Thank you to Dromgoole’s for letting me review this set and feel like I can be part of the cool crowd.

I never did have those markers. Either I was too old when they were introduced to the market or I wasn’t cool enough – I’m not sure. However, now I can relive that disappointment with a new set from Monteverde – Color Changing Inks.

The set comes in a nice magnetically closing box that looks great on a bookshelf, saving you space in your ink drawer. It consists of 9 colorful inks and one clear color changer bottle.

The color changer ink is a bit thicker than normal inks but has little to no odor and leaves no trace of a mark on paper.

I decided to start with filling up a few Kakimori refillable felt tip pens, but I swatched the following cards as I normally do – paintbrush and a dip pen.

This part was so fun! Each color changes differently with the addition of the color changer ink. Some, like the black and brown, change rather slowly and can take several minutes to fully change. Others, especially the Green and Blue, change as soon as the color changer touches them.

I learned through trial and error that you should let the first ink totally dry before adding the color changing ink. Also, be careful if you go back over your clear ink with a second coat as it can spread.

The color changer ink acts almost like a bleach pen, but not as harsh to the paper.

You can see in the swatch below that the color changer pushed slightly to the edges of the heavier swatch. A fun effect to watch.

As a graduate from Virginia Tech, I deeply appreciate the Burgundy to Orange color since it is the school color combination.

You can see a dark version of the color changed pink haloing the entire swatch of the Dark Blue ink below – almost like the deep blue portion shrank back to reveal the color underneath.

The Fuchsia ink was nearly bleached to white with the color changing ink, but the ink itself feathered quite a bit in the swatch below – Cosmo Air Light paper.

The Pink that came from the color changing ink on Green ink is a unique combination – the pink comes through as rather dark at first but lightens over time.

I also loved the Purple to Yellow combination – a very dark ink that lightens dramatically to Yellow.

The Red ink seemed to be closer to orange than actual red.

You can see on a few of these swatch cards that some colors performed poorly in the feathering department, although this is not enough for me to not use the ink.

Below is the Monteverde Color Changing lineup on Midori MD paper:

The Monteverde Color Changing lineup on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Finally, the Monteverde Color Changing lineup on Cosmo Air Light paper:

The set as I have shown it is available at retailers who carry Monteverde inks for $124 or $13 per ink bottle and $7 per bottle of color changer.

Which color duo is your favorite combination?

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items in this review were provided at a discounted rate for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: Monteverde Color Changing Ink Set appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Colorado pen show is one of a few pen shows that take place in a state that doesn’t touch an ocean. Chicago, Ohio, St. Louis, Detroit, and Colorado are all important shows to provide the experience to pen users in land locked states.

While the Colorado pen show is smaller than others, that doesn’t reflect the variety of items and events available at the event. I mean, look at the incredible variety of ink available at a single table! (Just to be transparent, I was the one selling this ink for the Dromgooles…)

The downside of working with a retailer at a show is that I have a limited amount of time to wander around and take great photos. But I’ve taken several photos from a single spot (my ink station) to try to give a feeling of the Colorado show.

One amazing point of the Colorado show is the help from the local pen club – the Colorado Pen Posse. In these photos, look for people in red shirts with white writing. They were always asking if they could help with anything, bring water, or if we had any issues. A hot lunch was delivered both Saturday and Sunday which helped us keep the table fully staffed through lunch.

Most of the tables in this show were in a single large conference room with surprisingly good lighting.

Pen Realm had specific show nibs that were only available during the show engraved with a great looking raven.

These photos were taken Friday evening before the busy time began.

This product — Bibliofile – was a new product sighting during the show – offered by Good Made Better. It’s an eye-catching way to carry all of your notebooks at once!

The Penwell is the other popular offer from Good Made Better.

Laughs were something that were never in short supply in Colorado!

Plenty of laughs!

My pen show purchases were not huge this time, but there was definitely a Traveler’s theme.

But the Color Changing Ink from Monteverde was the most exciting item in my opinion! I can’t wait to show these soon in a review!

I caught a few casual photos after the show was done on Saturday – good friends and plenty of drinks. The hotel offered a happy hour each evening, complete with free drinks, soda, juice, and snacks. It was a good time to relax for a few minutes and figure out what to do for dinner.

I’ve attended the Colorado pen show since it first started ten years ago and I do believe this was the best year I’ve seen so far. The show was well run, the hotel was helpful, the pen club was friendly, and the attendance was high.

Thank you to everyone who attended, sold, and purchased at the show this year.

I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store!

The post The Colorado Pen Show 2023 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Well, this won’t actually be a post analyzing a second year show. Not from the perspective of one who attended the first year, at least. I did not attend the first year Orlando Pen Show in 2022 but I did work at the Orlando Pen Show 2023 with the Dromgoole’s crew.

The show began Thursday evening for weekend pass holders – I know there was plenty of fun at the Thursday night pizza part and many items were raffled. However, Thursday night was set up night for our booth.

In my experience, the Dromgooles attempt to bring most of their store stock with them to a show. This is fabulous for individuals looking for items that are harder to find but can be tough on the backs of the people setting up the booth! But all tables were set up the evening before the show started.

I love the vast amount of ink on display at the Dromgooles table. And the display quality of these inks is incredible! Day 1 dawned with a nice volume of attendees looking for the wonders held within the showroom. The entrance room had tables for sitting and resting, a table full of donated ink for testing and playing, and a pen show exclusive ink for purchase. I do admire the pen show for their choice of theme colors – purple.

I wasn’t able to take many photos at the Orlando Pen Show this year, but those I did take have plenty of character. After a first day at the pen show, Marty and Kimberly (who help with Retro 51 and Rickshaw products) were happy to have time to sit down to a good meal and visit.

Christine and Michael Dromgoole were also happy to sit and eat. Michael loves his Dromgoole’s shirt enough to wear it even after hours!

My favorite Rickshaw fabric is this that I call Scruffy Kitty. I love his little pink toe beans! This pattern has been very popular in all styles of cases.

I was lucky enough to get a surprise visit from a famous pen star – Brad Dowdy. I asked if he would autograph a notebook but no one could find a pen…

The end of the second day of the show brought a large raffle to the show room floor with everyone gathered around. Pens created by independent pen makers were given away with the funds donated to the Reef Relief charity.

One downside of working at a vendor table is staring at a product all weekend. I was forced to purchase the Panda Hobonichi cover in the “Love It” pattern because I couldn’t bear to leave Panda behind. He now has a good home.

With a show so near Walt Disney World, there will be plenty of Disney products seen in the wild. My favorite siting was a Little Mermaid wallet disguised as a video tape cover!

The Orlando show was well-run from the point of view of a vendor. The presence of fast food nearby helped, cold water was always available, and attendance was managed well.

Did you go to the Orlando show as an attendee? What is your opinion on the show?

The post Show Recap: Orlando Pen Show appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Ferris Wheel Press has been shaking up the glistening (sparkling) ink world with its Fairy Tales ink line. Every foil-stamped box contains intricate artwork related to the fairy tale.

Each ink in the Fairy Tale line also comes in a small glass bottle (20mL) with a heavy metal cap.

The sparkle in Poison Envy is a purple chameleon sparkle while the ink itself is a dark purple that leans red with a bright greenish-gold sheen.

Sheen and sparkle are everywhere in this ink – both the in the swatch and in writing.

The base ink color in Poison Envy is redder than the base ink in Diamine Winter Miracle from Inkvent 2019 but they are close in writing. The difference becomes apparent when the swatches are angled into the light. The color of the sparkle is also visible here – Winter Miracle contains a bluish sparkle while Poison Envy is silver at one angle and purple at another.

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Midori Cotton paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Midori MD paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy does come with a cost – $22 for the 20mL bottle of ink – $1.10 per mL. However, I do believe the cost is justified for the materials and level of thought put into the ink and packaging. Thank you again to the Dromgooles for making this review possible!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us by Dromgoole’s free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

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.

The post Ink Review: PenLux Mo Inks appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

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.

The post Ink Review: Platinum Chou Kuro appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

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.

The post Paper Review: Kunisawa Notebook appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Tinterias is a Spanish language podcast run by Jeffrey Coleman who is a professor at Northwestern University who also seems to have excellent taste in ink. He teamed up with Sailor to create a group of exclusive inks – Spicy Chipotle, Homemade Tortilla, Blue Corn, and Agave. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to get to the Tinterias table, they were sold out of one bottle, Spicy Chipotle, but that only means I have one more bottle to hunt down…

The first ink is Homemade Tortilla. This is a beautiful golden brown ink that shades dramatically and is very close to KWZ Honey with a touch less yellow in the mix.

Sailor x Tinterias Homemade Tortilla on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Homemade Tortilla on Midori MD paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Homemade Tortilla on Midori Cotton paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Homemade Tortilla on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

The next ink is Blue Corn, a deep blackberry purple. I love how well this ink matches the actual color of blue corn – although I don’t think blue corn sheens at all. I could be wrong, though. Blue Corn is a touch bluer than Robert Oster Claret, but it is close and it is a few shades lighter than Vinta Ubi Mulberry.

Sailor x Tinterias Blue Corn on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Blue Corn on Midori MD paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Blue Corn on Midori Cotton paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Blue Corn on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

The last ink today (due to being too slow on Spicy Chipotle), is Agave. Agave is a wonderful blue-grey ink that could be classified as a light blue-black ink. It is close to Wearingeul Mature but is better at shading and is slightly darker than Akkerman Koninginne Nach Blauw.

Sailor x Tinterias Agave on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Agave on Midori MD paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Agave on Midori Cotton paper:

Sailor x Tinterias Agave on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

I’ve been enjoying these three inks thoroughly since picking them up. Homemade Tortilla and Agave shade gorgeously! I played around with Agave and a Sailor Fude nib for a while – not artistically, but it was fun seeing what the color can do!

I highly recommend all three inks I’ve shown here today. You can find them on the Tinterias podcast website where they are listed for $30 each (although both Homemade Tortilla and Spicy Chipotle are sold out currently) – I did not find shipping costs, however. The square glass bottles are 50mL each, so you’ll have plenty to play with as well, and at $0.60/mL, these inks are very well-priced for Sailor!

The post Ink Review: Sailor x Tinterias Inks appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I discovered the entire Teranishi ink brand at St. Louis Art Supply where the ink is offered in 40mL glass bottles for $21.50 (about $0.54 per mL) or in 1.5mL samples for $2.50. Because I have used samples for this review, there is no photo of the actual bottles but refer to part 1 for a look at them.

Taisho Roman Modern Red is a well-saturated red with a hint of shading and a touch of sheen occasionally.

However, I was surprised at how Modern Red reacted to various types of paper. Sometimes this ink shows as a bold, bright red. Other papers reveal the orange and brown undertones of the ink. The ink can also show very different textures on each paper.

Teranishi Taisho Roman Modern Red on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Modern Red on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Modern Red on Midori MD paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet is the second ink in today’s review. This purple also has a bit of shading and plenty of blue in the undertones.

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Teranishi Taisho Roman Salon de Violet on Midori MD paper:

Which of the Teranishi inks is your favorite?

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

The post Ink Review: Taisho Inks, Part 2 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Write & Draw ink line consists of 50mL glass bottles that I have found for $17.33 at Vanness Pen Shop. This works out to about $0.35 per mL – a great deal for colorful water resistant inks.

The color lineup today isn’t as colorful as part 1. Here we have the blues, grays, greens, and the one black ink. Blue Koi is a brilliant sapphire blue, Grey Meerkat is a neutral grey, and my favorite blue – Blue Lynx.

Grey Fox is one that I would classify as a blue-black.

I have a feeling that Petrol Axolotl will be a popular choice in this line – a dark teal that reminds me of the popular Taccia Sabimidori ink. Green Eagle is a nice bright green that leans a bit towards yellow, but not much.

The last three colors – Green Squirrel, Grey Frog, and Black Elephant make quite a trio. Green Squirrel is a fun muddy green and Black Elephant is a deep, dark, opaque black – as a pigment ink, it can achieve the true black not found in dye based inks.

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Midori Cotton paper:

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Tomoe River 52gsm (TR7) paper:

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Midori MD paper:

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

In part 1 of this review, I promised to test the water resistance of the Octopus Write & Draw inks. To test this, I first sprinkled several drops of water on every color swatch – here I’m showing the test on Midori MD paper.

After letting this sit for one minute, I blotted each swatch with a clean paper towel.

Not a single trace of ink on the paper towel.

I repeated this with the inks from part 1. The same result. I could not get the ink off the paper.

I decided on another test – I held the Black Elephant swatch under running water for 30 seconds and again blotted the paper dry. Nothing. The swatch looked identical before and after the flowing water.

I am truly impressed with the water resistance of the Write & Draw inks. Colorful waterproof inks are hard to find, but I have found all 25 colors to withstand brutal levels of water. I would consider these a great purchase at their price point.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided at a discount by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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