The Messy Middle: 2023 Mid-year Review
With 2023 a little more than halfway over, I wanted to touch-base on some stationery things I have been enjoying. I am so, so grateful for this community and how welcoming everyone is both in-person and online. The first six months of this blog has been a lot of fun too! It’s been such a privilege to be here chatting about these lovely creative objects.
On to the favorites!
My Favorite Pens
If I could only carry one pen with me it would be my Kaweco liliput fireblue. If there are tow than the second is my Kaweco liliput copper. Nestled in their custom Rickshaw duo case, these pens go everywhere with me - emotional support pens through and through. Currently, the fireblue is equipped with a 14K bicolor nib that was ground to a journaller (stub-like) by Custom Nib Studio. I love, love this grind. One of these days I’ll have to dedicate a full post to this shape (at the Chicago Pen Show I also had a 14K BB nib ground into this shape). My liliput copper is currently rocking a 14K B nib, tuned by Custom Nib Studio to be super smooth. These pens are always inked and usually the first to try out any inks that I get. They have been continuously inked (with lots of different colors) since 2018 (fireblue) and 2019 (copper).
We have been down a lot of roads together.
Favorite New Pen
I have actually sold more pens than I have acquired this year. Part of the reason for that was getting a hold of a pen I have been looking for the past few years. As far as I know, Kaweco did their last batch of Art Sports in 2018. I really admired them, but I was still new to expanding my collection and didn’t feel comfortable spending the money at the time. Two years ago, when my career started to settle down, I was able to start branching out to more expensive stationery objects, but by that time very few Art Sports were still available. The only colors still around were ones I wasn’t all that interested in. So, I stalked buy-sell-trade boards and eBay waiting for one to pop up at a price I felt good about. That opportunity finally came this spring when an Art Sport in Tiger’s Eye colorway popped up already equipped with a 14K BB nib. I snatched it up and have been having fun getting to know it and trying a bunch of my different nibs to see what fits best.
Enjoy Collection 2023 2nd Quarter Check-In
As part of my Enjoy Collection project, I started my “ink passport” and I am still enjoying logging my ink usage that way. The base notebook is Midori MD paper. I swatch the inks with a Q-tip and write the name with the first pen I inked up. From there I stamp the inking date. Along with this system, I use an A6 Stalogy that I’ve been using for a few years to track ink. It acts as a sort of index. Going through my list I made in November of last year… I still have a lot of ink exploring to do with inks already in my collection. April through June 2023 I used 57 different inks with blue being the most common color. The most common refill was one of my Chicago Pen Show acquisitions - Colorverse NGC 6302 with 3 refills (this one was in my BB journaller nib, a firehose).
Current Favorite Inks by Usage Jan - June
Ferris Wheel Press Storied Blue has gotten the most re-ink opportunities over the past six months. I used up my ink charger vial and recently purchased a 38 mL bottle. It is a delicate, vintage-feeling blue. It works great in a variety of nib sizes and always inspires me to put pen to paper. I like it best in round, narrower nibs.
Favorite New Inks
Robert Oster x Atlas Stationers Polar Vortex, one of my Chicago Pen Show inks. This is very interesting multi-shading gray. It has a purple and blue undertone which really comes out in broader nibs.
Pennonia x Amarillo Stationery Azul Frida, another Chicago Pen Show ink. A bright, cheerful blue that is just a delight to write with.
Sailor x Tinterias Podcast Agave, yet another ink I got at the Chicago Pen Show. An epic blue-gray and one of my few Sailor brand inks. It behaves really well (like all of the Sailor Inks I’ve tried).
Top to bottom: Robert Oster Polar Vortex, Pennonia Azul Frida, Sailor Agave
Papers that are Bringing Me to the Page
Cosmo Air Light - I am still loving this squeaky (with some nibs), slightly squishy paper. It’s comfortable to write on and it shows off great ink properties. You get sheen, shimmer pop, and shading with this paper.
JetPens View Corona paper - This is a smooth paper that I recently rediscovered in my paper stash. It’s a lot of fun to write on. It’s thin like Tomoe River paper and takes my broad pen nibs like a champ.
Old Tomoe River Paper - I also found that I had a stash of this in my paper drawer. I’m going to enjoy creating on it moving forward. I haven’t been able to stop scribbling on it since I bound a new notebook together with it (this blog post was drafted on it).
Onion Skin Paper - a continual favorite for a second year running. There’s just something magical about the ghosting on the page. The pages get crinkly as you write on them and I love hearing the crackle when I flip through a finished notebook.
Left - Onion Skin, Middle - Old Tomoe River Paper, Upper Right - Cosmo Air Light, Bottom Right - JetPens View Corona
So far this year has been a lot of scribbling - working on stories, writing things for work, and doing a lot of self-reflection on what might be next for me.
I wonder where these stationery adventures will take me in the next six months?
Currently Inked
Colorverse Apollo 11 - Pilot Vanishing Point 18K M - This pen is on loan and I inked it up with one of my favorite blues. This is a navy-adjacent blue ink and it works great in every pen I’ve ever tried it in. It was part of the First Moon Landing Special Edition set from Colorverse a few years ago.
Colorverse Eagle - Kaweco Sport Macchiato 1.5 - Another ink from the First Moon Landing set and one of my favorite turquoise blues. I wanted a bright and cheerful header ink for the month of July and this was the first one that came to mind. Love this ink.
Diamine Ghost - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye B - With the release of the Green Edition ink bottles, I was debating on getting this color because I remembered liking it. It’s a nice gray, but I have more interesting ones in my collection. It’s light and airy, which does give it a bit of a “ghosty” feeling, especially with the way it shades in larger nibs. Going to have to try this one a little more before committing to a bottle.
Colorverse x Goulet Pens Witch by Starlight - Kaweco liliput copper 14K B - During Goulet’s ink sample sale I picked up a few different inks to try including this exclusive Colorverse ink. I’d seen it in a pen at the Chicago Pen Show and wanted to give it a trial run with one of my own pens. I have almost used up the sample. It’s a really interesting blue with a nice shimmer. Really enjoying it, not sure if I can commit to a bottle yet… but if I end up needing something from Goulet… this one might end up in my cart, haha.
Ferris Wheel Press April Showers - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M journaller - Another sample I picked up from Goulet. I am on a gray ink kick and this one is pretty. It’s a gray with silver shimmer and I’m curious how it compares to Diamine Snow Storm from the Blue Inkvent calendar… may have to ink that one up next.