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This past Friday while Ana was at the St. Louis Pen Show, I drove up to check it out! The store is super cute, set in midtown Kansas City. It has a fun, curated collection of greeting cards, notebooks and notecards, journals, stickers, mugs, wrapping paper and other giftables. To be clear, this isn’t a pen store. They did have a fun selection of Gelly Roll pens and a few roller balls and ball points, but it’s primarily about the paper. It’s whimsical, and the owner definitely has a sense of humor.

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I was restrained but found a few cute cards on the long wall. My selections were from Black and White and Red All Over and A Zillion Dollars. Both cards are printed nicely, and use recycled content for both the cards and envelopes.

I saw many of the familiar notebooks (Maruman, Kleid, Leuchtturm, and more), plus some from companies I hadn’t heard from. I did pick up one notebook – I’ll share my thoughts on it next week!

Overall it’s a cute shop, and if you’re in the Kansas City area, you won’t be disappointed if you stop by! And if you’re looking for a fun new shop to support, you can also shop online!

P.S. If you stop by, make sure you give shop dog Lucy lots of pets!

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But I muddled through and selected:

• Robert Oster Green Olive
• J. Herbin Vert Olive
• PenBBS #219 – Watermelon Green
• Colorverse Alpha Centauri

What other inks should I include?

The post Yarn + Ink: This IS a spring chicken. appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

This yarn is mostly natural (white) with hints of tons of other colors. There’s a bright carrot orange, a pretty pea green, an orangey-red, and an aqua to name just a few.

My ink palette includes:

• Monteverde Ruby
• Kala Sweet Potato Balls
• Pen BBS #233 – Nanjing
• Pen BBS #224 – Tolstoy

The post Yarn & Ink: Delightfully Springy appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Did I miss the green for 2023 memo? There are a few interesting finds that aren’t green. For instance the Limited Edition Carousel from Ferris Wheel Press ($90 via Jenni Bick) is rosy. The new TWSBI Eco is Persian Green ($32.99 via Pen Boutique), but it’s definitely got more blue in it. And Lamy, well, they’ve just decided to reissue previous colors on different bodies.

So what do you think? Is green giving you good vibes for this year? Are there other limited edition pens you’re digging in other colors?

The post It’s not easy being green. appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I’ve spent the last almost two weeks adventuring in New Zealand! (And I do mean adventuring: fjords, and runs and paragliding oh my!)

I did take my trusty journal (Review here) with me, along with one of my favorite Kaweco AL Sports. I love the Kawecos because there’s no ink mess after plane hopping and they start right up every time – just pack a cartridge and go!

I’ll have more travel notes for you when I’m stateside, but for now here’s a fun shot of me journaling in Queenstown Gardens, and a few other highlights.

The post A New Zealand Adventure appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Dear Well- Appointed Desk Readers:

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you’re able to have a little fun today, even if it’s a dreary February day where you are.

I just wanted to thank you for reading along with us at “the desk.” We love writing and reviewing products and getting to share our love of all things stationery with you. Your comments make us so happy!

So we wish you a wonderful Valentine’s Day. And even if you’re not so keen on today’s holiday, there’s always tomorrow’s – half price chocolate day!

Laura

P.S. Roses are red, violets are blue, we love office supplies, we’re glad you do too!!

The post A Valentine appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I’ve been working with the Dromgooles at shows this summer, setting up a rack with only ink (a LOT of it). This allows Michael and Larry Dromgoole to sell pens while I get to do one of my favorite things – talk about ink all day. It does give pen shows a different twist. I’m not able to wander around or shop during the show, I have to purchase items before the morning start or after we have closed for the day. It is, however, a great way to limit spending!

My pen show weekend started mid-Thursday. I flew into the San Francisco airport and posted briefly on Slack to see if anyone else was at the airport and looking to share a ride. Before long, this crazy sign was spotted!

I made sure to thank my driver. With coffee.

Kimberly was running between the airport and the pen show hotel. She was able to squeeze me into her very complex schedule, plus I got to see a friend first thing!

I checked into my room but I was called into the bar before I could put my suitcases away. More friends, with a cold beer waiting for me.

I’m never sure what color Jonathan Brooke’s hair will be at a show.

I haven’t been staying up late at pen shows this summer. With active kids at home, this is my chance to get more sleep.

7 am Friday I am setting up the ink shelves. So much ink.

At first, the show is quiet. A few early risers trickle in and I never have the correct inks out yet. But everyone is understanding and comes back an hour later. My current ink shelf setup takes 2-2.5 hours to get organized.

The show picks up speed quickly. By 10 am the show feels like it is full-swing, but it is only getting started.

People are everywhere. For the entire day, there are at least two customers looking for ink at the same time but typically four or five.

I fit in a few quick chats with other vendors. This is Sean from Pilot.

The first day passed in a blur. Suddenly I find myself in the bar again.

The Dromgoole’s group heads off campus to a swanky restaurant nearby. Parking seems to be an acquired skill in California!

A brief sleep and Saturday is overwhelming. There are so many people everywhere! The main ballroom is hot and stuffy, especially when you have the sun shining on your table all day. But it makes sparkly inks gorgeous.

I found my friend Greg roaming through the show with this sign – oddly he wasn’t actually buying pens. Every pen show brings a different mix of friends that I can only see at that show and Greg is one of them. The last time I was able to attend the SF show was 2019!

Other friends (like Kenro Cary) are at most pen shows throughout the year, but they are always a welcome sight as well.

On Sunday I was thrilled to see Kaoru at the Bungubox table along with her new husband! I snuck away from the ink table for a few minutes to make a quick purchase and steal a picture.

Before I know it, the pen show is done! The ink is packed up and on its way back to Houston with Larry Dromgoole. Just showing up at the bar, I find plenty of friends, pens, and paper. The food was excellent as well.

I love the shirt Angela wears to shows (inkyconverters).

I met the true love of my life at this show: Broccoli. She is the sweetest little puppy!

Unfortunately, my camera didn’t like the lighting at the bar. I took plenty of blurry photos, but I’m happy to have them. I’ve learned to appreciate every minute I get to see friends.

Even if they are goofy.

The big tables in the bar were all filled with pen people. The common themes wereexhaustion, laughter, and drinks.

And Leigh being mischievous.

Kimberly and Marty usually sell Retro 51 pens at shows but mixed it up in San Francisco with Rickshaw.

Franz and Daryl were spotted giggling at stupid text messages nearby.

And over in a corner, I spied someone trying to work on a post.

Angela nearly fell over trying to get photos of the group. Boxes in the background are a common site at the end of a show – I think I’ve seen the box at the bottom at half a dozen shows now.

I once again hitched a ride on the Pen Show Uber with Joe Crace and Jonathan Brooks. I’m not actually that much shorter – there was just no other space on the curb.

Safely on the plane, I watched checked luggage being handled with the utmost care.

This is why I hate checking bags.

Time to say goodbye to another San Francisco Pen Show. It is an amazing show with lots of work going on behind the scenes – thank you to everyone who made it such a success! My fingers are crossed that it won’t be another three years before I return – hopefully there are no more pandemics keeping us away!

The post Show Recap: 2022 San Francisco Pen Show appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a more beautiful country. Every day we were surrounded by forests, waterfalls, fjords, lakes, sheep and too many beautiful sights to document. There was a lot of running and walking, enjoying being outdoors, sampling new cuisine (surprise: not as much fish as I thought there would be), and meeting new people. There was also a little drinking, some journaling, and lots of making memories that will last a lifetime. You can find my full Flickr album here, but I’ve added a few of the highlights below:

Waterfalls everywhere (this one in Lillehammer)

Maihaugen “open air” museum Lillehammer – featuring traditional Norwegian houses dating back to the 1400s and 1500s

Ronadane Nasjonal Park

Lots of sheep!

Gjendesheim Lake

Reindeer sighting!

Geiranger Fjord and waterfall

Salty licorice anyone?

Running the Atlantic Ocean Road – an archipelago at the western-most point of Norway. Also featured in the most recent Bond movie!

Traditional Norwegian cuisine (and coffee) on top of a mountain!

The final run – not pictured rocky paths, SO MUCH MUD, boggy marshes.

Galdhoppigen – the tallest peak in Norway (and glacier sighting!)

More new toys and reviews next week!

The post Did you miss me? appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Every year there’s this little bike race in France over the summer. And many years ago (early to mid 2000s), spinners (of yarn) decided that during the Tour de France, they would spin and make yarn on their spinning wheels. And they called it Tour de Fleece.

I learned to spin yarn back in 2010. Basically to make yarn, you take fiber (wool is the most common, but there are other animal and plant-based fibers you can use) and you combine both drafting (pulling apart the fibers to create create the thickness you’d like) and then add twist to make it stronger. The first thing you spin is a singles – a single strand of yarn. If you choose to, you can then twist these singles on each other to create stronger, plied yarns. I typically spin 2-ply yarns, but 3-ply yarns are quite popular, and you ply quite a few strands together (my biggest was a 9-ply and it looks like boat rope!)

But I digress. When I first started spinning I used a spindle. This is the most analog of spinning tools – just a stick, with something to weight it and keep it spinning (a whorl) in your hands.

Once I decided I was hooked, I got a spinning wheel. Despite the name and the engineering, this is another analog tool. My spinning wheel doesn’t look like a Rumplestiltskin replica, but it has the same functions. There are two foot pedals (treadles) and a wheel which through the use of some strings and springs makes a foot-powered system that adds twist to fiber and allows it to collection on a bobbin.

Most recently I have taken a bit more of a leap and actually bought myself an electric spinning wheel. This wheel uses a motor and either battery-power or electricity to eliminate the foot treadling and yet still add twist. I do go back to my analog wheel quite a bit though – there’s something so soothing and meditative about creating something with my hands (and feet).

The Tour de France started on July 1 and runs through July 24, which means I’m spending lots of time at my spinning wheel (while watching men on one of the most analog of a tools – a bicycle). I haven’t been playing with pens as much, but I’m digging creating just the same!

The post Analog Tools: Spinning wheels and the Tour de France appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I’m still regretting that I didn’t purchase the Platinum 3776 Kumpoo, the 2018 limited edition. So when I saw the 2022 Shape of a Heart pen I didn’t hesitate to preorder ($312, Pen Chalet). And I’m not disappointed.

Shape of a Heart is black pen with pink-gold trim and a pink gold plated 14K gold nib. The “Shape of a Heart” refers to the heart-shaped piece that gets cut out of each Platinum nib. The finial is filled with crystals, and that gold “heart” from the nib. I saw my gold heart once, but it’s hard to find mixed in there with all the sparkling crystals. I ordered a fine nib, and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

In another few weeks,  once I’ve gotten to know my new pen, I’ll come back and give you a review, but until then I’ll leave you with a few photos. I guess this would qualify for entrance to the Black Pen Society?

The post First Look: Platinum 3776 Shape of a Heart appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.