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At the beginning of the year, I posted about my planner set-up for the year which included the Midori B6 Pocket Planner in the Clover design ($23.50, out of stock but a Birds edition is still available) tucked into my leather B6 cover from Bassy & Co ($81 and up) with my Stalogy Editor’s Series 365 Days ($21) everyday planner and note-taking notebook.
Since the beginning of the year, the pockets of my planner have become filled with an assortment of stickers, postage stamps and washi tape. I’ve gotten into collaging on my daily pages so having a few stickers to add along the way is a great option.
I am still loving the B6 size for my planner. It’s not as small as an A6, which I often felt like I needed more than one-page-per-day, but not as intimidating as an A5 which always seemed like too much space and too large a notebook to tote around everyday. If you haven’t tried B6 yet, I highly recommend it as the Goldilocks of notebooks.
This image above shows that I’ve filled about 2/3rds of the Stalogy daily planner and evidence of collage-y bits can be seen from the edge.
I added the Midori pen clip to the back of the Stalogy at the beginning of the year and have managed to keep it for six whole months without losing it. Good news since my rare Sailor ProGear Slim Stargazer has been riding around in the loop all year.
I mark my place each month and each day with the Midori gold Chiratto Index Clips ($8.50 for 8 clips). It makes getting to my current spot fast and easy.
I’m getting some mileage with the monthly pages to keep track of silly holidays like Graham Cracker Day (July 5), travel, pen shows and birthdays and such but I am not using the week-on-two-pages like I thought I would.
I had thought I would utilize the page on the right of the week-on-two-pages in the Midori for work-related tasks and notes but I have ended up keeping a notebook at work for these tasks and the pages go largely unused. Its extra sad because I really like the paper in the Midori Pocket Planner and the little illustrations throughout are cheery.
The only creature in my house that uses the ribbon bookmark is Apple. He thinks it’s delicious.
In the Stalogy, on days without a lot of activities (like a Sunday when you discover you have Covid-19), I have started adding collage elements with washi, stickers and some rubber stamps. I also bought a Polaroid Mint mini-printer to add the occasional photo to my planner.
I often treat my planner more like a log book of what I did, what I ate, where I went, who I saw, what I read, watch or listened to, etc. so adding photos in is a good way to log activities. If you want to be able to add photos to your journal or planner, many people recommend the Canon Ivy which is currently available. The Polaroid Mint has been discontinued. Both the Mint and the Ivy use Zink 2″ x 3″ printer paper. The color output is not great but the printer uses instant film technology and the printers don’t need ink cartridges making it a little easier to use. So, it makes fun, little retro-looking images that add some much-needed personality to my planner.
Usually, on Sundays, I try to pre-decorate a few pages. Since I am doing a (sort of) page-a-day for my planner/journal/logbook I just add a few decorative elements to add some interest for the week but I am not locked into using a whole page for one day. Some days, I might use two or more pages. I’ve found this open method so much easier for me since there is no pressure from day-to-day. Some days are super busy and active, and some days I skip altogether.
I don’t know how to solve for the largely unused Midori Pocket Planner. I thought about removing the monthly pages and pasting them into the Stalogy but I would want the whole year’s worth of calendar pages so where doe I put them? In the back altogether? At the beginning of each month but what about later months?
I would like to streamline a little bit but I haven’t figured out the best way to do that. As it is right now, the book is quite chonky so I suspect I will try to reduce the bulk I carry on a daily basis a bit.
How’s your planning/journal/notebook set-up serving you? Have you needed to switch it up?
Apple insisted on hanging out with me while I photographed this post so he wanted to put his paw stamp on this post. It’s “Apple-approved.”
The post Mid-Year Planner Review appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
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.
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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.
The post Ink Review: Taisho Inks, Part 2 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
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!
(although some people — who shall remain nameless– don’t deserve it!)
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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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.
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The post Link Love: Meet Me in St. Louis? 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.
The post Fountain Pen Review: TWSBI Diamond Mini AL Grape – Limited Edition appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
We have reviewed the classic Kaweco Sport fountain pen many times but we continue to come back to it. It is a great gateway pen and its is inexpensive enough to live in your bag or on your desk at work. So, of course, you need more than one, right?
So, over the past few weeks, I’ve acquired TWO new models into my collection: the Smooth Sage ($29, EF nib) and the Frosted Blush Pitaya ($24.50, B nib).
I must confess that this is the first Kaweco Sport with a B nib and I am surprised how much I am enjoying it. It isn’t as broad and the BB I tested out years ago and preformed like a Sharpie marker.
Needless to say, my recommendation is that if you’ve never purchased a Kaweco Sport, what in the world are you waiting for? There are dozens of color options and you can even upgrade to the AL-Sport if you want a shiny, and more durable version. We like those too.
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.
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Another pen show find is the Nakabayashi Logical Prime notebooks. These are softcover notebooks are stitch bound with a bookbinding tape over the stitches to reinforce.
There are a variety of interior paper options (Point, Graph, 7mm Lined and 6mm Lined) and the notebooks can be found around the internet in a variety of sizes. Yoseka Stationery stocks the Logical Prime notebooks in A5 size ($6 each).
The more unusual B5 size (6.9″ x 9.8″ or 176 x 250mm) was picked up from a vendor at a pen show. Which show? Maybe the California Pen Show. Which vendor? Taccia but they don’t list these notebooks on their web site.
According to the Nakabayashi Global web site, the Logical Prime notebooks are only available in A5 and B5 sizes though in the US market, you are more likely to find an A5 notebook than the larger B5.
All the internal rulings are in a fine dark green line. At the top or each page is a space for writing a title or description and date.
What’s really interesting about these notebooks is the unusual ruling options (I didn’t get one of the standard grid notebooks because after seeing the Point and Lined, the graph was just ho-hum). The Ruled options, both 6mm and 7mm actually feature two additional light dotted lines between each solid rule creating guides for much smaller increments. There are also dotted vertical lines at the same interval as the ruling so the paper can be used as graph if you want or need it to do so. The multiple horizontal lines would be great if you want to practice your handwriting or calligraphy.
At the top and bottom of the page are dots and tick marks indicating the center of the page, 1/3, 1/4 and so on. If you were wanting to grid something out on a page, these marks will help you maintain consistency from page to page. If you were to use these notebooks for bullet journaling, this would help to divide the page for week-on-two-pages, making a monthly overview calendar, etc.
The paper is a soft cream ivory color, not bright white.
There is not a huge difference, obviously, between the 6mm and 7mm lined paper but I know folks have clear preferences. When I was testing the paper, I thought I preferred the 7mm lined because I had a little more space but I was really jumping between the margins in a weird way so I think the 6mm is a bit better for my tiny handwriting.
Then there was the Point style which has dots spaced really far apart. On the back cover it says “12x15pt” which I think is 12mm dot grid (approx 9/16″) or thereabouts. That’s some pretty big grid!
I feel like a grid of this scale is a good compromise for someone who might want blank but needs a little guidance.
Did I mention that this paper shows sheen? Probably should have mentioned that sooner. So, good quality paper, unusual ruling options, and its affordable? You should probably stock up now. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
The post Notebook Review: Nakabayashi Logical Prime B5 Notebooks appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
Troublemaker inks seems to be be everywhere lately – new dealers in the United States and the addition of several new inks as well. I’m showing off a couple of these new inks here – Butterfly Dream and Polar Lights.
Troublemaker packages their ink in 60mL dark plastic bottles. I have found some variation in price, but you can find it at Vanness for $24 (for shimmer inks) or $16.50 (for non shimmer inks).
Now for the inks themselves!
The base ink color for Butterfly Dream is an avocado green of medium saturation while Polar Lights is a dark purple-grey. Each ink shows some shading but nothing dramatic. I’ve seen a touch of sheen in each as well.
The two inks really stand out when the light is at the right angle. Butterfly Dream has a blue/purple shimmer and Polar Lights has a turquoise or green shimmer.
Polar Lights is a darker ink than Robert Oster Sterling Silver, but the two are close.
Polar Lights on Midori MD paper:
Midori MD paper at a different angle:
Polar Lights on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:
Cosmo Air Light paper at a different angle:
And Tomoe River (52gsm TR7) paper:
Tomoe River paper at a different angle:
Butterfly Dream is my favorite of these two inks and is incredibly close to KWZ’s Prairie Green (Galen Leather exclusive ink). Prairie Green has lots of gold shimmer, however, while Butterfly Dream is a blue/purple.
Butterfly Dream on Tomoe River (52gsm TR7) paper:
Tomoe River paper at a different angle:
Butterfly Dream on Midori MD paper:
Midori MD paper at a different angle:
Butterfly Dream on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:
And Cosmo Air Light paper at a different angle:
I have kept a pen (a TWSBI Go pen, medium nib) inked with Butterfly Dream for the past two weeks with no sign of blockage or slow ink flow so far. TWSBIs are a favorite of mine with sparkle inks since the feed has a slightly wider channel than other pen feeds.
What is your take on the new Troublemaker inks? Will these be on your to-buy list?
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Ink Review: Troublemaker 2022 New Inks appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
There are two guarantees at any pen show. One: good times will be had. Two: I will pick up Con Crud. Both can be said about the Atlanta Pen Show this year. There was time spent with friends old and new, a bit too much revelry and, on the way home, the distinctive misery of a sore throat and sniffles.
Jesi and I had a great time. We worked at our respective tables (Dromgoole’s for Jesi and Vanness for me), stayed up late drinking and swatching inks and hanging out with folks. Basically, your average pen show. The crowd in Atlanta was still smaller than it was pre-pandemic. Whether this is specifically because people are still hesitant to mingle or because there was not a big Pen Addict podcast event, I cannot say. Could be a little of both.
Friday was a decent crowd but slowed down around 3:30 or so. Saturday had a good steady stream all day despite some particularly rainy weather in the first half of the day. Sunday was pretty slow all day and gave vendors an opportunity to wander a bit, much to the dismay of our wallets.
I felt I had been doing pretty well not buying all the things– until Sunday. Friday, I purchased a lovely double-ended dip pen/pencil from Myk Daigle and a Kaweco AL-Sport from Vanness and had Matthew Chen modify the nib to a Kodachi grind (which I called the “Foccacia” all weekend because I kept forgetting the name. Ask for it by name!) Then Sunday rolled around and we had time to shop and I collected a small pile of inks and notebooks. And then, a vendor walked into our small ballroom and said “Pat forgot he packed this and thought you might like to see it.” The “it” in this scenario is a shop display of Lady Sheaffer Skripserts in tact. Yes, thirteen beautiful pens in a pink flocked display. It’s gorgeous and I couldn’t pass it up. With a little help from a friend, I was able to scrape together enough cash to purchase it and then very carefully carried it on the plane with me for the journey home like the treasure it is. I’ll do a more in-depth post about all the stuff I got at the show at a later date.
Friends also brought us lovely treats throughout the weekend from snack bags with granola bars and candy to homemade jams to beverages to help us get through the last hours of the show each day. People always say that you go to a pen show for the pens but you keep coming back because of the people you meet. It is 100% true. Over the years, the pen community has become like family to me. We share life’s ups and downs, the pen scores and losses and many a laugh. I am delighted to be a part of this diverse, colorful community.
Now, on to the Link Love!
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The post Link Love: Post Pen Show appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
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.
Another sample that I picked up at the California Pen Show from the Plotter/Traveler’s table was a Plotter Plain 003 Card Size Refill Memo Pad ($4.50 each). This tiny little glue bound pad with wraparound paper cover is just 2.1″ × 3.6″ (55mm X 91mm) which is just a tiny bit wider than a standard US business card (usually 2″ x 3.5″). Each sheet is punched with 3 holes to fit into your Plotter cover (or similar style ring binder).
Each Refill Memo Pad contains 80 sheets of DP paper, “DP paper” is an abbreviation for “Designphil Pocketbook paper”. The note on the Plotter USA web site says this paper is specially designed but isn’t specific as to whom it is specially designed. Is it just for the Plotter product line? Is it paper made especially to be used across all the DesignPhil products? Regardless, the paper is a cream color with a nice tooth.
Bob, the printmaker and paper genius, said “it has a lovely eggshell finish. Though some might call it an antique finish.” Thanks, paper genius for the detailed info. The DP Paper is 60gsm so it is thin and lightweight but maintains the properties we love about Japanese paper. It’s fountain pen friendly and shows sheen beautifully.
From the back of the sheet, there is no show though or bleedthrough. The paper held up beautifully. And due to their small size, these little sheets would be perfect for lists, to-dos and other notes. I think I might carry this tiny little pad in my pocket at pen shows for pen testing and notes. Often folks will ask for the name of an ink or other item we don’t have at the show so it would be nice to write it down on a sheet of paper smell enough to fit in their pocket or into their journal later.
Just for scale, I put the test sheet next to a Col-o-ring. The Plotter card size is a bit wider and a bit shorter than a Col-o-ring but it will give you a sense of scale.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Plotter USA for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
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The Trigg Gratitude Journal (£13.99) is a guided gratitude journal from the makers of the Trigg Life Mapper planner system. This A5 matte faux-leather hardcover journal features prompts, quotes and a variety of page layouts that create a place where you can pause and reflect. The notebook starts with some direction about how and when to use a gratitude journal.
The goal of this gratitude journal is to help find happiness in your life and improve personal resilience when things get tough.
Throughout the notebook, there are inspiring quotes, mandalas that you can color, and an assortment of guided prompts to explore positive aspects, people and things in your life.
I am a cynic and a bit of a salty b*tch so looking for the bright side, being grateful and staying positive always feels a bit forced for me. I am 100% the person the Grievance Journal was made for. But I totally understand why and how the Trigg Gratitude Journal can be helpful.
I am also the person who needs guided prompts to get me to even think about “10 things I like about myself” and, trust me, filling this page in would be a painful and emotionally wrought activity. I know. Therapy.
There were a few “notes’ pages in the back of the notebook that I used for pen testing.
While the structure and concept behind this planner is it’s raison d’etre , I am sure you’re asking, “How’s the paper?”
The paper is a bright white compared to the Trigg Life Mapper which features a softer ivory paper. I am pretty sure its the same paper stock though as I had similar results with some bleedthrough from fountain pens and a little showthrough with darker or broader brush pens, though it was pretty minor.
The paper had a “dry” feeling. I know that seems like a strange way to describe paper but it did feel like it wanted to absorb inks though the overall result was not terrible. No pen feathered. The mystery ink in my ProColor seems to bleed on most papers so I wasn’t overly surprised. There was a bit of show through with the Pilot Custom 912 with the FA nib but that is a flex nib and dumps a lot of ink on the paper.
Overall, I found gel pens, rollerball and felt tip pens performed well on the paper. The brush pens also did really well and fountain pen ink did okay, YMMV.
If you are looking for a notebook to help focus on gratitude, the amount of content in the Trigg Gratitude Journal is excellent providing a range of activities. I have to admit, I want to spend an hour coloring a couple of the mandala designs in the journal. I feel like this is a notebook where the content provided outweighs the potential fountain pen-incompatibility. If you need to get your gratitude on, grab those seldom used gel pens, markers, colored pencils and such and dive in. Sometimes, content is more important than the fountain pen-friendliness.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Think Trigg for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
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While at the California Pen Show, I was able to score a few samples from the Traveler’s/Plotter table. Not that I needed any Traveler’s Notebook samples. I’ve been a loyal fan of Traveler’s for …. hmmmm… over a decade now! But it was a delight to revisit some of the classic refills. Because Traveler’s is part of the Midori product family, much of the paper included in the refills is Midori but I often forget that. This particular sample, a “Refill for a Short Trip” in Passport Size. This insert only include 32 pages compared to the regular Passport inserts that feature 64 pages but features the same high quality Midori MD paper in the cream color.
The Midori MD Cream paper has a slight tooth to it making it good for all around use and it stands up to pretty much any pen you can throw at it. I had no issues with feathering, even with my Pilot Custom 912 with the FA nib.
It’s a thinner paper so there is some show through but no bleed through at all. I have a soft spot for the Midori MD Cotton and Midori MD Light, so much so that I had forgotten how good the standard Midori MD paper was. Honestly, I don’t think there’s much more I can say about Midori MD paper that hasn’t been said already but its nice to take another look at the classics. They are classics for a reason. Thanks for the sample, Traveler’s Company, and for reminding me that I love this paper!
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Traveler’s Company USA for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
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It’s that time again! The Atlanta Pen Show starts tomorrow. Well, at least for vendors and folks traveling for the show. I will hopping on a plane tomorrow with pens, sample vials, Emergen-C and my faithfull suitcase, R2-D2. The Atlanta Show is a special show for me. It was my very first pen show back in 2015. It was the first show I attended post-pandemic. I’ve made new friends at the show and caught up with people I’ve know for years.
This year, I will be helping out at the Vanness Pen Shop table as usual and Jesi will be helping at Dromgoole’s table. Between the two of us we should be able to find the perfect ink, paper or pen for you. When we are not on the show floor, you can probably find us in the bar or next door at the Waffle House fueling up.
If you are planning to attend the show, please be sure to stop by and say hello to us. Visiting with friends is the best part of the show.
Be sure to live vicariously through us next week and we will be sure to post some photos of the show.
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Friends! This weekend is the Atlanta Pen Show and half “the Desk” will be in attendance. Ana will be her delightful pink-haired self at the Vanness tables, and Jesi will be ink-whispering for Dromgooles. If you’re in the area, this really is a don’t miss show. And stop by and say hi – Ana and Jesi would love to meet you!
This is last year’s Atlanta video (2022)!
For those of us who are having a serious case of FOMO, there is a wonderful way to virtually visit the show. On Friday afternoon, sometime between 3 and 4pm EST, Mike Matteson from Inkdependence will broadcast live on YouTube from the show, and take you on a tour of the vendor market. He’ll chat with vendors, see some friendly faces along the way and generally make you feel ALMOST like you’re really there. And if you can’t make it live, the broadcasts are recorded so you can peruse them at your leisure. It’s a great way to get a feel for a pen show, see new merch from vendors you love, and more! While it will never take the place of actually getting to attend a show, it’s a fun experience and Mike does a great job. (and I may have succumbed to a little online shopping in the past… allegedly).
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I grabbed a copy of the Paperblanks Midi Planner ($6.88 on sale, $22.95 USD/$24.95CAD at full price) recently when I was ordering even more of the heavyweight paper Midi notebooks which have become my go-to notebook these days. I wanted to give the thinner 80gsm paper Paperblanks make another chance and the sale price made it hard to resist. The design is called the Floralia and it is so riveting. The matte black cover features a beautiful print of flowers and some shimmer and sparkle accents on the flowers. As the light catches the art on the cover, the flowers look like they are popping off the cover.
The cover is a soft flexi with two ribbon bookmarks (sealed so they don’t fray!) and the Midi size is B6-ish at 4.75″ x 6.75″. B6 is 4.9 x 6.9 in (12.5 x 17.6 cm) so the Midi-sized notebooks will fit into any B6-sized notebook cover (another bonus for me since my daily carry notebook cover is B6).
Before the monthly calendars is a two-page year-at-a-glance spread with 2022 and 2023 and a key for the symbols used through the planner which include the first day of spring, first day of autumn, the moon phases and when daylight savings starts/ends (though it was not accurate to the US. Paperblanks is a Canadian company).
I bought the “horizontal no closure” version of the planner, which is essentially a standard week-on-two-pages design with a month-on-a-page in the front. The edition I got was an 18-month version that started in July 2022. The 80gsm paper means the book is not overly bulky and the 18-month model would be great for anyone who is in academia or who might be looking for a planner switch-up mid-year. The paper is acid-free, sustainable forest paper.
In the back of the planner are:
The paper is a creamy ivory color and has a slight tooth to it. In my usability test, I wasn’t expecting the paper to be fountain pen friendly because its so lightweight but I often grab whatever pen is handy to write in my planner so I want paper to be at least tolerant of fountain pens. There was a bit of showthrough on the reverse of the page but its not terrible and I think the ink I have been using is particularly wet and inclined to bleed.
I have started adding some daily events and notes. I know not everyone loves lines in the notebooks but for some reason, I don’t mind the lines in the Paperblanks planners. There is a slightly wider line between each day making a clean delineation between all the lines.
When you look at the reverse of the weekly page, the olive ink had some show through but the purple ink (I am pretty sure that’s Monteverde Birthday Cake in a Sailor ProGear with a H-MF nib) did not show through at all.
I used the notes pages to do some pen testing. I really like when planners work well with a lot of different kinds of pens because I just never know when I need to jot down an event. I might have been sketching and had a pencil in hand or I just grab a gel pen out of the cup on my table. The Paperblanks 80gsm paper really isn’t terrible. There is minor show through but very little bleed through. For a thin non-Japanese paper, its beyond acceptable. I would compare it to Leuchtturm 1917 for being a good all-around paper. If you are inclined to use super broad, juicy fountain pens, these 80gsm notebooks from Paperblanks might not be for you.
But if you, like me, has a rainbow of felt tip, gel, rollerball, pencils AND fountain pens, these planners might be a good option. And at the clearance prices, it could be worth giving them a try.
I realize that I am a bit biased about Paperblanks but I think they don’t get a lot of props from the pen community and the books are really good quality. No, they are not Hobonichi, Tomoe River or Midori MD paper but they are better than so many other options at reasonable prices (even when they are not on sale).
DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items 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.
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