Comfortable with the Collection
This blog post brought to you from my first train ride of the year. One of the perks of working at a train museum.
I had a realization over the last month. I really like where my collection stands at the moment. I have pens that make me happy to use, so many inks to play with, and some awesome papers to write on. Sure, there are things that I want like that light purple ebonite Esterbrook and I’m really intrigued by the Montblanc 100th Anniversary inks. But, it’s not so much that I will go out of my way to get my hands on them. I’m quite happy with my little rotation and figuring out what all I have in my collection.
One way I have been exploring the collection anew is by going down the ink lists in my ink tracking notebook looking for ones that haven’t been swatched yet or used in a while. In combination with my dusty inks list, I’m slowly making a dent. The two colors I’ve been having a lot of fun with lately is red and turquoise. No, they don’t really go together, but I’m rolling with it.
Red is my rebellious color category, which goes back to the days when I was a kid and getting a pack of generic ballpoints from the office supply store was the height of fancy. Blue, black, and pencil were school. Red was for my own writing.
Turquoise on the other hand is such a cheerful summer color that is fun to utilize this time of year. So far I am only two inks down the list. For red I’ve played with Anderillium Vampire Squid and Colorverse Dark Energy. For turquoise I’ve utilized Laban Poseidon and Monarca Mar Caribe. While I thought the two turquoises would be similar, they ended up looking very different, with Mar Caribe much more blue. The variety is keeping me scribbling.
And I’m also back to exploring different papers. I was pretty fixed on tomoe river, Midori MD, and onion skin for the first five months of the year. Right now, I am working with the Stalogy I pulled out last week, a handbound Soliste paper notebook, and an A5 Takasago premium notebook.
I picked up the Soliste paper from Yamamoto Paper in San Francisco at the pen show. It’s a cream paper and my first impression is that it feels like a softer version of Midori MD paper. The nib leaves behind impressions and the ink flows really easily. It’s very absorbent which makes for a fast dry time, but less shading.
The Takasago notebook is filled with Mitsubishi bank paper. I got mine from Smruti Pens. It’s honestly way too fancy for what I’ve been writing in it, but meh. There’s always a reason to spoil one’s self with good paper. Even if it is for nonsense. It makes writing the nonsense all the more fun. Also, it’s really hard to enjoy a notebook and it’s pretty paper if it’s just sitting on the shelf.
I really like the very subtle ghosting between the pages.
I also plucked out a little used pen from my pen case, my Esterbrook JR in Paradise Purple. I really enjoy the profile as a fan of smaller pens. Mine has a broad nib on it and it’s such a great writer. I filled it with the soon-to-be-released Ferris Wheel Press Terracotta Canyon (releasing June 7th). This one is my favorite of the three inks in the New Orleans series they have been putting out. It’s a soft, shading red-orange. It fits in really well with the dark blurple (Bayou Berry Mist) and the soft green (Dancing Thyme). If I didn’t already have bottles I would be jumping on the ink charger set when it comes out.
It’s really nice to be in that place where I am content with my writing tools and I can focus more on using it, since the writing part was always my favorite part of the stationery hobby.
Currently Inked
One of my hands-down favorite stickers from Sugar Turtle Studio.
Ferris Wheel Press Terracotta Canyon - Esterbrook JR Paradise Purple B - This ink is probably one of my favorites that Ferris Wheel Press has come out with recently. It’s understated and has epic shading. The soft red-orange tones give me a little bit of an autumn leaf vibe, but also sandstone rocks. And of course, terracotta garden pots.
Ferris Wheel Press Bluegrass Velvet - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye 14K BB CSI - This was on my dusty inks list and it’s another one of those that I don’t know why I let it sit around for so long. This was one of the original Ferris Wheel Press offerings and it’s a dark teal with a little bit of red sheen on the right paper. Very summery.
Anderillium Luna Moth Green - Kaweco Art Sport Terrazzo B ‘imperial’ - This ink is still rocking about half a fill. It’s been a driver at work and in my planner to add some bright cheerfulness to the page.
Monarca Mar Caribe - Kaweco liliput copper 14K M ‘selvedge’ - When I inked this up I thought it would be much closer to Laban Poseidon from last week. It’s actually much more blue leaning whereas the other was green. It’s a perfect summer sky (or beach water) color. I have a feeling I’ll be revisiting this one over the warmer months.
Colorverse Dark Energy - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K ‘journaler’ - Another original offering from an ink company. I’ve had a sample sitting around for a long time, so long that I forgot about it and bought one of the cute little 5 mL Colorverse bottles of it. Ultimately, not that mad about it since this is a great spooky red. It’s not quite fitting the red vibe I am looking for at the moment, but it will go so well with spooky season in the fall.
Ferris Wheel Press Unfettered Flight - Kaweco x Galen Leather Carmine 14K BB ‘journaler’ - Since it’s a new month I needed a new header ink. I picked this ink because I was wanting something ethereal looking. I’d say this fits the bill for that… even if it’s not the most readable ink on my shelf. It’s a very light blue with pink shimmer. It’s very pretty, and I’m hoping it’ll darken a little bit in the converter over the course of the month.