Sunday Reads: August 21. 2016

Stuff I Looked At Elsewhere

• Samoa ice box cake - The Brown Eyed Baker.
• GoPens handwritten post - why do you write?
• Banana split popsicles - Bakers Royale. This is healthy because bananas.
• New photos of extremely unusual mushrooms and other fungi - Colossal.
• Anderson Pens - sexy pictures of the Visconti Homo Sapiens fountain pens.
• Anderson Pens - don't miss The Not To Be Missed Back To School Giveaway!
• Handmade floor rugs in the shape of your favorite food - Colossal.
• What Your Go-To Favorite Candy Says About Your Personality - Thought Catalog.
• Go Pens Blog - a handwritten blurb.
• Etsy Blog - make a colorful paper weaving.
• I always feel compelled to add a smiley face after I reply to comments or something. The period/fullstop is going out of style - NY Times.
• Painted treat bags - Tell Love and Party.
• Lettering for lefties - Pretty Prints & Paper.
• Ladies craft night - Shutterbean.
• Journal guides, both useful and fun! By Leigh Reyes. 
• Celebrity chefs turn wasted Olympics food into meals for homeless - NY Times.

Pen Stuff From Around The Web

• Anderson Pens - What do you think of the Montblanc William Shakespeare?
• La Couronne du Comte - Caran d'Ache Léman Caviar Grand Bleu is beautiful. One of my favorite nibs but I dislike the section.
• Casa della Stilografica - Montegrappa Parola in Pink!
• Pen Boutique - Have you used a Napkin Forever Prima inkless pen?
• Pen Chalet - I could live with this: the Namiki Sterling Silver Jaguar.
• Appelboom - Visconti Watermark Rose Gold - wow.
• Fontoplumo - Check out the Kaweco Sport Classic Mocha - perfect for coffee lovers!
• JetPens - JetPens has a brush lettering pen sampler. 

Stuff I Apparently Did This Week

• Ink Shot Review: Blackstone Black Stump
• Wordless Wednesday
• Review: InkJournal Pocket Tomoe River Miami Notebook
• Field Trip: Laywines Fine Writing in Toronto, Canada

Stuff I Read This Week

• Shane Dunphy - Girl Who Couldn't Smile - I admire childcare workers. Any care workers, for that matter. 

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Field Trip: @Laywines Fine Writing in Toronto

Back in April/May, I went home for a visit and was very easily tempted to visit Laywine's by Mr. Rob Maguire (hi Rob!) when he told me there was a pen meet happening there followed by a calligraphy class nearby. I wasn't able to attend the calligraphy class but everything else? I must say, it was a stellar experience. Not only is the store lovely, I was able to meet several pen friends in the Toronto area (hi guys!!), and Peter, the owner of Laywine's, spoiled me with attention, chats, and a few goodies to share with you here. In addition, Peter spent time entertaining and educating my slightly-less-than-thrilled-by-pens brother, making him feel very welcome as well. I also have to say, the staff in the store are top notch: they know their stuff, they love pens, and were so friendly and kind. Everything that makes for a great pen store and shopping experience was all there. If you're near Laywine's or heading to Toronto, I highly recommend you pay these fine folks a visit!

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You'll find fine pens from Sailor, OMAS, Ajoto, Graf Von Faber-Castell, Visconti, and more. The selection is great, and I was quite surprised to see some really hard to get pens still available. Ah, I was so very tempted.

Pencils? Yep, find some lovely Palomino pencils and other goodies. Paper? Obviously. Leuchtturm1917, LIFE Stationery, Rhodia, Clairefontaine, and even Filofax planners.

The ink wall is beyond delicious - all organized, delicious, and set up in a gorgeous wood display. Not to mention their own store exclusive inks!

Allow me to wow you with one more thing: you can find vintage pens here as well. Yep. At very reasonable prices. All you Canadians looking for vintage flex nibs now have a local store, in addition to your Scriptus Pen Show! Lucky.

Review: @InkJournal Pocket Tomoe "Miami" Notebook

Thanks to InkJournal for sending this over! Now I want a million of them. Stay tuned on Instagram for a giveaway of the Blue Notebook!

ABOUT

Size: 3.5" x 5.25"
Color: White
Ruling: Blank
Page Count: 60 pages
Paper Weight: 52 gsm
Price: $ 7.00USD
Where to buy: Ink Journal

APPEARANCE

The InkJournal Miami is adorable. I was totally smitten when it arrived in my mailbox because it's the color scheme I love. InkJournal's site describes it as such:

The InkJournal Miami has the personality of a sweet caribbean cocktail mixed with the smoothness of driving around with the top down. This is our first edition that has the official InkJournal logo custom stamped on the cover using archival, gradient ink. Each book is finished with a hand stitched binding with pink thread.

I couldn't have said it better myself. The covers are a little stiffer than the Tomoe River paper, of course, but it's not a bulky notebook at all. I love the color scheme, and the simple design.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

This is small and adorable. It's totally portable and opens completely for easy use. It lies flat and is not uncomfortable to write on. It's not an absolute necessity to use this as an InkJournal. To use the InkJournal set up, there is that guide sheet with two sides on it that can be used under the thin and quite see through Tomoe River pages. It's easy to see, although you have to hold the page down to see it very easily.

You have the option of full page ink records or currently inked records, or you can mix it up. Drying times, not surprisingly, are pretty long. This is Tomoe River. It feels incredible but it takes awhile to dry, especially if you have a wet writer. For me, this is not an issue. The appearance of inks on this paper and the writing experience is worth it.

THE CRINKLE IS AMAZING.

Currently Inked

Ink Journal

PROS

• Super fountain pen friendly.
• Handmade.
• Tropical and fun color scheme!
• Cute, great gift for a fountain pen lover.
• TOMOE RIVER. Duh.
• Convenient, small, portable.
• Lies flat.
• Comfortable to write on.
• Includes guide sheet with two templates.
• Fits in my PocketJot (see Discount Codes page for a 15% off discount on Jots!)

CONS  

• Expensive habit to keep up with.
• Depending on how saturated your ink records or currently inked records are, you may not want to use both sides. 
• Long drying times on Tomoe River.

OVERALL 

Perfect for organizing, and keeping track of your inks and pens, except you have to know the format to understand what you wrote at a glance, or you have to copy the template down (ie. flow/saturation) so you can see it at a glance. To be honest, I want to just use these as notebooks. I'm terrible at keeping records of inked pens and inks in general. I often use the same ink in multiple pens as well, so it's less exciting that way.

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I received this item/these items free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.