Bleed through and show through I can live with as long as the ink does not spline. It’s a travesty.

Shown above is the back of the tests with the TWSBI, Traveler’s Notebook FP and the WingSung. Two are fine nib pens and the other is a 1.1mm and all resulted in dots of show through.

Not wanting to completely write this notebook off , I thought I’d try some brush pens to see if the notebook might be used with pencils, gel or rollerball pen and pencil — a budget travel sketchbook.

Unfortunately, I noticed the same blotchy color when using brush pens that I had noticed earlier.

Puggy’s Best, despite the name, really isn’t the best for much. If you exclusively use pencils, ballpoint or gel pens, then you may get some use out of this notebook but I prefer a notebook that can at least tolerate a larger array of tools. Save your money and put it towards a better notebook.

Purchased with my own money.

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Profolio Oasis Notebook

AnaJuly 30, 2021July 25, 20212 Comments

I was wandering around my local art supply shop recently and stumbled across the Profolio Oasis Notebook. It must have been kismet but the same week, several reviews popped up about the new Profolio Oasis Summit notebook. This Oasis is the simpler, cheaper cousin of the Summit.

I grabbed the standard A5 size with a blue/teal cover. I can’t remember but it may have been the only one they had left. Never fear, our friends over at Pen Boutique have it in stock and the color is called Wintergreen ($9.99).

The Oasis Notebook is a fairly common cardstock cover style notebook with paper tape on the spine. It has sewn signatures hidden under the tape so when the book is open the pages lay flat.

Inside the paper features an unusual multi-divided line-dot-grid-Seyes structure. Unless your paper preference is blank, this paper pretty much has it all. The dark lines are 7mm and the dotted lines are one-third of that — so, every 2.33mm. The vertical ticks are also every 7mm.

The paper is on the ivory side making it very challenging to photograph. (My camera kept trying to make it more peachy or whiter than it was.) The color is a warm ivory like the inside color of a fresh croissant.

The paper is smooth and great for all pen types I tried. It wasn’t glassy. I often think Clairefontaine can feel a little glassy — like too slick. The Oasis paper was just smooth. It’s weird. To my hands, the Oasis paper feels slicker but to my pens there’s a bit more bite. It’s very enjoyable to write on this paper.

This is a view of the reverse of my test writing page and a full view of the page with the top margin (place for date and description) and notation ticks at the top and bottom of the page for center and quarters (dots) and eighths (ticks).

This is a reasonably priced notebook with good paper — really good paper — that would fit into many covers that would be perfect for journaling, bullet journaling or work notes. If I were to make a new top 5 notebooks list, this would probably be on it.