In Pen Review

Mini-Review: Retro51 Rainforest Trust

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Mini-Review: Retro51 Rainforest Trust

The Rainforest Retro51 ($59) is an exclusive Retro51 design from Luxury Brands of America. Limited to just 500 units, the pen is a partnership with the Rainforest Trust, a leading rainforest and endangered species conservation organization. With each purchase of the Rainforest Retro51, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Rainforest Trust to help protect and maintain the animals and habitat for the future.

The design is a multicolor screenprint in lush greens on a black background with animals hidden in the greenery including showy parrots, sloths, monkeys and wild cats (my animal identification might be incorrect so if you know more accurate descriptions, please leave them in the comments).

My favorite part is the frog end cap. He’s such a cute little guy who peers at you every time you open your pen case or sticks out of your pen cup.

The classic Retro51 Tornado design with its Schmidt rollerball refill is always a go-to at the Desk for on-the-go writing and especially for gateway gifts for loved ones. If you have a friend or family member who loves the tropics and rainforest conservation, grab one of these before they are gone.

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

In feature, Ink Review

Ink Review: Taisho Inks, Part 2

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 1 Comment
Ink Review: Taisho Inks, Part 2

Taisho Roman inks are a new line from Teranishi and I’m continuing on this week with another two colors from the lineup. If you missed part 1 of this review, make sure to go back and read it!

I discovered the entire Teranishi ink brand at St. Louis Art Supply where the ink is offered in 40mL glass bottles for $21.50 (about $0.54 per mL) or in 1.5mL samples for $2.50. Because I have used samples for this review, there is no photo of the actual bottles but refer to part 1 for a look at them.

Taisho Roman Modern Red is a well-saturated red with a hint of shading and a touch of sheen occasionally.

However, I was surprised at how Modern Red reacted to various types of paper. Sometimes this ink shows as a bold, bright red. Other papers reveal the orange and brown undertones of the ink. The ink can also show very different textures on each paper.

Teranishi Taisho Roman Modern Red on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Modern Red on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Modern Red on Midori MD paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet is the second ink in today’s review. This purple also has a bit of shading and plenty of blue in the undertones.

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet on Midori MD paper:

Which of the Teranishi inks is your favorite?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Mid-Year Reflections

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Mid-Year Reflections

As we head into July, stationery and pen fans tend take a moment to rest, enjoy the summer holidays and then re-evaluate their planner or other analog set-up. It’s just how we roll. This week, several posts feature reviews and reflections on goals and stationery plans that were set into motion in January. How have your stationery or planner approach changed since January?

Also, two more sites have taken time to play along with our #21penquestions tag. Some great answers!

Links of the Week:

(although some people — who shall remain nameless–  don’t deserve it!)

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

We need each other. Please support us by joining our Patreon and be sure to shop with our sponsors and affiliates and let them know you heard about them here. Your patronage supports this site. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In Fountain Pen Review

Mini-Review: Muji Fountain Pen

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

When is a Platinum Preppy not a Platinum Preppy? When its a Muji Fountain Pen (price not available online). In the past, I’ve acquired other pens from Muji that were “white-labelled” but none more perfectly fits this description than this Preppy.

The exterior is entirely opaque white plastic with a clear ring at the cap band. The clip is integrated into the cap and is smooth straight line with no embellishment.

The only branding is the classic “p” and the nib width indication of “03” which is the fine nib.

The pen performs just as well as a regular Preppy but with a simple, clean exterior. The Platinum nib, as always, is smooth and the snap cap makes it a great on-the-go pen. If you have access to a Muji store, I would recommend looking for this gem.

This pen was sent to me by a dear friend.

 

In photo

A new stationery store: May Day Paper & Post

Author Laura CameronPosted on 6 Comments

A little over a month ago Kansas City welcomed a new stationery store, May Day Paper and Post! While we do have a pen store and the ubiquitous Paper Source, this is an indie stationery store, one that I’m delighted to support. May Day bills itself as a place for all things snail mail.

This past Friday while Ana was at the St. Louis Pen Show, I drove up to check it out! The store is super cute, set in midtown Kansas City. It has a fun, curated collection of greeting cards, notebooks and notecards, journals, stickers, mugs, wrapping paper and other giftables. To be clear, this isn’t a pen store. They did have a fun selection of Gelly Roll pens and a few roller balls and ball points, but it’s primarily about the paper. It’s whimsical, and the owner definitely has a sense of humor.

I was restrained but found a few cute cards on the long wall. My selections were from Black and White and Red All Over and A Zillion Dollars. Both cards are printed nicely, and use recycled content for both the cards and envelopes.

I saw many of the familiar notebooks (Maruman, Kleid, Leuchtturm, and more), plus some from companies I hadn’t heard from. I did pick up one notebook – I’ll share my thoughts on it next week!

Overall it’s a cute shop, and if you’re in the Kansas City area, you won’t be disappointed if you stop by! And if you’re looking for a fun new shop to support, you can also shop online!

P.S. If you stop by, make sure you give shop dog Lucy lots of pets!

In Art Supplies

Watercolor Review: Boku-Undo Gansai Aurora Palette

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

Review by Tina Koyama

I always say (to myself and others) that I’m not a sheeny, shiny, glittery gal (I’ve only ever purchased one bottle of shimmery ink, and I gave it away soon after). Obviously a liar, I recently found myself craving some sheeny, shiny, glittery watercolors. The Boku-Undo Gansai Watercolor Palette in the Aurora colors (6/$14.75) looked mouth-watering.

Before I plant my face into the sheen, I thought I’d mention that I’m already a fan of the Boku-Undo mini palettes of unique watercolors. The E-Sumi palette I reviewed a few years ago are a lot of fun to use when I’m in a dark mood. While the e-sumi palette is subdued, the Aurora set is on the opposite end of the scale: It’s all about the dazzling light.

The set includes (from left) gold, silver, red, green, blue and purple. I used both my scanner and my phone to photograph swatches in direct daylight on black and white papers. Each time, the swatches look very different! 

On white paper, the shimmer is apparent in direct light, but the hues are difficult to differentiate and even seem to change. I’m not sure they are worth using on white paper. 

On dark paper, however, the effect is entirely different. The sparkly, metallic particles glow on black paper. I rubbed a finger across the dried swatches, and some sparkly flecks smeared a bit like powder.

It was obvious that I had to make a test sketch on black paper, so I used a black Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook. And I had just the right reference photo to use! During the summer months when the sun doesn’t go down until 8 or 9 p.m., my spouse guy and I take after-dinner walks through the neighborhood to enjoy the light. The gorgeous “golden hour” is too brief to sketch on location, so I snap a lot of reference photos to sketch from later (like the long, dismal winters when the sun goes down at 4). The photo I used wasn’t as dark as my sketch appears, but the low, warm light gave everything a lovely glow. 

Whatever gives these paints their sparkle also makes them thicker than typical watercolors. I applied them fairly thick to retain as much concentrated shimmer as possible, and they felt a bit creamy rather than watery.

Oooh, these paints are fun on black paper! I have fully embraced my inner glitter gal.

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 Link Love

Link Love: Meet Me in St. Louis?

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Meet Me in St. Louis?

Tomorrow I head out for St. Louis for the pen show. Will you be there too? If not, I hope you are having a wonderful summer and maybe I’ll see you somewhere else in the future?

Until then, have fun with this week’s links including Mike of Inkdependence’s entry into our #21PenQuestions project.

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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