While the world may have significantly changed for all of us over the past 6 months, there’s always room for something new. In this case, I hope you’re ready for some new paper! As you probably know, I have tried out many different types of paper and have quite a few that I love, but don’t have easy access to. …
I’m always a little excited to come across a notebook brand that is less common or that I’ve never heard of before. Years ago I came across this Figurare notebook in San Francisco’s Japantown and picked it up. Even though I’m not a huge fan of spiral-bound notebooks, the paper felt great, so I was hopeful that it would be …
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with John West for his new podcast, Stationery Orbit. This was my first time being interviewed for anything (other than a job), so it was definitely a memorable experience. We talked about paper, vintage ink, my favorite fountain pen, that time I was part of an event at the Smithsonian, …
A while back I read a post from UK Fountain Pens where he talked about his list of “forever inks”, which is inspired by a post on Fountain Pen Network asking “if you had to rebuild your ink collection from scratch, what would your initial selections be?”. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this since reading his blog …
Paper is one of those thing that many people don’t find very exciting. In the world of fountain pens, pens and inks usually make the headlines and get all of the press. It takes a lot for a new paper to get people excited. Recently though, a paper that many people hadn’t heard of before started getting a lot of …
Writing letters can be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding ways to use a fountain pen. It gives you a chance to choose a pen, ink and paper that highlights your personal preferences and write something that someone else gets to enjoy. The first time you sit down to write to someone new can be a little daunting, though. …
If you’ve ever tried to photograph your fountain pen nib using a macro lens, you’re probably aware of how frustrating it can be trying to get everything in focus. It seems like no matter what you do, a small part of the nib is in focus, while a big part of the nib is out of focus. Unfortunately, due to …
One of the biggest questions many people who are somewhat new to fountain pens have is what is the difference between an expensive fountain pen and an inexpensive fountain pen? It is really worth spending hundreds or even thousands more on a pen? In this post I want to talk about some of the more significant differences between expensive and …
Fountain pen users know that there is an overwhelming selection of notebooks and paper options available, but what happens when you want to write a letter? So many of our favorite papers are available bound into books and very few of us want to cut pages out of a notebook just to write a letter. If you look at notepads, …
I’ve always heard that it’s dangerous to mix fountain pen inks. Some people have had the experience of mixing inks, only to have solids, or a precipitate form, which can potentially clog a fountain pen. I am usually very careful about completely cleaning out my pen before using a new ink. The main reason for this is that I don’t …