Project Enjoy Collection 2024 Wrap-Up
My ink passport in a Hobonichi Weeks with a stickers by Sugar Turtle Studios.
At the end of 2023 I set out with a few goals in mind of how I was going to approach my collection for 2024. To summarize, the goals were as follows:
Moving the ink passport into an old Hobonichi Weeks so that I can hold more inks in one bound book. The two Midori MD A6 Light books worked well this year, but I’d like to simplify the system going forward. The Hobonichi notes pages will be used for my ink list and the ink swatches will be tracked by writing down the date in the calendar.
Focus on reaching for bottles that haven’t been used in a while/maybe haven’t been touched since they were purchased to see if they should stay or be rehomed.
Limit bottle acquisitions to special event/limited edition/store exclusive inks.
I am happy to announce that I achieved the first two. The last goal I missed by a mile - but I’ll get to that. If you’d like to see the stats from the first three quarters of 2024, you can find them here: Q1, Q2, Q3.
The ink passport in an old Hobonichi Weeks is working extremely well. I picked up a second out of date one during the Amazon Black Friday sale to use when this one is full. The compact size made it easy to transport if I wanted to share it with others, or even just drag it from my desk to my couch when I was considering inks. My initial theory that it will take me about 2 years to fill it up based on my ink use is looking pretty accurate. I am currently halfway through May in the calendar.
The ink list in the notes section worked well. The inks were listed by color and had color-coded dots beside them for the last year they were inked. When the ink was swatched the date it was swatched into was put by the ink name. Inks that were used up or removed got a long line beneath their title. I decided against scratching out the name like I had done in the past so that I can remember what I did have so I don’t accidentally pick it up again.
The swatch pages themselves were set up with the swatch, the ink name written in the first pen I inked it up in, and then a stamp for each fill. I used a blue ink pad for 2024 and a brown one for the end of 2023. At a glance I could easily see what inks were used and how many times. For very popular inks I am at risk for running out of stamp space. Not sure if I will just add some paper over the old one, or create a second entry for the ink. Will have to keep pondering that one, it’s a few fills away for several inks.
Some inky stats from 2024
Inks used 3x or more:
Anderillium Luna Moth Green (green)
Colorverse Bow Shock (blue)
Colorverse SM1 (blue)
Colorverse Under the Shade (gray)
Diamine Velvet Emerald (green)
Ferris Wheel Press The Sherry Sonata (pink)
Ferris Wheel Press Aurorealis (purple)
Ferris Wheel Press Unfettered Flight (blue)
Ferris Wheel Press Emerald Gardens (green)
Ferris Wheel Press Roaring Patina Black (black)
Sailor x Tinterias Podcast Agave (blue)
Taccia Black Jeans (black)
Wearingeul Othello (gray)
Not a single one of the inks on this list surprises me. FWP Emerald Gardens is a bit of a departure for me since I normally don’t go for green inks that are that bold, but the green ink with green shimmer must have won me over.
Top Brand of the Year (by use): Ferris Wheel Press. This brand won by a landslide this year, but it was closely followed by Colorverse and Diamine.
Top ink of the Year (by use): Coloverse Bow Shock. As soon as Season 8: The Grand Expedition was announced, I knew this ink needed to be in my collection. I’ll admit, I have a collection of sheening blues from Colorverse. I keep thinking that I could re-home some of them, but I enjoy all of them for completely different reasons. There is enough difference between the ones I have to keep them all for now.
Inks Used This Year (ones with ^ are ones that were used for the first time in 2024 since I started tracking in 2021, bold marks which ink was the top in that category):
Red (18 inks, +11 from 2023): Anderillium Vampire Squid^, Anderillium Chicago 1871^, Colorverse Dark Energy^, Colorverse Coast Redwood, Colorverse Redshift^, Colorverse Intense Magnetic Field^, Colorverse Supergiant^, De Atrementis Black-Red^, Diamine Communication Breakdown^, Diamine Spiced Apple, Diamine Cardinal^, Diamine Cranberry^, Ferris Wheel Press Velvet Ballet, Franklin-Christoph Urushi Red^, Franklin-Christoph Terra-firma^ (sample used up), Robert Oster Blood Moon, Robert Oster Muddy Dragon^, Wearingeul 1984^
Burgundy (3 inks, -2 from 2023): Diamine Syrah (cartridge)^, Papier Plume The Count, Robert Oster Muddy Wine
Pink (10 inks, +0 from 2023): Diamine Celebration^, Diamine Wilted Rose^, Ferris Wheel Press Coral in Wonderland, Ferris Wheel Press Radiant Rosewing, Ferris Wheel Press The Sherry Sonata^, Ferris Wheel Press Little Miss Jubilee^, Laban Aphrodite, Pelikan Rose Quartz^, Robert Oster Copper
Orange (9 inks, +4 from 2023): Birmingham Golden Ale^ (used up sample), Diamine Buck’s Fizz^, Ferris Wheel Press Pumpkin Patch^, Ferris Wheel Press Terracotta Canyon^, Ferris Wheel Press Russet Typecase^, Lamy Bronze^, Montblanc Single Malt Whiskey, Robert Oster x CA Pen Show Sunset^, Robert Oster x Pen Addict Fire on Fire
Yellow (4 inks, +1 from 2023): Colorverse String, Diamine Candlelight^, Diamine Three Kings^, Van Dieman’s Neptune’s Necklace^
Green (12 inks, +1 from 2023): Anderillium Luna Moth Green, Colorverse Cat’s Eye Nebula^ (used up sample) Colorverse Standard Model Photon LE^, Diamine Black Ivy^, Diamine Velvet Emerald^, Ferris Wheel Press Knitted Nettle^, Ferris Wheel Press Emerald Garden^, Ferris Wheel Press Dancing Thyme^, Ferris Wheel Press Galeforce Green^,Ferris Wheel Press Spruce County Post^, Ferris Wheel Press Brilliant Beanstalk^, Sailor Ink Studio 280
Blue (47 inks, -17 from 2023): Anderillium Diversey Harbor^, Anderillium Adonis Blue Butterfly^, Colorverse Aquarius Whispers^, Colorverse Kilonova^, Colorverse SM1, Colorverse Extra Dimension, Colorverse Supernova, Colorverse Stars and Stripes, Colorverse KLSV-II, Colorverse Kuiper’s Belt, Colorverse Strelka, Colorverse Morning Star^, Colorverse Butterfly Nebula^, Colorverse Bow Shock^, Diamine Tudor Blue^ (gave away to a friend), Diamine Festive Cheer^, Diamine Midnight Hour, Diamine Happy Holidays^, Diamine Artic Blast, Diamine One More Sleep, Diamine Steel Blue (cartridge)^, Diamine Bliss, Ferris Wheel Press Jelly Bean Blue^, Ferris Wheel Press Bluegrass Velvet, Ferris Wheel Press Lapis Lullabies, Ferris Wheel Press Crystal Blue Legacy, Ferris Wheel Press Grand Central Skies, Ferris Wheel Press Tumultuous Tides, Ferris Wheel Press Frontenac Blue, Ferris Wheel Press Unfettered Flight^, Ferris Wheel Press The Sad Charade^, Ferris Wheel Press Valiant Blue^, Ferris Wheel Press Tunes of Tinseltown^, Laban Poseidon^, Monarca Mar Caribe, Nonble Cat’s Eyes Ragdoll^, Papier Plume Lake Michigan Sunrise, Pelikan Golden Lapis^, Pennonia x Amarillo Azul Frida, Robert Oster Ocean^, Sailor x Tinterias Agave, Sailor x Mizutama Seitsuri^, Vinta x Enigma Stationery Palaisipan, Wearingeul Wicked Witch, Wearingeul Romeo, Wearingeul Atlas^
Phew… that was a long list!
Purple (21 inks, +10 from 2023): Colorverse Purple Cosmo^, Colorverse From Cali, Colorverse Chi-town, Colorverse Pioneer Container, Colorverse Milky Lavender, Diamine Festive Joy^, Diamine Deck the Halls, Diamine Jacaranda, Diamine Lavender Frost, Diamine Rainbow’s End, Diamine Raise a Glass^, Diamine Tranquility^, Ferris Wheel Press Mulberry Majesty^, Ferris Wheel Press Aurorealis^, Ferris Wheel Press Madame Mulberry, Ferris Wheel Press Queen Allium, Ferris Wheel Press Purple Jade Rabbit, Lamy Violet-Blackberry^, Van Dieman’s Achilles^, Wearingeul Persephone^, Wearingeul The Black Cat
Brown (16 inks, -15 from 2023): Birmingham London Fog^, Bungukan Kobayashi Hirai Bridge, Colorverse Coffee Break, Diamine Pick Me Up, Diamine Walnut, Ferris Wheel Press Oyster Hour, Ferris Wheel Press Land of Shangri-la, Ferris Wheel Press Age of Aurum, Franklin-Christoph Bronze^, Kiwi Inks Jasmine^, Lennon Tool Bar Bubble Tea^, Papier Plume Cafe Diabolique^, Pilot Ina-ho, Sailor 273, Sailor x Mizutama Yoosei^
Gray/Black (19 inks, -8 from 2023): Colorverse Sunspot, Colorverse Under the Shade^, Colorverse Office Black^, Colorverse Laplace Resonance^, De Atrementis Steam Locomotive, Diamine Earl Grey, Ferris Wheel Press Roaring Patina Black, Ferris Wheel Press Bearrington Black^, Ferris Wheel Press Leadcast Letters^, Laban Athena Grey, Montblanc Mystery Black (cartridge)^, Robert Oster x Atlas Stationers Polar Vortex, Robert Oster x Endless Pens Ghost, Sailor 123, Sailor 223, Taccia Black Jeans^, Wearingeul Othello^, Wearingeul Macbeth^, Wearingeul Hades^
The top inks by color category.
All told I used 159 different inks this year, two more than 2023. And a good number of those were inks that either came into my collection this year or had been there, but hadn’t been used.
Now you may have noticed that I didn’t mention how large my collection got this year. It seems like somewhere along the way I had a math error and it wasn’t adding up. Let’s just say I was not successful in minimizing my ink acquisitions to limited edition and store exclusives… but in my defense the Colorverse Colorvent was a total surprise (that I absolutely love!).
Despite adding quite a few ink over the year, I was able to reduce my “dusty inks” down to 27% which is seven percentage points lower than I started (at 35%). Not quite the 20% goal, but a significant improvement. I discovered some absolutely fabulous inks that I had in my collection. While “shopping the stash” didn’t keep the numbers down, it did give me an opportunity to play with what I had in a more focused way.
There was quite a shift from the main color categories of last year which were blue, brown, and black/gray to the top three colors this year were blue, purple, and red. I credit that to my leaning towards bright colors this year.
Goals for Project Enjoy Collection 2025
Continue using inks from the “dusty inks” list with a goal of only 20% or less of collection never used.
Make an inventory of the types of paper/notebooks that you have and endeavor to use different ones throughout the year.
Focus on using what I have. Make a point of using things and sharing my experiences with them.
Overall, I am looking forward to another year of playing with all of my inks and seeing what more I can create. An overarching goal for my life is leaning into my creative endeavors a lot more and, luckily, fountain pens, paper, and ink fit right in with that intention.
Do you have any collection intentions for 2025?
Currently Inked
Diamine Mint Twist (2024 Inkvent Day 14) - Kaweco Art Sport Terrazzo B ‘imperial’ - I’ve been enjoying inks in this color range this year, although the others have leaned a little more to the blue side (like FWP The Sad Charade). Mint Twist is very fun. The light blue shimmer is super subtle and a little bit of shading can be coaxed out of it when laying down a wet line.
Diamine Sleigh Ride (2024 Inkvent Day 15) - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye 14KB - Okay, I’m a fan of the concept of “extreme sheen”, especially when it behaves well. The base color is a brown leaning red and the sheen is green. Shows up on a lot of different papers. It’s great. It’s like a muted version of Diamine Communication Breakdown which was a German market exclusive from a few years ago.
Colorverse Kilonova (2024 Colorvent Day 6) - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K ‘journaler’ - Finishing off my fill from last week of this blue. I’m loving it more and more. Seriously, bold sheeny blues are a Colorverse specialty (see Bow Shock in today’s post - I used that a ton). This one is just a little darker than Colorverse Quasar. I’ll have to do a head to head comparison one of these days. This one is in my top 5 from the Colorvent.
Colorverse Milky Way (2024 Colorvent Day 19) - Kaweco liliput copper EF flex - This is also a top 5 from the Colorvent. At first I thought it was pretty close to last year’s Diamine Inkvent Raise Your Glass, but that one is a colder, darker purple with green shimmer. Milky Way is a lovely dark purple with blue shimmer. It’s been looking awesome in the flex nib.
Stay tuned for a Colorvent and Inkvent recap!