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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!
The post A new stationery store: May Day Paper & Post appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
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.
The post Watercolor Review: Boku-Undo Gansai Aurora Palette appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
I don’t know precisely why I love my TWSBIs as much as I do. Sure there’s the fact that they’re sort of modern, tech-y looking with the see through barrels, and the piston filler. There’s the fact that my TWSBIs almost always start on the first go, and don’t run dry unless they are literally out of ink. The, ECOs, of which I have three, are incredibly reasonably priced so they make great entry-level fountain pens. They provide a nice, if not exceptional, writing experience. They’re available in a ton of different nib sizes. Ok… I guess I’ve given myself a few reasons.
Despite really liking my TWSBI ECOs, I’ve never actually branched out and tried any of their other pens. (I take that back, I tried the TWSBI Swipe a while ago and thought it was ok.) But this time I saw the TWSBI Diamond Mini AL in Grape (a limited edition color!; $62.50) and decided to give the more expensive model a go!
The Diamond Mini AL is TWSBI’s version of a pocket pen. It is styled similarly to the other pens, in the sense that it has a transparent plastic barrel which gives you a bird’s eye view of the piston filling system. There are differences though. The grip and part of the piston system are designed in aluminum. The barrel of the pen is faceted (hence the “Diamond” feel and look). While the ECO and the SWIPE tend to be boxier, with edges on the cap, the Diamond Mini’s edges are rounded, and the cap is tapered. Overall while the ECO is utilitarian, the Diamond Mini is a bit sleeker looking.
I decided to compare a few pens that I use as daily writers to give you a sense of size.
L to R: TWSBI Eco, TWSBI Diamond Mini AL, Kaweco AL Sport, Sailor Pro-Gear Slim.
While the pens vary quite a bit in length when capped, when uncapped the Diamond Mini AL and the Kaweco AL Sport aren’t that different in length. The nibs, however, do have a size differential. In terms of weight they’re very similar: The Pro Gear comes in at 19gm, the ECO at 20, the AL Sport at 21g, and finally the Diamond Mini AL is the heaviest at 23g. But that’s not a HUGE range.
So what do I think? If I’m entirely 100% honest, I don’t feel much of a writing difference between the ECO and the Diamond Mini AL. This is my first extra fine nib from TWSBI, and given that TWSBI tends to use western-style nibs, I don’t find the extra fine to be scratchy in the least. In fact I quite like it. The pen is a bit weightier in my hand, and it’s smaller in size, but I have small hands and it seems like a comfortable writer. So what would make me pay more for the Diamond AL Mini? To me, it comes down to aesthetics. The Mini is fun, and often I do prefer aluminum to plastic (see my preferences for Kawecos!), but given that I don’t see a huge writing difference, I feel like I’m more apt to stick with the ECOs than amass another collection.
Do you have a favorite TWSBI? I’d love to hear about it!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge or at a discount for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
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A week or so ago Ana let me know she was sending me a new keyboard desk pad to try out. You may remember my fondness for desk pads, and my previous reviews of my Ruff House planners and the Original Crown Mill keyboard pad. Despite technology, I love having a place to write down my daily to do list, notes from meetings, etc. So when Ana sent me the Cortex Sidekick Notepad ($39), I was eager to test it out.
The Sidekick Notepad is designed by the one and only Myke Hurley, cohost of the Pen Addict Podcast. According to Cotton Bureau, “Sidekick Notepad is designed to sit comfortably with you and your keyboard. It’s ready and waiting for whatever you‘re working on. Capture all your tasks, action items, notes, and thoughts.”
Let’s get down to it. The Sidekick Notepad is listed as approximately 12″ wide by 7″ tall. (I measured the paper itself as 11.75″ x 6.25″ (30cm x 16cm). The Notepad has a sturdy cardboard backing and a cover made of a paper called “Extract” that is made from recycled coffee cups in London. It has scored edges so it can be folded over the back of the notepad while in use.
Inside are 60 sheets of Munken Lynx paper in a natural white color. There is a box for the Date at the top of the notepad and 2/3 of the pad has a dot grid where you can take notes, doodle, draw diagrams or the like. On the right 1/3 of the notepad is list where you can add and check off items.
I put the paper through its paces with fountain pens, fountain pen ink, brush pens, gel pens, fine liners and of course, Sharpies. The Sharpies always fail the test, but everything else didn’t show through, bleed or feather. Even the ink swab (which I did with cotton swabs) didn’t bleed through. You can see some distortion where the liquid was, but I wouldn’t expect a desk pad to be waterproof anyway (even though it might end up seeing some coffee).
Each sheet is perforated on the top meaning when you’re done, tear it off and start again on a fresh page.
I wanted to take a brief moment to compare the pad to a few others that I have tried.
Functionally speaking, the Sidekick Notepad is more or less the same size as my Ruff House planners. The format is different (the Ruff House planners have weekly undated planning pages) whereas the Sidekick is a bit more freeform. However, they are roughly the same size and weight, which I know does work for me.
The Original Crown Hill keyboard pad is more what I think of as something to keep right under my keyboard and handy for notes. It is much wider and thinner – it measure a whopping 16.5″ x 3.5″ (42cm x 9cm) and is a more convenient alternative if what you want is a notebook right under your keyboard.
The Sidekick won’t fulfill quite the same function as my daily planner, but I do think that it will be a useful addition to keep next to my computer, along with my planner, but better for notes in meetings, random thoughts, etc. With 60 pages, it’s likely to last for a while, though I suppose that depends on how active my days are and how many notes I really take.
I do like the paper – it is nice and smooth, and will handle any pen that I grab at my desk (I rarely use Sharpies so that’s not really a concern) and I think I’ll enjoy using it. The only question I have in my mind is whether I would continue to buy a notebook I just use for jotting down notes at $40. I should say, I don’t think it’s overpriced since it uses premium paper, recycled materials and is imported to the US from London. But if I were to use a page a day, a Sidekick would last me only 2 months so I’d have to decide if I’m enough of a devotee to keep going back for more. Let’s see how I feel after a few months and I’ll report back!
The post Notebook Review: Cortex Sidekick Notepad appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
Ana and I were chatting last night and we’ve noticed something about a lot of the limited edition, 2023 pens. Let me add a few photos…
Did I miss the green for 2023 memo? There are a few interesting finds that aren’t green. For instance the Limited Edition Carousel from Ferris Wheel Press ($90 via Jenni Bick) is rosy. The new TWSBI Eco is Persian Green ($32.99 via Pen Boutique), but it’s definitely got more blue in it. And Lamy, well, they’ve just decided to reissue previous colors on different bodies.
So what do you think? Is green giving you good vibes for this year? Are there other limited edition pens you’re digging in other colors?
The post It’s not easy being green. appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
I’m pretty sure if I were to have to pick one notebook size forever more, it would like be A5. It really is just the right size – not too big, not too small. How very Goldilocks of me!
However, I find that I can never quite make up my mind what kind of purse I want to carry. Sometimes I want a behemoth bag that’s big enough to hold a smaller purse, a knitting project, and 12 other things that I can’t seem to live without. And then other times I want a small purse to just grab and go. Either way, I need a notebook and pen, right?
Last time I was browsing Yoseka, I spied the Kleid Kraft Work Memo notebook in A6 size ($7.50). I’m currently on a small bag kick, and I thought this might be the perfect notebook for on the go. It’s small, lightweight, has an elastic loop for closure at the corner, is a spiral so it lays flat – could it be the perfect notebook?
This notebook is A6 size, meaning it measures in at 4 1/8″ x 5 7/8″ and is approximate 1/2″ thick. (10.5 cm x 15 cm, under 1 cm thick). The cover is made of sturdy cardstock, with a tight spiral. Inside are 70 pages of kraft paper with 2mm grid. The only other “frill” is the elastic strap to keep it closed at the corner.
I have to say, I like this size and I like the paper, but it’s probably not really designed for fountain pen ink. The grid is printed on the page in a way that doesn’t get covered by the fountain pen in, meaning it shows through which is a bit distracting.
Worse, I’m a lefty and I rest my hand on the page. Just that slight bit of moisture from my hand changed the texture of the paper a bit, and the ink was more prone to feathering and bleeding through there.
I did test it with my gels, fine liners and ball points though and the paper seemed to perform quite well with those.
So this may not be the perfect notebook if you’re a die hard fountain pen lover, but if you’re good throwing a ballpoint or gel pen in your purse, then this still might be a great notebook for jotting important things down when you’re out and about. And I do love that elastic loop at the corner for keeping the notebook closed and the edges tidy when I throw it in my bag.
DISCLAIMER: I purchased this notebook with my own funds for the purposes of this review. Please see the About page for more details.
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Ana and I are enormously lucky to be able to buy and try so many gorgeous pens. However, at times, we find that the pen stash has gotten a bit unwieldy, and some pens rise to the top of the ‘must-be-inked-at-all-times’ while others remain unused.
So what are we to do but have a pen sale and find forever homes for these beauties! A few notes about the sale going on right now over in the Well-Appointed Desk shop:
We hope you find a new-to-you pen and we’re thrilled to send it to a new home!
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I hadn’t thought about getting a new fountain pen for my new job, until I was watching a Friday happy hour edition of Mike’s podcast (Inkdependence) and he announced he was releasing a special design collaboration with Ian Schon of SchonDSGN, the “Cheerio Waterpen.” And just like that I was sucked in.
Back in April of 2022 Mike collaborated with Pennonia to produce a Cheerio Waterbus ink and, at the same time, his wife Audrey created a special edition nail polish color of the same name. The ink was a lovely emerald green with lots of blue pigment – a blue green color after my own heart. So when the pen came out I just couldn’t skip it.
The Cheerio Waterpen was designed as a full size Schon Dsgn pen. It has an aluminum barrel with an anodized finish, and houses a Jowo #6 nib which I ordered in fine. Despite being a full size pen, the Cheerio Waterpen is a small size (nice for those of us with small hands!) coming in at about 5″/13cm capped, and 4.875″/12.5cm uncapped. It is postable, but I choose not to as it’s perfectly balanced without. The pen came with a standard international converter and can be used with cartridges as well.
In terms of weight, it weighs in at 27g, not unexpected for a metal barreled pen.
As part of my green/teal/blue collection, it stands in good company.
L to R: Kaweco x Hello Kitty Opal Green AL Sport, Franklin Christoph Vanness Pocket 45, SchonDSGN Cheerio Waterpen, Pelikan M205 Apatite
The pen itself is exceedingly pretty, but it’s also a delight to write with. The nib is perfectly bouncy and writes smoothly, with good ink flow. The pen itself is fairly lightweight, and the section in particular is the perfect length and circumference for me to write comfortably.
So now I’ve got a pretty new pen and a great new notebook – I just need a few meetings to get started!
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Greetings! I’m currently coming to you from the Sydney airport where I’m in a confusing state of the future and the international dateline muck!
I’ve spent the last almost two weeks adventuring in New Zealand! (And I do mean adventuring: fjords, and runs and paragliding oh my!)
I did take my trusty journal (Review here) with me, along with one of my favorite Kaweco AL Sports. I love the Kawecos because there’s no ink mess after plane hopping and they start right up every time – just pack a cartridge and go!
I’ll have more travel notes for you when I’m stateside, but for now here’s a fun shot of me journaling in Queenstown Gardens, and a few other highlights.
The post A New Zealand Adventure appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
Many of us are not quite back into the pen show circuit yet, but we’re eagerly watching others. One of my favorite ways to “do” a pen show that I can’t attend is to watch Mike Matteson’s feed (Inkdependence on YouTube). If he’s at the show, it’s a good bet he’ll do a Friday afternoon walk through. You do need to guard your wallet though, because it can be dangerous.
Back when he did the Philly Pen Show walkthrough in January I was on the hunt for a new notebook. I’m getting ready to change jobs (I start a new one on March 6th!) and I wanted to treat myself to a new notebook to store all those first few weeks of information in. You know, where they turn on the fire hose and inundate you with information you’ll need later but just can’t absorb all of. So here I was blithely watching Mike walk the pen show floor when he came upon Odyssey notebooks. And that Pompei Marine Life? I was smitten.
I chose the 300 Page A5 Cosmo Air Light Notebook, with the Pompei Marine Life cover ($34) because those sea creatures (artwork by Flaroh Illustration) are AMAZING.
The notebook is A5 size (8.25 x 5.625″/21 x 14.5 cm), weighing in at a hefty 423g. Though it’s not lightweight, it packs a lot of pages!
The cover is printed cardboard and the inner illustrations are beautiful as well with their Greek theme. Inside are 300 numbered pages of 83gsm Cosmo Air Light paper in an off-white color. I was super interested in trying this notebook out because I haven’t sampled Cosmo Air Light paper yet. While I love Tomoe River, I often find it’s too thin for my liking, so I was interested to try out a slightly heavier weight notebook. The paper is really interesting – it’s super smooth and just a bit toothy. On my wider nib pens (Kaweco B, Pelikan F) the ink is really wet, but it seems to dry quickly. I didn’t find any feathering, but the ink definitely spreads a bit. Even my Kaweco with the F nib isn’t a super thin line.
That said, there’s a bit of show through but no bleeding and the opposite side of the page is super useable (I get distracted if I can see too much of the previous page through the paper).
While I love the cardboard cover and it seems sturdy, I’ll likely slip it into one of my notebook covers (maybe my Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter?) to keep it from getting too banged up.
I’m excited to start a fresh new job with a fresh new notebook.
P.S. Next week I’ll tell you about the new pen I bought!
DISCLAIMER: I purchased the notebook above from Odyssey Notebooks with my own funds for my own use. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Notebook Review: Odyssey A5 Cosmo Air Light Notebook appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
Dear Well- Appointed Desk Readers:
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!!
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The last time I was perusing JetPens, I came across something fun: the Pilot Kese Lame Erasable Glitter Gel Pen. There’s so much in there I have to fully unpack that sentence. Pilot – maker of fancy pens. Gel ink – one of my favorite inks (outside of fountain pen ink). GLITTER – ’nuff said. And erasable? I was hooked.
I went ahead and bought the Aurora 3-color pack ($11.00), which is unfortunately sold out. The pack contains three pens with 0.7mm tips, and something that looks a bit like an eraser (but certainly doesn’t feel like your standard rubber eraser).
The ink in these pens makes them a little bit like FriXion pens. It’s thermo-sensitive meaning that it will erase when heat (or friction from the eraser) is applied. They do caution that you shouldn’t leave these pens in a car on a hot day! And apparently if you get your writing very cold (i.e. the freezer), the ink reappears? What magic is this?
The only disappointing part for me is that I don’t see much glitter. I tried shaking the pens (hey it works for fountain pen ink right?) and I still saw only a scant spot or two, not enough to even show up in the photos.
Overall, I’d say these pens were a fun experiment and I’ll enjoy using them (and erasing any mistakes I make!).
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.
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Not that Snoopy and Charlie Brown ever went away, but I feel like there’s something in the air (ETA I did the research – it’s the centennial!). The USPS introduced Charles M. Schulz Peanuts Stamps, and Field Notes did a special commemorative notebook issue to match. And the last time I perused Jet Pens, Kamio Japan had designed some special edition Paco-Tray Pen Cases celebrating the Peanuts gang as well!
I ordered the Navy Version ($24.00) featuring Snoopy and Woodchuck Woodstock (oops!). The Paco-Tray pen case isn’t new (just the Peanuts editions are). It’s a sturdy zippered case featuring 3 handy compartments to store pens, pencils, and other stationery tools. And the best part is that it opens fully to lay flat and feature a stand up tray. The outside is a dark blue polyester canvas, and the insides is a BRIGHT pink fabric (likely also polyester) featuring bits and pieces of the characters with fun quote bubbles.
The case measures 7.5″/19cm long, and (when zipped) 2.25″/5.5cm wide and 2.5″/6.5cm tall. It’s pretty much the perfect size to throw in a purse or a backpack and have all your essentials corralled in a sturdy case. It says it can hold up to 19 pens, although my guess is that depends on how big the pens are, and whether or not you like your pens to touch.
To me, the most special thing about this handy case is the Peanuts theme. It takes me back to reading the Sunday comics in the LA Times growing up. Or maybe it’s that as a teenager in musical theater, I have fond memories of our 1992 production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (yikes, I feel old). Or maybe it’s that I just love a little Peanuts themed music.
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.
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