The allure of the Sun-Star Delde Smand Pen Case in Lemon ($17) is the rigid, triangular shape AND the front flip panel. The double zip closure is also worth noting. The bright, happy yellow lining and the lemon print is a bonus.
Front flip panel, you might be asking? The Smand features a magnetic flap on the front of the case (or is it the back? You decide!) that will lay flat onto your work surface and reveals a grippy surface, perfect for propping up your phone.
When I first saw this, I wasn’t sure I needed such a feature. Isn’t the point of writing to not use your phone? decided to give it a try anyway and discovered that the flap is so handy! Throughout my day, I find that I use my phone for podcasts, the occasional chat and other little tasks. The grippy surface has become the “phone landing pad” so I know where I put it and can easily see if a message pops up.
The rigid construction of the case supports your phone (or a small notepad) easily. I have discovered that the remaining grippy surface can act as a pen rest, keeping pens from rolling off the table.
The easy portability of this case means that if you find yourself working from a coffee shop, library or other non-office-y space, you still have the convenience of propping up your phone and laying a pen on the grippy surface like a makeshift pen tray. AND you’ll have a case full of tools for whatever project you need to tackle.
The internal storage space opens wide to allow easy access to supplies. The case is long enough for most pencils and an array of markers, gel pens and small supplies. The Smand can hold about a dozen pens or pencils comfortably so it forces me to be a bit more choosy about what supplies I keep with me. Any more than 8-12 tools and I find that I need to dump everything out to find what I want to use. I try to pick an assortment of brush pens, Mildliners and dot markers each month to add a little flourish to my planner but keep my options to a limited palette. The Smand is perfect for this.
If lemon print is not for you, the Smand is available in a bunch of other patterns and colors including more sedate, solid colors. Facing a long, dark January, the bright pop of yellow reminds me that summer will be here soon but in the meantime I can warm my soul with my lemon pen case!
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.
Dip pens are priceless when it comes to swatching inks, enabling the user to quickly and completely clean the nib between ink changes. There’s no other way to test several inks in a row. A great place to participate in such serial-ink-swatching is at pen meet-ups, either local or at more distant pen shows.
Below are several tools I use on a regular basis for ink testing, but only one is suitable for the travel involved with pen meet-ups and pen shows.
If you are a regular reader of Well-Appointed Desk, you may remember a recent post where I spoke about my travel kit. One item in the larger kit is a Nock pouch that fits Col-o-Ring cards, a travel paint brush, and a travel dip pen.
Today I wanted to show how to assemble the travel dip pen!
This pen started life as a Traveller’s ballpoint pen, but you can also start with a Traveller’s pencil. The Traveller’s fountain pen or rollerball pen will not work.
These are fairly easy to find at retailers that carry Traveller’s products, and they can be found in a few different finishes (typically special editions). The pen (or pencil) consists of the body (brass in this case) and a steel insert. This insert is what holds the ballpoint or pencil – pull the insert from the body, remove the ballpoint or pencil, and throw it away. No one wants a ballpoint or pencil around here.
The only mysterious portion of this setup is how to keep the nib in the insert.
A great many dip pens consist only of a shaped rod of some type of material – wood, plastic, metal, or, in the case below, ebonite. A small plug of the material is removed from one end and a ferrule is inserted. This is holds the nib firmly in place while in use, but still allows the nib to be removed when desired.
These are ferrules. I purchased a large quantity of these several years ago – they consist of an outer tube of metal that is adjustable and an inner tube that breaks into four fingers (that is not a technical term – they just look like fingers to me) that hold the nib in place. The ferrule is forced into the hole in a nib holder and the nib is inserted between the outer and inner tube.
Here is a slightly over-zoomed photo so you can see the ferrule inside the Traveller’s pen insert. You can see how the fingers fold together once the nib is inserted.
That’s it! Any nib can be used in this dip pen, as long as it can fit in between the two tubes in the ferrule. Mapping nibs and crow quill nibs are too small for this setup. I’ve never run into other nibs that wouldn’t fit, though.
When traveling, simply remove the insert from the brass holder of the pen, flip it around and place it back into the brass holder – the nib is protected during travel and your hands are protected from being stabbed by a nib!
This week, with the New Year well under way, most folks have returned to work or school and it’s business as usual again. Hopefully, as we proceed this week, we feel rejuvenated, rested and a little more inspired to write in our journals, plan with our new planners and work towards our goals. But, if not, that’s okay too. Sometimes, the plan can just be “let’s get through the day.”
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As I mentioned last week, one of my New Year’s goals is to record more of my daily life. Many days this will be humdrum, but I’d like to remember the little things. So a few weeks ago I purchased a Midori 5-Year Diary ($42). I eagerly awaited January 1st, then stared at the blank page for a while. You know how it is.
I chose a Midori 5-Year Diary because I really love Midori paper. While Hobonichi has a version, I actually find the Tomoe River paper a bit too thin for my tastes. Especially for a journal that will last me 5 years, I really wanted paper that would work well when I write on both sides, with the least amount of show through. The Midori 5-Year Diary has 366 pages of 7mm lined MD paper.
I do like the layout with all 5 years on page, making it easy for me to review what happened in previous years…well after this year that is! So far the paper seems to be handling my different fountain pens and inks well.
So let’s talk sizing. The Midori 5-Year Diary is 7.3 x 4.5″ (18.5 x 11.5cm). It is thicker than many planners, but still comes in at around 13oz. Do you want to take it with you everywhere? Maybe not, but mine is going to live on my nightstand so I can record a few thoughts as I go to bed each night. It’s still relatively compact. It also comes in a nice slipcover for storage.
My only complaint in terms of reviewing the Midori 5-Year Diary for you is that there really aren’t an extra pages/end papers for me to ink test and show you!
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased with my own funds for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Every now and then, I feel the need to invest some of the budget fountain pens available on the market. I often gift these types of fountain pens to friends and co-workers when they express interest in fountain pens. The Platinum Preppy ($5.50-$7.80 per pen) is probably my favorite fountain pen gateway pen.
In the nib close-up photo above, its easy to see the difference in the width of the nibs. The 02 EF is very fine and perfect if you or a friend loves super fine Micron pens or other itty bitty nibs. The 03 is closer to a standard fine-tipped pen, particularly when ink spread is factored into the equation. Fountain pen ink spreads more than gel or ballpoint ink so if you’re trying a fountain pen for the first time, the narrower nibs will have less noticeable ink spread on a wider assortment of average papers.
I installed the cartridge that shipped with both pens so the ink is the same but, in writing, the ink in the 02 looks noticeably lighter. This phenomena is familiar to regular fountain pen users but may come as a surprise to new users. The finer the nib, the less ink on the paper therefore the lighter the ink color.
Thanks to the Platinum “slip and seal” snap cap, these pens will not dry out quickly so if you want to have a back-up fountain pen at the ready in your desk drawer, the Preppy will be ready and waiting.
I like to upgrade these pens with a box of Platinum Carbon Black ink cartridges ($4.50 for a box of 4). Yes, the cartridges are pricey but these fine nibs use ink so sparingly that it will take a good deal of time to use it all up. By the time you or a pal has used a whole box of cartridges, you’ll know if you want to invest in a converter and a whole bottle of ink.
The Preppy remains one of my most recommended entry-level pens. Yes, it requires proprietary cartridges and a converter that costs as much as the pen itself but for a first taste of fountain pens, it can’t be beat.
The Preppy is also quite hackable. Many people will add some silicone grease to the threads and just eyedropper the pens. They are easy to clean and the nibs are smooth for such a fine nib.
How many Preppys are in your collection? Or what pen do you gift to would-be pen fans?
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.
Moving into 2023, as a stationery nerd, I use Dead Week and the first few weeks of the new year to start fresh with new planners, new journals and new plans for the coming year.
The last few years have been a challenge for everyone. Family losses, illness, job changes and all the other struggles that have plagued the world over the last few years made it hard to keep positive.
I’m not the only one feeling this, am I?
Some people make resolutions but I prefer to make plans–things I’d like to accomplish in the coming year — both big and small. Travel plans and financial goals on the “big” end and things like repotting plants, clearing out the basement and reading 50 books are just a few of my “little” plans. This ritual, for me, helps to spur positivity, optimism and even action.
Plans and Goals
I use GoodReads to track my reading challenge goals and have done this challenge for over a decade now. I have a stack of books on my nightstand that I collected last year that will be where I start with my reading challenge.
Knitters often use January and February to assess their yarn stash and projects for the coming year. One knitter refers to this as the “annual airing of the stash” and Laura and I often participate in a February “Fix it, Finish it or Frog it” challenge which I think we made up.
Many people try to choose a word for the year — something that embodies their commitment or inspiration for the year. Goalchaser features a list of over 100 possible words you might consider choosing as your “word of the year”. I am working to choose my word of the year this week. I want the word to embody a trait I want to have more abundantly in my life so I am weighing my options at the moment. What word would you pick as your “word of the year”?
Cleaning up
While many of us, myself included, like to take the new year to consider paring down, clearing clutter or cleaning, we often think of our homes, closets and collections specifically. The start of the new year is a good time for a digital declutter as well. I like to consider what apps I can remove from my phone, ipad and computer that I no longer use. I back up photos and other files to an external hard drive. I take some time to delete endless screenshots and other random photos from my photo library. I don’t need to archive those photos of price tags I took at the store to text to Bob (“Is this the one you wanted?”).
I also go through any subscriptions I have and consider if I’ve been using them. These are mostly digital subscriptions but they can add up. Newspapers, streaming services, podcasts, substacks, patreon projects, etc — can all be up for consideration.
While on the topic of podcasts, this is also a good time to consider refreshing your podcast collection. Are there podcasts you’ve been skipping for months? Time to prune them from the collection and maybe add some new podcasts that might align with goals for the new year. Or maybe just mix it up? Here are some recommendations from Avery Trufelman of Articles of Interest. The top of the post includes links to “best podcasts” lists which are also a great source for new content.
The Tools
Since switching to a bullet journal/undated planner set-up, I don’t need to start or switch to a new planner at the start of the year. I just turn the page.
I do think I will start a new sketchbook for 2023. I want to make more time to sketch and draw and having a place specifically set aside for this will be a nice “fresh start” for me. I am testing a couple B6 sketchbooks as possibilities but there are not a lot in my favorite size so I may need to switch to an A5 to find the right paper for the way that I want to work.
I have really streamlined the pens I use on a regular basis and it’s making it clear that I could pare down my collection this year. I have paired certain pens with certain notebooks and that has made the process of choosing a tool when I need to work much easier. I also took several bottles of ink to work so that I can easily refill pens.
I have also taken some time to sort through gel pens, markers and other writing tools and clear out some of the clogged/dried out ones and make a pile of the ones I just don’t use to donate to a charity.
Setting Aside Time
More than anything, I think making and sticking to resolutions or plans or whatever you call them, requires making time to do the tings you want to do. I realize this can often be easier said than accomplished. Work, family and life can often take up our time but there are other things that can sap our time like social media, consuming media like tv or YouTube that we might want to consider taking back for other projects.
Starting in 2023, I will be allowed to work from home on Mondays and Fridays which means I gain an hour of time on these days I would normally use for commuting. What do I plan to do with that time? I am not sure yet. Maybe Mondays will be dedicated to getting a longer workout in and Fridays will be for an hour of drawing time?
Are there other activities stealing our time? How will you make time in the new year for what you really want to do?
In May of 2022 three kittens easily fit into this basket.By November, even one cat didn’t quite fit. Pepper looks like he melted.
May 2023 be full of the things and people you love with enough time to enjoy them!
Ferris Wheel Press has not been shy with the number of new inks they have released recently. Their latest collection, Alice in Wonderland, is part of the FerriTales line and recently concluded with Tears of Sapphire. But don’t worry! A new collection is beginning with today’s ink, Lapis Lullabies.
I do love the detail in the packaging for all of Ferris Wheel Press inks and Lapis Lullabies is no exception. This is the first ink that starts into the tale of Sleeping Beauty, so the heavy bed curtains are surrounded by roses with spinning wheels carved into the bed posts.
As with all of the FerriTales inks, Lapis Lullabies is in an adorable bottle – a miniature version of the full sized inks in the normal ink line.
Lapis Lullabies is closer to a deep sea or dark teal color than a true lapis. The ink has a reddish-copper sheen with gold sparkle added – not unlike Emerald of Chivor (although Lapis is bluer).
The base color of Lullabies is close to Lamy Petrol.
Even the sheen in Lullabies comes close to the same sheen in Petrol.
My writing below is on Tomoe River 68gsm paper in a notebook from Odyssey Notebooks.
I love the more coppery tone in Lullabies’ sheen rather than a bold metallic red.
The FerriTales inks each come in a small, 20mL bottle for $21 at most ink retailers which places the ink at about $1.05 per mL – rather expensive on my charts. It is, however, a beautiful ink for a special treat. As with each of the small bottles from Ferris Wheel Press, I must warn about the small opening – large pens will not fit into it. The largest diameter pen I can fit into the bottle is a TWSBI Eco – this pen is a tight fit. Please keep this in mind when deciding to purchase!
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purposes of this review by Ferris Wheel Press. Please see the About page for more details.
