Lessons Learned from my New Ink Book
It’s been about two years since I laid hands on every ink bottle and sample that I have in my ink collection. I decided to tackle a fresh inventory because I love making lists and, frankly, I wanted to have one place to view all swatches of inks I had available in my collection - regardless of if they’d been used recently or not. This is to combat recency bias, because I can remember all of my newer inks pretty well, but completely forget about ones that I have had for a while. I’m hoping that the swatch book will also help with ink FOMO because odds are always good I already have a similar ink. Doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t get a new ink, but it might scratch the shopping itch that pops up.
For the swatch book I decided to use an old Hobonichi Weeks. I’d originally intended to use this Weeks as a work planner, but my current work situation doesn’t really need one. The other tools I gathered was a Kaweco Sport with a B nib inked up with Ferris Wheel Press Bearrington Black, a Kokuyo Campus Correction Tape runner, and this planner washi tape from JoJo’s Pretty Paper Shop. I figured black ink would be best for making the intitial ink list and wouldn’t clash with all of the swatches. I chose Bearrington Black because it’s a good simple black and it was close at hand. I decided that I would use a “box” per ink and get 14 ink swatches on a 2 page spread. This layout definitely led to some fun results.
The ‘write’ tools for the job.
Going through all of my inks took place over the last two weeks. I usually did it while I was watching YouTube or doing a replay of West of Loathing on my Nintendo Switch. Having a secondary task kept me from accidentally smearing the ink swatches as they dried (didn’t always work, but it was mostly successful). I decided to go through each storage location individually so that I wouldn’t miss things. I pulled them out, swatched, and then put them back. This process led to…
Lesson #1: No matter how organized I think my inks are, numbering or attempting to alphabetize by brand is going to get derailed.
Blue ended up with a lot of corrections.
I found a lot of inks that I didn’t even remember I had, or had just never made it on the ink passport index that I was using to write my initial list. I’d also written down inks I ultimately couldn’t find/must have given away at some point or ones that I decided to rehome after swatching them. That’s where the correction tape and cute washi came in handy. I could just cover them up and move on. Trouble was, that also messed up my numbering system. When I went back through at the end to count, none of them matched up. That may very well explain how my numbers were not adding up when I was doing my 2024 Project Enjoy Collection recap.
Related to this was…
Lesson #2: Some inks go bad or have gotten contaminated over time.
None of these ones though, these ones were good.
There were inks I had to pour down the drain. There was one that I couldn’t even pour down the drain because it had turned to sludge in the sample vial. The primary reason I had for trashing some of these inks were that the color had completely changed from what it was supposed to be/what I remembered it being. Most of these inks I’ve had for several years and were limited editions, so I’m just letting them go rather than reaching out to the companies that made them. The culprit tended to be a blue or a green. Blue tended to get darker and green tended to become blue. It was humbling to have to dump out some limited edition inks that I’d only used once long ago. It really reinforces my conviction of using my inks, especially the limited edition ones. If I don’t use it, I may one day be pouring it down the drain.
While the first two lessons were a little disappointing, the major thing I learned will stick with me through a few other projects.
Lesson #3: Remember it’s for me.
I really need to start from this place so much more often in my creative pursuits. I’m writing a story because I enjoy it. I’m exploring stationery because I love them. I’m journaling because I love the act of moving a pen across paper and seeing words splashed across them, some with meaning and some without. When I forget this, I get massive creative block. I am afraid to start anything because of what the ambiguous they will think.
One of the beauties of making something like a swatch book or writing in a journal or creating some art is that it is inherently individual and collective at the same time. Only I can make things a certain way, just like other make it their way. We may draw on cultural traditions or inspirations, but at the end of the day we make it. No one else can create something in the same way, even if they were to do it the exact same way. I think that’s a beautiful thing.
For my swatch book, it is chaotic and imperfect, but, hey, so am I.
I’m excited to see how this one develops alongside the ink passport. It’s currently bringing me a lot of joy when I glance up at it from my desk and see the rainbow system I created with Zebra mildliners so I can flip right to that color. And whenever I want I can hold my entire ink collection in my hand.
The current ink count stands at 437 inks!
Currently Inked
Ferris Wheel Press Highland Smoke (releases June 6) - FWP Carousel Billowing Blush M - FWP has been sneaking in a lot of classic colors lately, which I am enjoying. They are certainly known for their pretty (if impractical) bottles and they have some lovely shimmer combinations. However, a lot of their more basic inks are starting to grow on me. Highland Smoke is a good addition to this lineup, it’s darker than their previously released Leadcast Letters and is a basic ink, no shimmer. It has a little bit of shading which I always enjoy. I think these more basic colors of Ferris Wheel Press inks are great for newcomers to the hobby. They are fanciful and feel special, but aren’t going to pull them completely out of their comfort zone with a wild sheener or super bright color.
Ferris Wheel Press Lost in the Leaves (releases June 6) - FWP Carousel Oinking Embers M - In complete contrast with Highland Smoke is the newest addition to the Ferritales lineup. This one is inspired by the legend of Baba Yaga and has gone for a spooky wood combo of dark green with rose gold shimmer. I’ll be honest, FWP is the company that has won me over to using green inks. This one is downright gorgeous and it can be stealthy because on a quick glance it just looks like a black-green, but when it catches the light? It shows off that shimmer and just a hint of red sheen. When I first saw it I wondered how close it was to Knitted Nettle or Cloak and Forest which are also dark greens with shimmer. Happy to report that this one has a very different base green to either of those. Definitely worth checking out if you like green ink.
Colorverse Gluon - Kaweco x Galen Leather Sport Carmine 14K BB ‘journaler’ - This is the header ink I picked out for June. In pure KC fashion I thought I wanted a gray or a pink, and then chose neither. Gluon is a chartreuse with copper shimmer. It was one of the inks that I forgot that I had but when I swatched it into the new swatch book I couldn’t stop thinking about it. An out there color, but I’m going with it.
Papier Plume Lake Michigan Springtime - Kaweco Sport Metallic Violet B - Decided to give another refill to this ink because it’s a combo that I am really enjoying right now. This ink is great and it makes me wonder what colors Papier Plume would come up with for a Lake Superior ink…
Ferris Wheel Press Oyster Hour - Kaweco liliput copper B - I had just enough ink left in an ink charger (the glass bottles they used to put their sample sets in) for a fill and decided to go for it. I’d completely forgotten that I’d snagged a bottle from Pen Realm when I ordered a nib, but now I have a good supply of this khaki brown ink that leans on the dry side (I always put the tiniest bit of White Lightning into the converter). It’s got great shading and always has an elegant feel in my opinion.
Ferris Wheel Press Granite Guardians - Kaweco liliput fireblue M - This was a ferritales release from a few months back and I didn’t really enjoy it on first glance. It’s a gray ink with a “wine” shimmer and inspired by gargoyles. Now that I’ve fiddled with it in a better pen (I inked it in its accompanying FWP Carousel and goodness that one had a bad nib that I need to tune) it’s grown on me. It’s essentially a darker, more legible version of FWP Adventurine. It falls into my stealth category, it looks like a common ink until it catches the light and the shimmer gets picked up.
Anderillium Piranha Red - Kaweco Art Sport Terrazzo B ‘monoline’ - A new ink from the Chicago Pen Show and a new nib from Pen Realm. I really wanted to get a monoline after trying a few belonging to folks at the show. Unfortunately, Kirk was all booked up. Fortunately, you can buy a nib with a grind from him online. Essentially, the monoline is the exact same on the downstroke and the sidestroke. It gives it a uniform appearance that I think is cool. I’m kind of wishing I’d had it done at the show because the angle isn’t quite right for how I hold my pens, but it still works. I just have to be more mindful of my writing angle. On to the ink! I picked this one up alongside Anglerfish Deep from Anderillium’s new fish collection (available soon online I believe). This red is just up my alley for dark reds. The piranha imagery doesn’t hurt either. One of my favorite spots to hang out as a young adult was in Tropical Journey at the Denver Zoo. They have a pretty impressive piranha tank and I loved watching them. Haven’t been there in years but recently started hanging around my local aquarium as a volunteer and am pleased to report they have piranhas too.
Colorverse Windy City Blue - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye M - Still working on using up my fill from May. It’s a pretty blue, but I have too many pens inked up at the moment. The dark blue/sheen combo is such a classic.