Project Enjoy Collection 2023 & 2024 - Ink Edition
It’s the time of year to start settling down and thinking about the next one. Appointments and events are being entered into the new planner and I always begin working on my year-end review of All the Things around this time. Last week was cleaning up my desk for the new year, I needed to make space for my Hobonichi 5 year journal that I’ll be starting Jan. 1st and I didn’t need 10 different notepads stuffing each slot on the desk. Probably.
From there I started on my ink inventory. The ink inventory lets me know what is in the collection, what is no longer in the collection (sold/gifted), and the diversity of my collection. While I don’t collect pens per say… I definitely collect inks. The inventory is also great for figuring out where I stashed those sample vials that I bought months ago and for some reason didn’t put where I always put my samples. Anyone else like that?
Currently, the ink collection resides on two hanging shelves, a hanging antique printer’s tray, and on a small shelf that sits next to my desk. This system is working pretty well, so I don’t foresee having to make any changes for 2024 unless I decide to go crazy and buy even more inks than I did this year (more on that in a bit). I essentially sat down with a stack of papers and organized the inks by brand to start. After that, I organized by color category. This lets me have a nice alphabetical color list for inks that exist in the collection at the beginning of December. Previously, I recorded these in an A6 Stalogy that I’ve been using for this purpose since 2019, but only started counting ink usage since 2021. For 2024 I plan to move into a 2023 Hobonichi weeks that I got on clearance during Black Friday.
After tracking my ink habits for three years I now have data about my ink habits that I can reflect on and share with others. It took a little while, but I was really interested to see the results of my inky research.
Every time I inked up a pen it got a swatch in the “index” in the Stalogy and then a reference to where it was in the Ink passports (one is poking out to the right).
2023 Ink Stats
Initial findings say that I was out of control on ink acquisitions this year. In 2021, I had 221 bottles and samples. In 2022, I had 276. By Nov. 30, 2023, I had… 363. That’s 87 new inks into the collection. And note: that does not include this year’s Inkvent calendar.
This substantial increase is likely due to two pen shows, the Ferris Wheel Press Jubilee Creative Ambassador program, and getting some affiliate credit through Atlas Stationers. So, full disclosure, I was gifted or used store credit for a chunk of these new acquisitions. However, I still probably spent at least $500 on inks… possibly more when I consider purchases made at the San Francisco Pen Show. So, yeah… I went a little wild this year.
While going ham on the new ink purchases, I also tried out more ink colors than ever. In 2021, I only used 41 different inks. 2022 saw 100 inks used. And… drum roll please… I used 157 inks in 2023. An increase of 57 is pretty impressive if I do say so myself.
There was a lot of trying new-to-me inks this year. Wearingeul entered the collection with bottles for the first time and Ferris Wheel Press was greatly expanded. Colorverse still tops my list as the most numerous ink brand in my collection. Diamine squeaks in at a close second, mostly thanks to the Invent calendars. After adding the 2023 Inkvent inks, Diamine might take the lead.
By having three years worth of usage data recorded the same way, I can also see what inks are the most commonly used in my collection. I started with wanting to know what were the inks I’ve used every year for the past 3 years.
Only four inks came out of that count: Colorverse Apollo 11, Colorverse Milky Lavender, Papier Plume Iron Lace, and Robert Oster Smokescreen.
The only one the surprises me in that stack is Colorverse Milky Lavender, but I suppose it did stick enough in my head after I used up my Vanness Pens sample in 2021, that I bought a bottle at the Wet Paint Art Store in St. Paul, MN during the 2022 Pelikan Hub. Colorverse Apollo 11 is one of my favorite blues (the Apollo Mission set was such a great limited edition). Robert Oster Smokescreen always seems to make an appearance in the fall or winter. Papier Plume Iron Lace is hands-down my favorite black ink at this time. So a black, a dark blue, a purple-brown, and a purple. Sounds about right.
If I count inks used in two out of the three years, that number expands to 47 inks. That list includes:
1 red (Colorverse Coast Redwood)
1 burgundy (Robert Oster Muddy Wine)
2 pinks (Colorverse Brunch Date, Diamine Peach Punch).
1 orange (Birmingham Gamboge).
1 yellow (Colorverse Rising Reflections).
1 green (Sailor Ink Studio 280).
15 blues (Colorverse Mystic Mountains, Colorverse Extreme Deep Field, Colorverse Apollo 11, Colorverse Stars & Stripes, Colorverse Office Blue, Colorverse Eagle, Colorverse Standard Model Up, Colorverse Pale Blue Dot, Colorverse Strelka, Diamine Jack Frost, Diamine Blue Peppermint, Ferris Wheel Press Storied Blue, Robert Oster Muddy Water (s), Sailor Ink Studio 143 (s), Taccia sabimidori (s)).
8 purples (Colorverse Pillars of Creation, Colorverse From Cali, Colorverse Chi-town, Colorverse Milky Lavender, Ferris Wheel Press Queen Allium, Robert Oster Muddy Crown (s), Robert Oster Smokescreen, Sailor Yuremeku Seki (s)).
8 black/grays (Colorverse Costar, Diamine Snow Storm, Diamine Earl Grey, Ferris Wheel Press Roaring Patina Black, Papier Plume Iron Lace, Sailor Ink Studio 023 (s), Van Dieman’s Launceston Fog (s), Van Dieman’s Black Truffle (s)).
9 browns (Anderillium Cuttlefish Brown, Diamine Winter Spice, Diamine Brandy Snap, Ferris Wheel Press Writing Desk, Monarca Arena Blanca (s), Montblanc Swan Illusion Plume, Robert Oster Muddy Sand (s), Sailor Ink Studio 273, Wearingul Stonecutter’s Song (s)).
Ultimately, there are only a few in here that surprised me. Inks like Colorverse Brunch Date, Colorverse Strelka, and Ferris Wheel Press Writing Desk are all colors I would say are favorites. I’m interested in the presence of some samples that are in there, since that means I got a sample one year and it was still sitting there over a year later. I’ve been pretty relentless about getting rid of samples that I tried once and know I won’t use again, or using up ones I like and then getting bottles. A few of the bottles in that list were results of that process. Coloverse Milky Lavender, Colorverse Office Blue, Robert Oster Muddy Wine, and Sailor Ink Studio 273 & 280 are good examples of that. Going into 2024, I want to continue making decisions about my ink samples which make up a good portion of my collection. Use ‘em up, move ‘em on, or throw ‘em out is the plan for samples in 2024.
A few other stats from Project Enjoy Collection 2023:
Top brand by use in 2023: Ferris Wheel Press - I got very familiar with this brand over the year and I really enjoy them. I’ll admit that the bottles are more pretty than functional at times and some of the inks are finicky, but I really enjoy the variety and the intention behind the color themes. Ferris Wheel Press displaced 2022’s top brand by use, Colorverse, by a slim margin.
Most popular ink in 2023 by use: Diamine Pick Me Up from the 2022 Inkvent calendar. I was a little obsessed with it last spring for some reason and it took the top spot with 5 refills over the course of the year.
Silliest ink in my collection: De Atrementis Steam Locomotive (scented). That’s right it’s an ink that smells like a steam locomotive, aka coal. It’s their standard black with the fragrance. It just makes me smile when I see the bottle. I’ve worked at a railroad museum for the last three years, I had to own this ink.
2024 Ink Goals for the Enjoy Collection Project
Some of these might get tweaked over the next month and into January, but these are the general intentions for continuing data gathering in 2024:
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.
Limit bottle acquisitions to special event/limited edition/store exclusive inks.
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.
Do you have any ink related goals for 2024? If so, please share them in the comments!
I put a different color dot next to each entry to mark when/if it was last used.
Currently Inked
5 out of 7 have sparkles.
Diamine All the Best - Kaweco Sport Macchiato 1.5 - Coming into December I decided to pick out some very festive inks that I don’t usually reach for year-round. For headers I decided on the 2021 Inkvent ink All the Best for 2 reasons, one it’s pretty and two I was curious how similar it is to Ferris Wheel Press Song of Scarlet which I really enjoyed in October. All the Best looks more pink to me and will work perfectly for December headers and writing ‘happy holidays’ in my holiday cards.
Diamine Cashmere Rose - Kaweco Sport Cognac M stub - Day 2 of the 2023 Inkvent calendar. In preparation for inking up ones that interested me right out of the gate I had a bunch of clean pens waiting in the wings. This ink is very pretty and I see myself using it again. It’s an earthy pink and I love that color range.
Diamine Early Dusk - Kaweco x Elite Stationery Deep Red BB - Day 3 of the 2023 Inkvent Calendar is a charming blue color. As noted in my ink usage stats I am a sucker for blues, and I see myself using this one again as well. Enjoying some journal entries and Pathfinder character creation with it this week.
Diamine Masquerade - Kaweco Sport Dark Olive BB - Day 4 of the 2023 Inkvent calendar. At first glance I was convinced this was the same color as FWP Queen Allium, but no that one is much more purple. However, this has the same elegant sparkly vibes but a more pink-purple. Really fun color.
Ferris Wheel Press Frontenac Blue - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye 14K BB ‘journaler’ - Still working through the fill from last week since I have been distracted by a pretty good initial showing by the 2023 Inkvent calendar. I really like this ink.
Diamine Arctic Blast - Kaweco liliput copper 14K M ‘selvedge’ - This is one of my favorite inks from the past Inkvent calendars. It’s just a wild blue with shimmer and sheen. I haven’t use it in a nib this narrow before, so it’s been interesting to see how it plays with different papers.
Diamine Best Wishes - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M ‘journaler’ - When the Inkvent Green Edition came out last year I was fully prepared to not like the big bottle, because I am really picky about green inks. I love this color, I’m so glad that it was a black-green, dark sheen, and green shimmer. It just looks cool. I’ve been using it a ton when setting up my new ink notebook and drafted this post in it as well. Might very well be living in this pen for the rest of the month, we’ll see.