HEMA Multicolor Ballpoint Pen

Field Trip Penshop in Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Continuing my journey through pen stores in The Netherlands, there is the Penshop in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. It was quite the journey out from Leiden where we lived, especially using the trains, but we eventually made it! It was pouring. Big surprise. Visit the webshop! It's a small shop that is quite full of a variety of goodies, including eye candy - vintage pens and ink bottles, as well as rods of celluloid, and quite a variety of pens for sale. Enjoy!

Field Trip: La Couronne du Comte in Tilburg, The Netherlands [Video] @couronneducomte

Although I have done a Field Trip to La Couronne du Comte before, this is a quick video tour. The store has now moved to a newer location, still in Tilburg, but it's so pretty I must share it here anyway. Visit the webshop if you can't resist!

Wordless Wednesday

Ink Shot Review: Pelikan 4001 Dark Green @deRoostwit

ABOUT

Color: Green
Bottle: 62.5 ml
Price: ~ € 7,00
Where to buy: De Roos Vulpen Speciaalzaak
Follow De Roos: Webshop | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google +

PROS

• Decent shading
• Easy to clean. 
• Relatively affordable.
• A nice, deep green.
• Slightly water resistant.

CONS

• A little too jade for me.
• A little bit of bleed through.
• A bit dry with wide nibs.

OVERALL

Not a bad green. I prefer richer, more intense greens, or lighter greens that shade a lot. This one shades pretty well and it's affordable, but it's not quite the right color for me!

CONNECT WITH ME: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Google

---

I received this item at a discount for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Ink Shot Review: Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Green @deRoostwit

ABOUT

Color: Green
Bottle: 62.5 ml
Price: ~ € 7,00
Where to buy: De Roos Vulpen Speciaalzaak
Follow De Roos: Webshop | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google +

PROS

• Decent shading
• Easy to clean. 
• Relatively affordable.
• A nice, bright green. I like this one a lot.

CONS

• A little bit of bleed through.
• A bit dry with wide nibs.

OVERALL

I like this green - I like brighter, jewely greens, and deeper, intense greens. This is one of those brighter ones with great shading and it's quite affordable.

CONNECT WITH ME: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Google

---

I received this item at a discount for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Ink Shot Review: Pelikan FountIndia @deRoostwit

I saw this bottle at De Roos in Heemstede and have received quite a few review requests for it, so I grabbed a bottle! Here we go.

ABOUT

Color: Black
Bottle: 30 ml
Price: ~ € 7,00
Where to buy: De Roos Vulpen Speciaalzaak
Follow De Roos: Webshop | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google +

PROS

• Solid, deep black.
• High water resistance.
• Cleaning difficulty is high, but given what kind of ink it is, I don't think it's too bad. Just don't let it dry out in your pen.
• Affordable.
• Does not bleed through as much as some other document proof inks (ie. a few I have used from De Atramentis). 

CONS

• On the other hand, it is higher maintenance than non document-proof inks.
• Little to no shading.

OVERALL

Solid. One of my go-to blacks when I am doing calligraphy or addressing envelopes. Pretty affordable, relatively easy to clean (given it's a document proof, super saturated black). I approve!

CONNECT WITH ME: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Google

---

I received this item at a discount for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Field Trip - Tilburg Pen Show 2016 Recap

Whew! After posting the Pen Show 2015 round up ... well, after the 2016 show, I wanted to get this picture round up here soon. This year, we had two special guests with us - Mr. Michael Ward and Mr. Eric Orozco, so the journey to the show was extra hilarious. And as usual, the trains were messed up so it took us even longer to get there. Good thing we left on Friday for the show on Saturday.

The show hours were 11 am - 4 pm, but vendors are there to set up a bit early, and it runs a little after if there's still interest at the tables (though the museum kicked us out eventually). This year, we entered around 10 am with a rather high admission fee of €20,00 each. For an hour extra in the show, before most vendors were even set up, I feel like that is a steep price to pay. However, anything for more pen fondling, right? The problem with a short show is you don't really have time to say "well, I'll go back later" because there isn't much of a later. A short pen show is a danger because it's a matter of NEVER HESITATE!

This year, it felt like there were fewer vendors - empty tables and big spaces where there were tables crammed in last year. The venue has narrow walkways that back up against a skeleton, so one must be careful. On the bright side, it feels like there were more people - in part, thanks to the Pelikan Hub that was recently held - and everyone seemed more enthusiastic. The madness is spreading!!! WOOOO!

First stop: the small room, because Sarj and Cliff are in there, and I wanted to say hi. Please enjoy some photos of Sarj's table, including Eric being his assistant.

As usual, I hung out with Cliff Harrington for awhile and sampled a few of the delectable pens he brought. As I mentioned in my Cologne Pen Show 2016 recap, Cliff makes everyone feel welcome, whether you're a new user, someone completely unfamiliar with vintage pens, or an experienced user. I appreciate that he makes me feel welcome at his table to look and try, and there's no pressure to buy. He just enjoys sharing his knowledge. It's not about making a sale. That's awesome. ... And it makes me want to buy stuff more. (Yeah. I have no discipline.)

La Couronne du Comte brought a big spread this year, which I thought was great - last year was smaller. It was great to have more items to peruse, and the store is just around the corner. They launched the Super 5 pens and inks at the show - yummy!

Fontoplumo was there as well, with some great goodies, including their new Conid Bulkfiller Monarch and exclusive KWZI Monarch ink. I tested the Conid, inked with Monarch, and it was amazing. Damn.

I made a new friend this year as well: David Parisi! He brought some incredibly cool pencils, including itty bitty tiny amazing adorable ones that make me want pencils just because they're so very cute. And there were many other tables to drool over.

Tom Westerich was there with some serious Montblancs - including a massive Red safety-filler... and a tiny one.

I visited Scrittura Elegante, a webshop based in The Netherlands, and have even brought home a Conklin All American Orange Burst for review and to give away! This is a great shop for Life Stationery, Rhodia, a variety of inks, and many modern, affordable pens.

I also had to walk through the streets with this. I was very hesitant to capture this moment.

This was my favorite Tilburg Pen Show yet. The Dutch pen community seems to be growing and the enthusiasm is blossoming! Thanks to Dries for this...fine photo?

I have been saving for many months to attend this show, because I wanted to get a few flex nibs. And I wanted to get Stephen a pen of his choice. Take a wild guess which one is his! My thanks to Sarj for keeping an eye out for things he knows I'll love, and to Cliff for showing me a nib I couldn't leave without.

Top to bottom: Waterman 94 + fine flex (Sarj), Parker Vacumatic + Stub flex (Cliff), Mabie Todd Swan + #2 flex (Sarj), Sheaffer Oversize Balance Autograph + fine flex (Sarj), Webster's Jade + Warranted music flex (Sarj), and a Namiki No. 50 Jumbo + Broad Cursive Italic (Sarj). And crocheted slug from Tanja (thank you!), and a Conklin All-American Orange Burst from Scrittura Elegante. And some business cards, but not all that were there.