I met a new vendor at this show – the wonderful group from Oblation Papers – a nearby brick-and-mortar store. They have beautiful items that I rarely see at shows including handmade papers and vintage typewriters. I picked up several goodies from them including one that I’m showing today, the Kunisawa notebook called the Find Ring notebook.

The paper is only available in a 5mm graph ruling, and I chose the A5 notebook which has a heavy cardstock cover and ring-bound paper.

The 80 sheets in the notebook are made of a smooth, thick, and slightly creamy paper.

The shading in Sailor Homemade Tortilla is fabulous.

Even Van Dieman’s Wasabi shows distinct shading.

Sailor Manyo Kikyou gives a pleasant sheen – I was surprised at this – I hadn’t expected a sheen to show up on the paper.

Sailor Manyo Ume came through with a beautiful halo sheen in almost every letter.

Through all of the writing, scribbling, and heavy ink applications, there was never a sign of feathering, bleed-through or even ghosting.

My favorite small detail – the inside cover of the notebook includes a quote from Picasso:

At $15 for 80 pages, I do think this is a great purchase to add as an option for fountain pen lovers. beautiful sheen, shading, and it can handle any ink so far. Ring-bound notebooks are always welcome in this category as well!

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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Since the beginning of the year, the pockets of my planner have become filled with an assortment of stickers, postage stamps and washi tape. I’ve gotten into collaging on my daily pages so having a few stickers to add along the way is a great option.

I am still loving the B6 size for my planner. It’s not as small as an A6, which I often felt like I needed more than one-page-per-day, but not as intimidating as an A5 which always seemed like too much space and too large a notebook to tote around everyday. If you haven’t tried B6 yet, I highly recommend it as the Goldilocks of notebooks.

This image above shows that I’ve filled about 2/3rds of the Stalogy daily planner and evidence of collage-y bits can be seen from the edge.

I added the Midori pen clip to the back of the Stalogy at the beginning of the year and have managed to keep it for six whole months without losing it. Good news since my rare Sailor ProGear Slim Stargazer has been riding around in the loop all year.

I mark my place each month and each day with the Midori gold Chiratto Index Clips ($8.50 for 8 clips). It makes getting to my current spot fast and easy.

I’m getting some mileage with the monthly pages to keep track of silly holidays like Graham Cracker Day (July 5), travel, pen shows and birthdays and such but I am not using the week-on-two-pages like I thought I would.

I had thought I would utilize the page on the right of the week-on-two-pages in the Midori for work-related tasks and notes but I have ended up keeping a notebook at work for these tasks and the pages go largely unused. Its extra sad because I really like the paper in the Midori Pocket Planner and the little illustrations throughout are cheery.

The only creature in my house that uses the ribbon bookmark is Apple. He thinks it’s delicious.

In the Stalogy, on days without a lot of activities (like a Sunday when you discover you have Covid-19), I have started adding collage elements with washi, stickers and some rubber stamps. I also bought a Polaroid Mint mini-printer to add the occasional photo to my planner.

I often treat my planner more like a log book of what I did, what I ate, where I went, who I saw, what I read, watch or listened to, etc. so adding photos in is a good way to log activities. If you want to be able to add photos to your journal or planner, many people recommend the Canon Ivy which is currently available. The Polaroid Mint has been discontinued. Both the Mint and the Ivy use Zink 2″ x 3″ printer paper. The color output is not great but the printer uses instant film technology and the printers don’t need ink cartridges making it a little easier to use. So, it makes fun, little retro-looking images that add some much-needed personality to my planner.

Usually, on Sundays, I try to pre-decorate a few pages. Since I am doing a (sort of) page-a-day for my planner/journal/logbook I just add a few decorative elements to add some interest for the week but I am not locked into using a whole page for one day. Some days, I might use two or more pages. I’ve found this open method so much easier for me since there is no pressure from day-to-day. Some days are super busy and active, and some days I skip altogether.

I don’t know how to solve for the largely unused Midori Pocket Planner. I thought about removing the monthly pages and pasting them into the Stalogy but I would want the whole year’s worth of calendar pages so where doe I put them? In the back altogether? At the beginning of each month but what about later months?

I would like to streamline a little bit but I haven’t figured out the best way to do that. As it is right now, the book is quite chonky so I suspect I will try to reduce the bulk I carry on a daily basis a bit.

How’s your planning/journal/notebook set-up serving you? Have you needed to switch it up?

Bonus helper photo:

Apple insisted on hanging out with me while I photographed this post so he wanted to put his paw stamp on this post. It’s “Apple-approved.”

The post Mid-Year Planner Review appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Let’s start with the pens:

My pens in order, left to right:

• Kaweco AL Sport in Vibrant Violet – F nib (inked with cartridge roulette) and Kaweco x Hello Kitty AL Sport in Opal Green (inked with cartridge roulette). My Kawecos tend to be my favorite desk pens these days. I love the feel of the aluminum barrel, just the right weight in my hands. The faceted caps (and roll clips) means that they never roll away from me. And there are just gosh darn consistent writers. Even if they sit for a week or two, they never have a hard start.
• Pilot Explorer in Pink – F nib, inked with black Pilot cartridge. I’ll be honest, this one is on my desk because I reviewed it a few weeks ago and it’s got an ink cartridge I should use up. It’s fine, but definitely not a favorite and it won’t be seeing any desk time again soon.
• Platinum Procyon Maki-e – F nib. This pen is pure pretty and it makes me happy to write with it. It’s a smooth writer and it’s likely it will be inked for some time to come. It’s currently inked with Monteverde Rose Noir.
• Platinum Preppy Wa Modern Maki-e in Dragonfly – F nib (inked with a Platinum cartridge in Pink). It almost seems silly to have this one out next to a pen with actual Maki-e, but for the quick note this one is still a nice writer. It doesn’t have the same luxury feel to it, but it’s perfectly serviceable!
• TWSBI Eco Glow in the Dark Green – EF nib, inked with Yoseka x Ink Institute No 1 Origin. Ana and I have agreed to disagree on Ecos. While I don’t think they are precision writing instruments, I like the way they write and I dig getting to see the piston and ink inside. This also is a candidate for never having a dry start.
• SchonDsgn x Indepdendence Cheerio Waterpen – F nib, inked with Colorverse Morningstar. This pen is gorgeous and Morningstar is one of my favorite teal inks so it’s a match made in heaven. I just like to look at this one, but it’s fun to write with too!

These aren’t the only pens I have, but they are what is most currently inked on my desk lately. I would like to do a better job of using my own bottled inks rather than grabbing cartridges (which is what’s easy with my Kawecos!). I need to invest in a few more converters!

Next let’s look at notebooks:

The two main notebooks in my life currently are the Effin Birds 2023 Monthly/Weekly Calendar and the Midori 5 Year Diary.

The Effin Birds Calendar is one that I use daily to keep track of all my events, appointments and work tasks. I have to say that I am thrilled with the paper. I haven’t really been able to narrow down what paper was used other than “FSC certified paper with soy-based ink,” but it is thick enough that there isn’t any show through even with my wettest writing fountain pens. I also haven’t seen any feathering or bleeding. The planner looks a bit worse for wear, but that’s because of an unfortunately ramen incident where the planner came out the loser. It’s not waterproof (ramen-proof)?

The Midori 5 Year Diary is something I’ve had mixed success with. I should say I really like the paper and it performs well for me (no bleeding, no show through). My biggest problem with the diary is myself! I find myself forgetting to write for days at a time and then trying to catch up. I also find that many days I can’t think of something good to write, and on other days I have so much and there’s just such a tiny space (yes I know I could space things out!). I guess I still haven’t quite figured out how to make this a daily habit and record the things I think I’ll want to remember in a year or 5 years’ time.

Now that we’re partway through the year, what do you find yourself using the most? What are this year’s winners? Any particular losers?

DISCLAIMER: Some of these items were purchased with my own funds, others were provided for free or at discounted cost for the purposes of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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The Anterqiue ballpoint pens feature standard ballpoint ink and a fine point and a classic retracable ball point pen design. The click end is wedged rather than round giving it a slightly more modern look but, from a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a classic.

I, of course, got a lime green model but I am sure you can find your favorite color.

I tested the Anterique on Tomoe River paper first but it extended the dry time causing the dreaded lefty-smudgy hand.

On Nakabayashi Logical Prime paper, the ink dried in a reasonable amount of time and performed well. So, the ink dry time issue was specific to the Tomoe River paper, not the ink or pen. (I used a B5 sized notebook. Gentleman Stationer stocks it in A5.)

I was impressed with overall build quality of the pen. The knock works well, there is no rattle or shimmy when writing.  The quality is surprising for a budget priced pen. Definitely worth adding to your next order from Gentleman Stationer for sure.

If you want an even more premium model, Anterique is available with a brass barrel section ($29) and a plastic clip section which look even more retro..

The refill is a standard butterfly refill — its like a D1 with wings. It would be easy to replace and Gentleman Stationer stocks them ($2.80 each).

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Gentleman Stationer for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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I grabbed a copy of the Paperblanks Midi Planner ($6.88 on sale, $22.95 USD/$24.95CAD at full price) recently when I was ordering even more of the heavyweight paper Midi notebooks which have become my go-to notebook these days. I wanted to give the thinner 80gsm paper Paperblanks make another chance and the sale price made it hard to resist. The design is called the Floralia and it is so riveting.  The matte black cover features a beautiful print of flowers and some shimmer and sparkle accents on the flowers. As the light catches the art on the cover, the flowers look like they are popping off the cover.

The cover is a soft flexi with two ribbon bookmarks (sealed so they don’t fray!) and the Midi size is B6-ish at 4.75″ x 6.75″. B6 is 4.9 x 6.9 in (12.5 x 17.6 cm) so the Midi-sized notebooks will fit into any B6-sized notebook cover (another bonus for me since my daily carry notebook cover is B6).

Before the monthly calendars is a two-page year-at-a-glance spread with 2022 and 2023 and a key for the symbols used through the planner which include the first day of spring, first day of autumn, the moon phases and when daylight savings starts/ends (though it was not accurate to the US. Paperblanks is a Canadian company).

I bought the “horizontal no closure” version of the planner, which is essentially a standard week-on-two-pages design with a month-on-a-page in the front. The edition I got was an 18-month version that started in July 2022. The 80gsm paper means the book is not overly bulky and the 18-month model would be great for anyone who is in academia or who might be looking for a planner switch-up mid-year. The paper is acid-free, sustainable forest paper.

In the back of the planner are:

• international holidays for dozens of countries
• year-at-a-glance calendars for 2024 and 2025
• international dialing codes (so retro!!)
• some time zone clocks
• clothing conversion size charts
• quick glance measurement conversions for imperial to metric
• travel planning and important dates page
• 14 notes pages, lined
• 14 pages for address keeping

The paper is a creamy ivory color and has a slight tooth to it. In my usability test, I wasn’t expecting the paper to be fountain pen friendly because its so lightweight but I often grab whatever pen is handy to write in my planner so I want paper to be at least tolerant of fountain pens. There was a bit of showthrough on the reverse of the page but its not terrible and I think the ink I have been using is particularly wet and inclined to bleed.

I have started adding some daily events and notes. I know not everyone loves lines in the notebooks but for some reason, I don’t mind the lines in the Paperblanks planners. There is a slightly wider line between each day making a clean delineation between all the lines.

When you look at the reverse of the weekly page, the olive ink had some show through but the purple ink (I am pretty sure that’s Monteverde Birthday Cake in a Sailor ProGear with a H-MF nib) did not show through at all.

I used the notes pages to do some pen testing. I really like when planners work well with a lot of different kinds of pens because I just never know when I need to jot down an event. I might have been sketching and had a pencil in hand or I just grab a gel pen out of the cup on my table. The Paperblanks 80gsm paper really isn’t terrible. There is minor show through but very little bleed through. For a thin non-Japanese paper, its beyond acceptable. I would compare it to Leuchtturm 1917 for being a good all-around paper. If you are inclined to use super broad, juicy fountain pens, these 80gsm notebooks from Paperblanks might not be for you.

But if you, like me, has a rainbow of felt tip, gel, rollerball, pencils AND fountain pens, these planners might be a good option. And at the clearance prices, it could be worth giving them a try.

I realize that I am a bit biased about Paperblanks but I think they don’t get a lot of props from the pen community and the books are really good quality. No, they are not Hobonichi, Tomoe River or Midori MD paper but they are better than so many other options at reasonable prices (even when they are not on sale).

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

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The design is a multicolor screenprint in lush greens on a black background with animals hidden in the greenery including showy parrots, sloths, monkeys and wild cats (my animal identification might be incorrect so if you know more accurate descriptions, please leave them in the comments).

My favorite part is the frog end cap. He’s such a cute little guy who peers at you every time you open your pen case or sticks out of your pen cup.

The classic Retro51 Tornado design with its Schmidt rollerball refill is always a go-to at the Desk for on-the-go writing and especially for gateway gifts for loved ones. If you have a friend or family member who loves the tropics and rainforest conservation, grab one of these before they are gone.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Luxury Brands of America for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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I recently reviewed Midori MD Paper Products colored pencils in its very limited but lovely, understated palette. Midori also makes graphite pencils (6/$10) – equally sublime in their appearance and beautifully coordinated with other Midori stationery products. I was given the B grade for review, but I happen to have other drawing grades as well, so I’ll include them in my comments.

Like the colored pencils, the graphite pencil barrel has a subtle matte finish with simple branding. The barrel color is the vanilla ice cream off-white that appears on many of Midori’s notebook covers. Something about that matte finish is such a joy to touch!

Also matching the design of the colored pencils is the slightly convex, uncapped end that reveals a perfectly centered core. They sharpen nicely with a whiff of cedar.

I compared the Midori B grade with B grades in two of my favorite Japanese graphite pencils, Tombow Mono and Uni Mitsubishi Hi-Uni. Although not quite as smooth as either of the higher-priced pencils, the MD graphite quality is consistent and flawless. It feels slightly softer than the Tombow but slightly harder than the Hi-Uni. The B makes a great writing grade for those who prefer softer pencils. (Swatches and sketch shown in this review were made in a Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook, which has a smooth surface.)

The swatches below show the full range of MD grades available – HB through 6B. 

I have been taking crosshatching courses from France Van Stone (better known as Wagonized), and having the B in my hand was a good opportunity to work on one of the course exercises – a friendly, young cow. (France’s courses often use fun photo references of animals that I adore drawing!) I would typically use a softer grade for the final details, but this B did well enough even at the end.

The MDs are excellent writing and drawing pencils at a price that makes them a good value. 

My only complaint is that the beautiful matte finish I love so much tends to become easily scuffed and marked. I’ve had the full set for a while, knocking about in a pencil cup, and they are showing their age prematurely. I’m sure the colored pencil barrels will suffer the same fate shortly. Most of the time, I appreciate evidence of wear and use on my art materials, and I don’t baby them. But something about that creamy, formerly pristine finish with scuffs is harder to look at. I don’t want my stationery to be better dressed than I am, but if I daily-carried a Midori pencil, I might be tempted to keep it in a Rickshaw sleeve.  

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Gentleman Stationer for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

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Just reading the description on the order page tapped into my long-buried teen angsty Goth girl:

Who is this grievance journal for?

Humans! Particularly humans who like to write things on paper and vent about all the ways in which the world has wronged them. It’s cheaper than therapy and less dangerous than the incarceration that would surely result if you acted on your darkest impulses instead of just jotting them down in this sweet journal for sourpusses.

Ah, the gratitude journal made for dark souls!

The journal is hardcover with a matte finish. Inside is about 214 pages that features prompts and quotes to. inspire your own complaints and grumblings.

The book features two types of page spreads: one is a prompt at the top of the page followed by two pages of lined paper for a response. The second is a 2-page spread on blank paper with a decoratively framed quote on the left had page and a full blank page on the right that can be used to comment on the quote of freeform write or doodle.

I spent an inordinate amount of time reading out the prompts and quotes to my knitters, my dark-hearted friends and my patient spouse. I found them to be inspired and delightful.

Of course, with a “novelty” product (for lack of a better word), the paper quality was going to be immediately called into question. This is a book made for its message, not for the exacting standards of the picky-ass fountain pen community.

Truly, the Grievance Journal lives up to the hype, at least for me.

Anger management journal  for venting about life’s annoyances.

If you have friends, family or children who need a good place to revel in their dark thoughts, this journal is the place. Would I love it even more if the paper was truly fountain pen friendly? Yes. But do I love it in spite of its short comings? Yes. We all have our flaws, mine are just written down in this journal now.

PS: If you see a Grievance Journal on Amazon, its not the “real deal”. There’s a note in the description page on Bored Walk that they don’t sell on Amazon so beware of fakes.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

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My favorite feature of the Penlux line is the boxes. Each box is cut from a single piece of cardstock and folded in such a way that no glue is necessary.

Ok, I was wrong. My favorite feature of the Penlux ink line is the colors. They are fabulous! The three inks I have here are in the vintage line of the Mo inks.

Penlux Mo Pine is incredibly close to Sailor Rikyu-cha. to the point that it seems likely that Penlux may have been utilizing Sailor’s ink manufacturing skills when producing Pine.

I also love the changes in Pine on various papers. Tomoe River paper brings out a subtle coppery sheen.

Penlux Mo Pine on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

Midori MD paper shows off the yellow and brown undertones.

Penlux Mo Pine on Midori MD paper:

Pine looks like a completely different ink on Cosmo Air Light paper. The shading here is amazing.

Penlux Mo Pine on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Penlux Mo Amber has a lovely combination of rusty orange and brown, again with plenty of shading.

The shading seems more pronounced on Tomoe River paper with a hint of greenish sheen.

Penlux Mo Amber on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

Midori MD paper has shading but some of the depth of the color is flattened out.

Penlux Mo Amber on Midori MD paper:

On Cosmo Air Light paper, I saw a touch of feathering in some of the writing. Here, the ink looks a bit dusty as well.

Penlux Mo Amber on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Penlux Mo Rouge is not a color I usually reach for. But as part of the set of vintage colors, I couldn’t pass it up.

Tomoe River paper shows more of the blue undertones for a burgundy ink with green-gold sheen.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

On Midori MD paper, Rouge has a dusty and faded appearance.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Midori MD paper:

The change in Rouge on Cosmo Air Light paper is dramatic – the blue undertones dominate the color for more of a grape purple.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Do you have a favorite from this trio of inks? Have you found rare or beloved inks in strange locations?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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The potential downside of Chou Kuro is the ease of cleaning. The first edition of this ink comes with its own converter and a bottle of “Cleaning Water”. Closer inspection shows that the water is purified or distilled water, not a cleaning solution.

The bottles of Carbon Black ink and Chou Kuro ink are the same, although I believe the Chou Kuro ink is darker even in the bottle. I could be imagining this, though!

This is is definitely a dark black. No trace of grey, blue, purple, any color other than pure black. Please note that the ink name is misspelled on the swatch below!

Another note – I have not included water resistance test with this review. Why not? Because there was nothing to show! Both Platinum Carbon Black and Platinum Chou Kuro are pigmented water proof inks. They both win the test because once these inks are on paper, they won’t move.

And the comparison. Platinum Carbon Black shows a slight reflection of light in my swatch above – more of a shiny surface than any kind of actual sheen. Personally, I believe Montblanc Permanent Black is the darkest after Chou Kuro.

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Midori Cotton paper:

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Midori MD paper:

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

The cost is currently high with Platinum Chou Kuro. The 50mL bottle set comes with a price tag of $60, although this includes the “Cleaning Water” (250mL) and a Platinum converter (usually around $11).

I have heard rumors that this ink will be available in the future as an individual bottle, but the information has not yet been confirmed. Does the matte surface and darker color make this ink worth twice the cost of Carbon Black?

Please check back for the follow up post when I try to clean Chou Kuro out of my pen…

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me because I can’t seem to say no to new ink and for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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