Exclusive Pen Show inks and other goodies are the carrot to make us all feel massive massive amounts of FOMO but I decided to make sure someone in our community doesn’t suffer from FOMO by giving away a brand new bottle of the Sailor 2023 Pen Show Exclusive Ink.
Its a bright, vivid orange to help see you through the last grey days of winter. When compared to other oranges in my collection, I’d say its a bit brighter and happier than Sailor Apricot, if that’s possible. This ink will definitely show best with a wide nib to get all the shading,
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what your favorite orange ink is. 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 Friday, February 24, 2023. 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: Items included in this post were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.
While I was off gallivanting in California, we restocked a bunch of products in the shops (Big Cartel — the main US shop, and Etsy for international orders).
The Good News
First, in our Big Cartel shop, we have just relisted the Col-o-ring FOLIO ($40 each + $10 oversized shipping). We only make a small quantity of these pads at a time so place your order early to guarantee you get one from the new batch.
The Col-o-ring FOLIO is our biggest Col-o-ring product ever! It can double as a desk pad or drawing pad with 40 sheets of 12″ x 16″ original Col-o-ring paper (same 160gsm weight) and now with sturdier covers thanks to the fine work of Skylab Letterpress.
We ship the FOLIO out in large cardboard mailers and they weigh in at almost 4lbs so that’s why the shipping is high. We will be trying to bring these behemoths to some of the pen shows this year, so be sure to let me know what shows you’ll be attending and I’ll try to stuff a few extras in my suitcase.
We’ve also relisted our Ink Bottle Stamp Set ($40) on both Big Cartel and Etsy. These are miniature versions of the Ink Bottle (Short) and Sample Vial plus the rare, discontinued Pedestal Bottle (if you know, you know) and the Classique Bottle ($10 on it’s own, if that’s how you roll).
It’s a tale familiar to most of you that, in the current manufacturing climate, we have to announce that starting in March 2023, we will be raising the price on our Original Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books to $12. All other products are still the same price.
We have needed to do this for some time but we didn’t want to put undue pressure on our devoted customers. But we’ve hit a point where we feel the small bump will be acceptable to most everyone. Our paper distributor relocated to the other side of the country in 2020 and, on top of material costs, we have to pay shipping just to get our paper.
When we started the Col-o-ring project, our distributor was about two miles from the print shop and we could pick it up. During COVID, we figured that trying to keep people happy with our product was more important that trying to stay ahead of the curve. What can we say? We both have art degrees, and not business degrees!
When we launched the Col-o-ring in 2017 (SIX YEARS AGO!!!), we had no idea it would be the success that it has become.
Thank you for being such a large part of this success.
The California Pen Show, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, was a great first show for the new group of organizers. I thought we’d share some photos and a more in-depth recap for our first show of the year. I know the California Pen Show was not the first show of the calendar year but it was the first one that Jesi an I attended this year and I think it was a great way to jump start a new year.
The best part of any pen show is getting to spend time with people who love pens and ink as much as I do and Jesi and I revel in the time we get to spend together at shows.
The hotel where the show was located featured a picturesque pool, garden and hot tub and our room had a patio that looked out over it. Thursday, when we arrived, the weather was pretty mild but the rest of the weekend was not particularly conducive to dips in the pool sadly. But it made for a scenic view nontheless.
We ran into old friends like Joel Hamilton (pictured above with Jesi). He’s a charmer and always has a smile for us. Below, we will just photobomb you with all the folks we love to see at shows.
Jesi with “Matthew’s Mom” of Matthew’s Nibworks fame.Dinner on Friday with the Dromgoole’s team, Gena of Custom Nib Studio, a couple guys from Flax Art and the gang from Rickshaw Bagworks.Marty giving the side eye to Mark Dwight of Rickshaw Bagworks and his dinner choice.Kirk Speer from Pen Realm rocking a stylin’ jacket.John from FlexinibpensMe and Myk of the Mad MercantileGive us his most stern look, John from Lemur Ink.
Jesi and I were working at the Dromgoole’s tables for this show. We were stationed at the “ink station” but we also helped with paper, pencils (100% me) and several of the pen tables. Marty and his wife Kimberly were there as well with their tables of NOS Retro51s right next to the new team at Retro51 who are great guys. Rickshaw was also in the Dromgoole’s table island with special pen cases and sleeves for the show.
Like all pens shows, set-up for the vendors starts early with a quick breakfast and then unpacking and setting up before the first customers barrel through the door ready to spend theoir had-earned cash on pens, ink and accessories.
Early morning breakfast with the Dromgooles in the Club Lounge.
Vendors were allowed in at 8am to start setting up which was not nearly enough time for us since the show opened at 9am for three-day pass holders and 10am for one-day pass holders.
Jesi and I stopped for a photo during set-up on Friday.Early on Friday, Cary from Kenro can be spotted wandering the show with a shopping bag.
By the end of the day on Friday, we were shredded. We ate dinner and Jesi crashed early. I stayed up,, hanging in the bar for a little while and then conked out around midnight. We knew we had a big day on Saturday.
And on Saturday, we wear stripes. Trust us when we say this was a total accident but we liked it!On Saturday, it was a sea of hands hovering over the delectable colors of Benu, Leondaro and Sailor pens on this side of the tables at Dromgoole’s.A quick bird’s eye view from our spot in the ballroom on Saturday.
As expected, Saturday was very busy. It was a delight to see lots of old friends from shows past and to meet new collectors and pen enthusiasts. I was only to capture a few photos, including the one above until we were seated at the bar in the evening.
And the Saturday stripes continue! Our favorite Montblanc-toting auctioneer, Stephen, got into the spirit of things with his own striped shirt.
Sunday was a bit slower overall which is the antithesis of the previous LA International Pen Show. The “LA” show only allows the public to attend on Sunday where the new “CA” show allows the public to attend any day throughout the weekend which made the whole show a good deal more shoppable and not nearly as harrowing for vendors and attendees.
Gena from Custom Nib Studio was still hard at work grinding nibs on Sunday.
Since we hada little time to shop and walk around, Jesi and I both got some nibs adjusted. Gena from Custom Nib Studio adjusted a janky nib for me and ground my Pilot Cavalier down to a needlepoint to be the perfect office pen (snap cap and a nib tiny enough not to bleed on copy paper). Jesi also had a nib adjusted by Gena who was stationed next to the Schon Design table. I got a chance to try the new Monoc nib that they have created. That nib is hella impressive.
Our Takeaways
Of the enhancements I’d like to see to the California Pen Show, I’d like to see the addition of workshops, classes and/or scheduled meet-up events. Maybe add an auction? The younger crowd, often made up of newer pen enthusiasts would be willing and would benefit from all sorts of classes and workshops. Everything from “how to fill a pen” or “how to clean a pen” to journaling workshops, calligraphy or nib tuning. What other kinds of classes and workshops would you want to see at a pen show?
And maybe, just maybe, reduce the entry fee on Sunday to entice people who may have missed Friday or Saturday? If Sundays are slower, its a good day for pen newbies to come and get some advice from vendors. However, if they’ve not invested in a fountain pen before having to pay a $15 entry fee plus parking might be too steep to get them in the door.
For vendors, it would be nice for the show to add some volunteers to act as table sitters. Other shows have offered this service and its really helpful for anyone who may be manning a table by themselves and need to step out for a minute or two. Providing coffee service near the ballroom in the afternoons would also be most appreciated. Its not always convenient to run all the way up to the hotel lobby and wait in line at the Starbucks kiosk for that late-afternoon pick-me-up.
Overall, the new California Pen Show is a vast improvement over the previous LA International Pen Show. I don’t know if the organizers of the LA show will try to change or improve it but I think they will definitely have stiff competition with the rise of the much better organized California Pen Show.
I have so much news and stuff to talk about this week that I’ll try to be quick so you can get to those links — of course, you can just scroll right past my verbal diatribe if you want, I will never know.
The new California Pen Show was the overall success everyone was hoping for. The show was well-organized and well-attended for the first new show in our post-COVID world. Hopefully, as they plan for next year, there will be enhancements made like classes, workshops, and maybe even an evening auction. Honestly, that was probably the only elements, from an attendee standpoint that the show was missing. The show offered one day passes as well as a three day. Friday and Saturday were well-attended but Sunday was a little slow. This could have been due to the Superbowl (which occurred the same day) or the fears of the crowds normally present on Sundays at the former LA International Pen Show.
Jesi and I were the first faces people saw when they walked into the show behind two towers of inks. And we were hopping all weekend matching inks to pens and helping folks find just what inks they were looking for. In our rare slow moments, Jesi and I were able to wander about a bit and test out the new Schon Monoc Nib, visit with friends like Jonathan Brooks at Carolina Pen Company and John at Lemur. We also made new friends, visited with some folks we only see on the West Coast and oggle some beautiful pens.
Jesi left the show on Sunday afternoon in order to be at work first thing on Monday (in KC, coincidentally) and I left on Monday. When I got home, I discovered that I had picked up a raging case of con-crud. Not COVID, just your run-of-the-mill cold but it doesn’t make it any less of a drag. Our dear friend and Desk-contributor Tina, just posted that she did come down with COVID this week. Laura is about to leave on a two-week trip to New Zealand today as well. If we are short a post or two in the new couple weeks, its just a result of everything happening all at once so be patient with us.
Today, the entire city of Kansas City is downtown for the celebratory Superbowl champions parade. Except me. Because I am coughing up a lung. And I don’t really like crowds so I probably wouldn’t have been there anyway. My office, however, did give everyone the day off to celebrate. I will be “celebrating” by resting and recuperating from the crud.
There are some really great posts this week, including lots of ink reviews, a re-review of the Platinum Curidas, Gentleman Stationer’s review of the aforementioned Schon Monoc nib and lots more — a biotech firm is trying to bring back the Dodo (I’m having Jasper Fforde Thursday Next flashbacks) and even a cute dog rescue story and classic perfumes. Hope you find something that intrigues or delights you this week.
We need each other. Please support our sponsors, affiliates or join our Patreon. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you’re able to have a little fun today, even if it’s a dreary February day where you are.
I just wanted to thank you for reading along with us at “the desk.” We love writing and reviewing products and getting to share our love of all things stationery with you. Your comments make us so happy!
So we wish you a wonderful Valentine’s Day. And even if you’re not so keen on today’s holiday, there’s always tomorrow’s – half price chocolate day!
❤️ Laura
P.S. Roses are red, violets are blue, we love office supplies, we’re glad you do too!!
On Friday, I talked about how much I love the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens. What I realized recently is how much I also love the Pentel Fude Brush Sign Pens. I have had one or two of this pens floating around the Desk and frequently reach for them for my daily journal and planning needs but really wanted to have more than just a couple colors so I ordered the 2020 New Color 12-color set ($23) from JetPens.
Like with the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens, the range of colors in the 2020 New Color set featured some unique, non-standard colors so I was very excited to try this set.
The Pentel Fude Brush Sign Pens feature to bullet-shaped, felt-tip style tips housed in a plastic cap. The pens I’ve had floating around the office, I’ve had for months, maybe even years and are regularly used and have not frayed or gotten cruddy so I do tend to recommend these to anyone looking for a more brush pen-look marker. These are particularly good for folks with a heavy hand since these pens have a stiffer brush than the Sai pens.
Some of the colors in this set are quite light. The Pale Blue is even more pale in person than in the photo above but the other colors are all really lovely. The Light Grey will probably get used more for underlining or decoration rather than actually writing titles. The Olive Green is CHEF’S KISS for me. The Blue-Black and Turquoise Green will also get a lot of use for me.
The real joy is how lovely this pen makes my script look. We all have pens that make our handwriting look better and this, for me, is one of those. As such, I will extoll their virtues for years to come.
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.
For years, one of my favorite brush pens have been the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens. I originally purchased the 20-color set ($34.50). In the time since I acquired them, I have used some up, given some away or lost a few. In the end, I had about 6 or 8 of the original 20-color set. I also discovered that I have never written a review about these brush pens so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to invest in the 30-color set ($51.50).
Tip up or tip down, this plastic storage box is sturdy and well-made.
I don’t normally keep marker or brush pens in the packaging but with a large set like this 30-color set, the sturdy, translucent plastic box is easy to use, easy to see the pens and easy to store so the pens might live in this box for the time being. I do store the box with the tips down or horizontal so that the tips don’t dry out. The 20-color set came in a long flat plastic sleeve that is lovely for presentation but too big to be usable for me so I took the pens out of the case immediately, which may explain why I managed to lose some of the pens.
What I like most about the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens is the unusual color range. Unlike many pen sets that offer the standard ROYGBIV spectrum in smaller sets, the Sai sets all have a more sophisticated, complex color range.
The pens feature clear caps with a clip to keep the pens from rolling away. I did discover that the caps need to be pushed firmly to close the pens completely.
The package included an instruction and color chart sheet — all in Japanese. There are diagrams showing methods for blending colors by touching the pen tips together to transfer some of the ink from one pen to the other in order to create gradients while drawing.The package included an instruction and color chart sheet — all in Japanese but interesting to look at the range of drawing and sketching examples.
With the 30-color set, I do feel like there are more common colors then in the 20-color set but overall, I think the set offers a great range of colors.
Sai brush pens come with a very fine pointCat hair plus flexible nylon bristles of the Sai brush pen
Of all the brush pens on the market, the individual nylon bristle tips on the Sai brush pens are some of the sturdiest while also being the most like a real brush. Other brands feature the soft, flexible “felt tip” style tips which can often dull or the tips can get worn out but the Sai bristles have survived a wide array of paper surfaces and abuse and kept the tips sharp and usable. I didn’t go out of my way to try to damage or abuse them so I’m sure they can be damaged, but in regular use, I’ve found the Sai brush pens to be the most durable while also being the most brusk-like.
Using a standard Tomoe River A5 notebook, I tested the full range of colors in the 30-color set. My favorite colors are the dusty blue in the center of the second row and pretty much all the greens. I think for nature sketchers, this set has a good variety. Lettering artists will like the spring brush tips and unique color range especially.
The red-orange color always reminds me of ripe, heirloom tomatoes. All things considered, its probably my favorite in the set. It is also in the 20-color set and I used it all the time.
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.
