The Well-Appointed Desk

Link Love: I Smell Chai

AnaSeptember 4, 2024September 4, 20242 Comments

It has started to cool here in Kansas City. Our mornings have a slight chill in the air and the evenings are cool which means on September 1, I made my first pot of pumpkin spice coffee. I started making spice tea in the evenings and I started knitting a new wooly sweater. I sest up my planner for September in a bookish theme. I have 100% fully embraced the coming of Autumn.

Are you ready for Fall? How do you celebrate the changing of the season? Do you live somewhere that the weather and seasons are different? Share your seasonal vibes in the comments!

Thanks to all my brilliant Patrons. I couldn’t keep doing what I’m doing without you. If you don’t know, The Well-Appointed Desk has a Patreon. Patrons receive cool extras for their suppor like an exclusive podcast, newsletter, first dibs on sales and new product releases and more. Come drink chai lattes and read lots of books with us! We’d love to welcome you. Thank you!

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Kobe #12 Okamoto Pink

Laura CameronSeptember 3, 2024September 3, 2024Leave a comment

Today’s review is another for the definitely not peach files. In fact, I would have slotted this one in with the Living Coral of 2019 inks!

Kobe #12 Okamoto Pink ($30 for 50mL) is a bright pinky coral ink with beautiful shading. There’s no sheen, but tons of lovely pinks and corals. It reminds me a bit of Van Dieman Tassie Seasons Salmon, although that one is redder. This one is almost neon in its intensity.

The ink itself is lovely. Not too dry, not too wet and just full of color! I feel like this would also be a great candidate for my Kaweco Perkeo Infrared.

In comparison to other inks I own the lightest parts are almost spot on with J. Herbin Corail de Tropiques. The intensity is similar to PenBBS #140 Bloom, but that’s got gold sheen for days. I did pull out some other bright ones – Diamine Peach Haze and Pilot Iroshizuu Fuyu-Gaki, but those are distinctly more orange.

What do you think about this one? I think it might be one of my new favorites!

Papers: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50) and Crossfield Journal ($24.00)
Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
Ink: Kobe #12 Okamoto Pink ($30 for 50mL)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Giveaway Winner: Colorverse Colorspace Ink Art Cards

Laura CameronSeptember 2, 2024September 2, 20241 Comment

Thanks to everyone who entered for a chance to win the Colorverse Colorspace Ink Art Cards. Our lucky winner is Jenn:

Great pick! And stay tuned because Ana brought home several lovely giveaway items from SF, so we’re gonna keep the giveaways going throughout the month!

In feature

Giveaway: SF Pen Show Swag Kit

AnaSeptember 2, 2024August 29, 202448 Comments

I’ve got a goodie pack to giveaway today. From the SF Pen Show, I was able to collect a few truly unique items. First, a very limited Inky Dreams (my original pattern design) Rickshaw single pen sleeve lanyard along with a Rickshaw exclusive SF Pen Show sticker.

Also included in the giveaway is a kit from Sakura of America which includes a cloth zipper pouch, a pocket notebook full of doodle ideas and play pages, a set of three Micron pens and an exclusive Micron enamel pin.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and let me know if you’ve been to a pen show this year and which one. If not, tell me if you would ever go to a show and which one. 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 Thursday, September 5, 2024. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram 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.

In Planners & Organizers

September Planner/Journal Set-Up: Academia

AnaAugust 30, 2024August 30, 20241 Comment

For September, I decided to make my journal theme for the month, Academia or Bibliophilia (or something to that effect) where I could focus my design elements and colors around a dark academia or back-to-school-sort-of vibe. I added some natural elements like more sunflowers (carried over from last month) and mushrooms as well as map themed washi tape and a green and brown color scheme reminiscent of library shelves, old books and wool sweaters. I can wish for weather cool enough to wear wool, can’t I?

Pens for September:

Pentel Brush Sign Pen in Pale Brown ($2.50)
Zebra Mildliner in Beige & Olive from the Natural Color Set ($8)
Tombow ABT Brush Pen in #228 ($3)
Pentel Sign Brush Pen in Black (box of 6 for $8.32)
Uni Signo DX 0.38 in Green Black ($2.85)
Marvy Le Pen in Olive ($1.80)
Copic Multiliner 0.3 in Wine ($3.80)

Fountain Pens for September:

Nagasawa City Fresh Green (no longer available) with Vinta Karnival ($14.50)
Sailor ProColor (no longer available) with Kaweco Caramel Brown ($11)

Assorted supplies:

Not everything I used for September is listed below. Some items are from my deep stash and may be discontinued or I don’t remember where I got them. If you want to create your own seasonal themes, dig into your own stash and see what you already have before going out to buy more.

Stalogy B6 Grid ($24)
Bassy & Co custom B6 leather cover (no longer selling! Booo!!!!)
Creeping Moon Draco Metal Journal Clip ($16)
Creeping Moon There Be Dragons washi tape ($6)
Creeping Moon Apothecary Bookshelf Washi Tape ( 20mm wide) ($6)
Creeping Moon Campaign Markers (set of 4, $15)
MU Clear Splice Stamp – My Icon – Flowers B (No. 15) ($4.40)
Stamp Pad Mini Kits – Ranger Tim Holz Distress Archival Ink (Sets 4 & 6) ($14 per set of four)
Bande Washi Tape Sticker Roll – Flower Meaning – Gypsophila (Gratitude) – Set of 2 ($9)
The Secret of Light Years washi tape set ($9.99)
Vintage Washi Tape Set ($7.98)
Monthly Date Stickers ($6.99)
The Botanist Sticker Anthology ($14.49)
The Antiquarian Sticker Book: Bibliophilia (The Antiquarian Sticker Book Series) ($17.98)
FAYWARE Ephemera Book Washi Vintage Stickers ($13.99)
Loads of Ephemera Sticker Book ($9.89)
Bunches of Botanicals Sticker Book ($9.89)
StiikiClub stickers (approx. $3.50 per sheet)
B6 calendar printable PDF (available free to all Patrons)

And if you would like a deep dive video of my set-up:

In Pen Review

Pen Review: Mildliner Brush Pens

AnaAugust 29, 2024August 29, 2024Leave a comment

OMG! Did you know that Zebra made BRUSH Mildliners?!??! I didn’t. When someone mentioned them, I couldn’t order them fast enough. I love felt tip style brush pens and the colors for the Mildliners are great so this is a match made in heaven.

There are some sets available but I’ve decided I am better served picking and choosing the colors I might like so I don’t end up with a couple that I just don’t ever use.

I grabbed five colors:

Each individual pen sells for $2.65 each. The brush pens are double ended with the brush tip on one end and the same fine bullet tip on the opposite end as the standard chisel tip of the original Mildliners.

Comparison between the standard chisel tip Mildliner and the new brush tip version.

Both the chisel tip and brush tip Mildliners hve the same fine bullet tip on the opposite end.

There are 25 available colors in the Mildliner Brush line compared to 35 colors in the standard highlighter style.

I tested the pens on a scrap piece of Col-o-ring paper and absolutely love how the tips spring back for script writing. The fine tip might be too light for writing in some colors but could be used for coloring or underlining.

I will be adding these into regular circulation for my monthly journal and planning — and I’ll probably grab more colors soon.

Do you love brush pens? Do you own any of these Mildliners yet?

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.

In Link Love

Link Love: Recovery Day

AnaAugust 28, 2024August 27, 2024Leave a comment

I’ve been back from the San Francisco Pen Show for one day and I am definitely fatigued from the journey. Three long days of selling and teaching with full days of travel on each leave me feeling absolutely frazzled.

Most of all, pens shows are about the people! Just a few of my favorite pen show family: Franz, Jesi, Kim and Diane!

This year’s show had a lot more sticker, stamp and washi tape vendors, much to everyone’s delight.

Kiwi Notebooks with their plush Kiwi mascot (not for sale).

Anderillium Inks also had lots of fun colors. Eye candy for sure!

Rubato Pens features her amazing hand crafted pens are served up on cake plates like the desserts they are.

One of Rubato Pens wonderful drawings created with one of her fountain pens with a delicate map nib (yes, her pens hold dip nibs!).

Samples created by Leigh Reyes on the new papers being offered through Musubi, bamboo and art paper.

The experience of the show, though, teaching several classes and seminars, working at the Vanness Pen Shop table, seeing old friends and making new friends, was unforgettable. Yes, the show was often crowded and many vendors sold out of merchandise before the weekend was over but everyone was kind, friendly and excited to be surrounded with other people who loved pens and ink and stationery as much as they do.

Very bare shelves at the Vanness Pen Shop table

I’m hoping that more shows start adding more classes, seminars and workshops. I think the future of pen shows will be because the events become about more than just purchasing products but about learning new ways to use them and work with them. Experiences beyond shopping are what will make pen shows even better.

Now for the links:

Pens:

Pen Show Nibs Overviews (via Rachel’s Reflections)
Displaying My Pens (via Rachel’s Reflections)

Ink:

Shokido Venezia (via Inkcredible Colours)
Ink Review #826: Color Traveler Pastel Pink (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
My 8 Favourite Fountain Pen Inks (via Inky Imaginings)

Pencils:

Caran d’Ache Claim Your Style Bicolors (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
New Blackwing Colors (Review of “Sand” Eraser) (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)

Notebooks & Paper:

The Guilt of Missing Days (via Bullet Journal)
Three ways to transform your life (via Bullet Journal)
How “to do” cards (might) work for me… (via Nero’s Notes)
TRAVELER’S notebook 2025 DIARY – LOVE AND TRIP (via TRAVELER’S COMPANY USA)
Leuchtturm1917 Notebooks: A Comprehensive Guide (via JetPens Blog)
The limited edition 2024 XOXO Field Notes are available to t… (via Kottke.org)
Stationery Intentions (via Dime Novel Raven)
How I Use My Notebooks: Gym Journal (via Writing at Large)
Printing Inserts in 2024 and beyond…’ (via Philofaxy)
On Keeping a Notebook by Joan Didion (via The Cramped)
Filofax Fountain-pen Frustration (via Notebook Stories)

Art & Creativity:

Catching Up with Calendar Drawings, Part 2 // A.C. (via Baum-kuchen)
The National Arts Club Presents “Jazz Greats” (via Hyperallergic)
Designer and illustrator Julia Wand on her love of nature and why sketching is crucial (via Creative Boom)
Sketching while waiting (via Apple-Pine)
Gouache outing that needed a follow-up (via Apple-Pine)
GUEST ARTIST: “Taking The Overwhelm Out of Making Art” by Garima Srivastava (via Doodlewash)

Other Interesting Things:

Airbnb Unveils a Life-Sized 90’s Inspired Polly Pocket Home (via My Modern Met)
Disney has cancelled The Acolyte after one season. Such a hi… (via Kottke.org)
Vintage Vehicles Used to Advertise Life Savers Lollies During the 1920s and 1930s (via Design You Trust)
What is Election Mail and its History in the US? (via National Postal Museum)
Mr. Eggplants — A New Brand from Taiwan (via Wonder Pens)
Ren Faire Pen Faire (via The Pen Addict)
A Clever Way to Store Stickers (via An Inkophile’s Blog)
A Year of Curiosities (via A Gathering of Curiosities)

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