The Well-Appointed Desk

This week I was tickled by the tale of the lost dog that got caught for stealing a unicorn plushie from Dollar General. Click on the link below to read the whole story, complete with happy ending.

Hope your week is filled with whatever comforts make you as happy as a stray dog loves a unicorn plushie.

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In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Archer & Olive A5 Night Sky Neapolitan Dot Grid Notebook

Laura CameronMarch 30, 2021March 30, 20211 Comment

I have my knitting friends to thank for this review! Recently a friend shared her crafting journal with bits and pieces of her knitting, spinning and sewing projects. I was intrigued because it was dot grid, and contained THREE different kinds of paper. And that’s how I bought my very own Archer & Olive A5 Night Sky Neapolitan Dot Grid Notebook ($34).

Before I get into that mouthful of a notebook title, Archer & Olive is a female-owned, 100% vegan company that sells journals & notebooks, markers & pens, and some accessories. Their vision is to provide folks with a way to plan their lives, tend to their mental health and explore creativity. All the products are vegan, and packaged in minimal, environmentally conscious packaging. Shipping was quick – I ordered and had my new notebook within a few days.

The Night Sky Neapolitan notebook is an A5, hard cover journal with a canvas covering. Thew cover is a dark navy and has the big dipper printed on it in gold foil. The journal is available in other color/graphic images as well.

Inside the front sheets are plain and give way to the star of the journal: the paper. The Neapolitan is so called because it has sections of white, black and kraft paper all featuring dot grid, bound together in one notebook. The paper is advertised as 160 GSM, ultra thick and perfect for pens, markers, fountain pen inks, paint – whatever you can throw at it. The journal contains 160 pages.

They weren’t lying about that paper. It’s super smooth and took several fountain pen inks and their Acrylograph markers (stay tuned, Ana will have a review of these soon!) with ease. There wasn’t even any show through on the opposite side of the pages, even with that acrylic marker! I will need to invest in some white gel pens for the black sections of the book, but I think I’m set for the rest.

Other fun details are the ribbon bookmarks (one has a little ampersand charm), the elastic band to hold the book closed, a pocket at the back for storing small bits and pieces and a pen loop. I’m going to be taking some classes shortly and I’ve decided this will be the notebook for all my notes related to that.

The journal is a bit on the pricey side for every day use, but if you’re looking for a nice notebook to store your thoughts or sketches, this one seems really well made and I’m excited to dig in!

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased with my own funds. Please see the About page for more details.

In news

GIVEAWAY WINNERS: Ensso ARIA Ballpoint Pens

AnaMarch 29, 2021March 29, 2021Leave a comment

I’ve got more giveaway winners today. This time for our Ensso ARIA ballpoint pens in matte black aluminum and brass.

And the winners are:

Congrats to Jovan and Eric! I will be contacting them directly to arrange shipping.

Thanks to everyone who entered and we look forward to offering more giveaways soon!

In Pen Review

GIVEAWAY WINNER: Leuchtturm 1917 Drehgriffel

Laura CameronMarch 28, 2021March 28, 2021Leave a comment

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and shared your favorite Leuchtturm 1917 product. As always, I wish I had enough to give everyone something!

This time our winners of the Drehgriffels are Marci and Rob:

Thank you all so much for entering and for reading along here at The Desk! And thanks again to Leuchtturm 1917 for sending us the items for review and giveaway.

In Paper Review

Paper Review: Stonehenge Legion Mini Artist Pad Sample Set, Part 1

AnaMarch 26, 2021March 24, 2021Leave a comment

Review by Tina Koyama

When Ana asked me if I’d like to review the Stonehenge Legion Mini Artist Pad Sampler Set, I was delighted! I have received a few pads in Art Snacks subscriber boxes, but I’d never sampled the whole collection. I know some artists swear by the distinctive textures of certain Stonehenge papers, so I’ve been curious about them.

Legion box

According to Legion’s website, “Stonehenge was created in 1972 specifically as a 100% cotton deckled paper for the printmaking community, made to rival the more expensive European mould-made papers. It was quickly adopted not just by printmakers, but by artists across [sic] working in a broad spectrum of media.”

I had always thought of the paper line as being more for wet media than dry, so as a colored pencil fan, I was pleasantly surprised to further read the following: “The paper of choice of many members of the Colored Pencil Society of America, Stonehenge has the ability to take multiple layers of wax-based and oil-based colored pencil without any buildup, allowing colors to penetrate and absorb into the surface of the sheet.”

Legion unboxing

The set contains 13 small pads – each containing one of Legion’s papers. The entire Legion Stonehenge collection is represented here. Since the toned and other specialty papers would be better tested with different media from the more traditional white papers, I have split the pack into two review parts. Today in Part 1, I’ll give an overview of the whole collection and test seven papers. Part 2 will cover the remaining six papers.

Legion pads

While I’m talking about the sample pads themselves, I have one petty picky point: The dimensions. They are 2 ½ by 3 ¾ inches. I don’t know if Artist Trading Cards (ATC) are still a thing, but I bet that extra quarter-inch annoys members of that community, which defines the ATC as 2 ½ by 3 ½ inches.

OK, a second picky point: Although the pad cover descriptions suggest appropriate media for each paper’s texture, weights are provided for only the two coldpress aqua papers. I think weight is an important factor for any paper, regardless of how it might be used, and I’d like to see that information on each sample.

The seven white papers I’m looking at today are Stonehenge Aqua Hotpress, Stonehenge White, Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress (140 lb.), Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Heavy (300 lb.), Stonehenge Light (which is significantly lighter than 90 lb.), Stonehenge Warm White, and Lenox Cotton. (The ones I haven’t indicated or guessed weights on feel close to 90 lb.)

Legion Stonehenge sample pads

On one side, I tested student-grade Van Gogh watercolors, a Kuretake Brush Writer, a Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor marker, and a Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle pencil. On the reverse side, I used my Sailor Naginata Fude de Mannen fountain pen with Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo ink, a Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 6B graphite pencil, a Prismacolor pencil, and a Sakura Pigma Graphic 1 pen. The dry samples are especially useful in seeing the papers’ textures.

Legion paper samples, side 1 Legion paper samples, side 2

Finally, I picked three papers – Aqua Hotpress, White, and Lenox Cotton – to make sketches. I’m out of practice scaling down to the size of an ATC, so I looked around my desk for something small and easy to sketch – and immediately spotted a head of garlic. (What – you don’t keep a head of garlic on your desk at all times?) I used the Sailor fude pen on the smooth hotpress, Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle watercolor pencils on the White, and Boku-Undo e-sumi watercolor (reviewed here) on the Lenox Cotton.

Aqua Hotpress sample Stonehenge White sample Lenox Cotton sample

All of these papers, with surfaces sized beautifully for wet media, perform scrumptiously. I especially enjoy the subtle texture of the Stonehenge White with colored pencils. I can’t recommend one over another, as paper results will always depend on the specific media and techniques used with them. But getting a taste of these samples has definitely made my mouth water. After playing a bit more, I’m going to get larger pads of my favorites to explore further.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which will include Stonehenge colored papers and that fascinating synthetic stuff, Yupo.

Legion sketch tests

DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

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 Pen Review

Pen Review: Ensso Aria (When A Bic Stic Won’t Do)

AnaMarch 24, 2021March 30, 202150 Comments

Generally speaking, ballpoint pens are a last option for me. As a lefty, oily ballpoint ink often leaves a trail of residue on the heel of my hand and my writing angle can often cause ballpoint roller balls (the ball suspended in the tip that releases ink) to choke up or skip. Left hand writers push the pen when writing rather than pulling it in the manner that right handed writers write. Even left handed writers who hold their pen in such a way as to write “below the baseline” — in others words, holding their pen in a mirrored position to right handed writers rather than the more awkward looking side-writing or overhand writing (AKA “the hook”) — can face issues with ballpoint and rollerball pens choking or skipping.

That said, even lefties need to use a ballpoint every now and again to fill out paperwork in the doctor’s office, sign a slick piece of receipt paper for a credit card purchase, etc.

So sometimes, you just need a ballpoint pen. But who wants to carry a Bic Stic next to your beautiful fountain pens and mechanical pencils? Ensso understands your dilemma so they have created the premium Bic Stic solution: the Aria ($39, available in matte black aluminum or brass).

The packaging is simple and satisfying. The Aria pens come in slim, black cardboard boxes which are easily recyclable. Inside the box is a tube, capped with thick rubber caps which are reusable. Thumbs up on the packaging.

These pens have beautiful tapered lines and an upscale look but in their heart, beats a Bic Stic refill. Why did they choose to make a high end body for such an inexpensive ballpoint pen? Why do people climb Mount Everest? Because they can. Because it’s a challenge. I think making a ballpoint pen appealing enough to entice a very picky fountain pen user is a suitable challenge.

The refill is friction fit into the barrel and can easily be removed with a pair of pliers. So, if you prefer a different ink color or a different nib width, it’s easy to swap out the refill.

On the end of the Aria, there are threads that mean that the cap can be posted and it won’t fall off.

The Aria is quite long. It’s 15cm (almost 6″) long capped, 14.5cm (5.7″) uncapped and 16cm (6.25″) when posted.

The brass model is very heavy. Capped or posted the brass Aria weighs 66gms and 58gms when uncapped. The matte black aluminum model is much lighter at 21gms capped/posted and 20gms uncapped.

I’m including our usual fountain pen weight chart for reference to exactly how heavy the brass Aria is.

I don’t suspect anyone needs an in-depth review of how the Bic refill writes but I wanted to test how the pens felt with the weight of the aluminum and brass. The Aria pens are narrow, like a ballpoint pen. For me, the brass pen was too heavy. But I have tiny, childlike hands so the weight of the brass and the longer length of the pen caused the brass Aria to be a bit too top heavy in my small hands. For larger normal adult-sized hands, this would probably not be an issue. The aluminum pen is much lighter and I didn’t have issues with the weight balance.

Compared to other non-fountain pens in my collection, it’s clear how long the Aria pens are. Shown above, from left to right: Baron Fig Squire, Retro 51 Tornado Popper, and the brass and matte black aluminum Ensso Aria.

The Aria is the only of the pens that it capped. The threads keep the caps on tightly. If you’ve had issues with the Schmidt refills leaking in your bag or pocket, the capped Aria may be a reasonable upgrade.

The Aria is a very pretty pen. If we have to have a ballpoint pen, it might as well be one as lovely as the Aria. The price is reasonable too, for a metal machined pen.

Ensso has kindly given us these two pens to give away to TWO lucky giveaway winners.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and let me know which Aria style you like best: brass or matte black aluminum. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Sunday, March 28, 2021. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

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

In Link Love

Link Love: Be Excellent

AnaMarch 24, 2021March 24, 20212 Comments

Bill & Ted

Once again, there was tragedy in the US last week. I don’t want to dwell on it here but I didn’t feel like I could just ignore the newspaper headlines. The senseless violence saddens me. However, I am reminded of a quote from my favorite philosophers, Bill & Ted, “Be excellent to each other.”

I think it’s time to embrace that as a mantra for the foreseeable future.

I’ve often heard another adage about not knowing the struggles someone else is facing. In those moments when you want to yell at the tech support call center employee or shake your fists in anger when your delivery order is incorrect, consider that it was not done spitefully. Someone else may be struggling too or have other things weighing on their mind other than putting your sauce on the side or replying to your email request. No one intentionally makes mistakes or is less than rosy when they greet you. So, brush off your anger, indignity or frustration and be excellent. Even if being excellent is just being civil in the face of this endless string of difficulties we continue to face.