Last Friday, September 22, Ana and I attended the Pelikan Hub here in Kansas City.
If you’re not familiar with Pelikan Hubs, where have you been? Just kidding. The Pelikan Hubs are held in September and are basically a fun pen party “hosted” by Pelikan. Pelikan sends boxes of goodies out to different cities (each of which has a hubmaster or host) so that on the same Friday evening in September pen lovers worldwide can celebrate their love of fountain pens.
Pelikan Hub Kansas City 2023
And the Kansas City Hub didn’t disappoint. It was organized by our local pen club and hosted in Crown Center outside of Pen Place, our local fountain pen store. There was wine, cheese, a selection of desserts (including an oversized gummy bear in remembrance of the Chicago pen show gummy snake courtesy of our friend Andrew). There was a table where participants could bring items in search of loving homes. And there were prizes for a raffle!
But more than anything there was lots of good pen conversation with other pen people. New faces, old friends, pen friends visiting from out of town (Andrew Coon!), and just a great time.
The Gummy Bear of 2023Ana, me and Andrew Coon!Tony & Ana
One of the other fun things is the Endless Pens donated new/old stock of Pelikan Twists from the 1980s – enough that almost everyone took one home. I wondered how it compared to the new Twists so I ordered one and I’ll compare them in next week’s post.
But let’s get to the real reason you’re here: THE GIVEAWAY! One of the fun parts about the Pelikan Hubs is that Pelikan usually gives each registered attendee a bottle of the Pelikan Edelstein ink of the year. For 2023, that’s Rose Quartz. Sometimes they send extra paper or postcards, and sometimes the hubmaster or an affiliated pen shop donate other things for the goodie bags. And we had extra goodie bags so we’ve got one for one lucky reader!
You are entering the giveaway to win:
A bottle of the Pelikan Edelstein Rose Quartz
A pad of Pelikan Paper
A Pelikan Postcard
A set of fountain pen notecards
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and let us know what your favorite Pelikan is! If you don’t have one, which one would you buy if money were no object? Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.
If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Thursday, September 28, 2022. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Friday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this giveaway were provided to us free of charge by Pelikan and Pen Place. Please see the About page for more details.
This was not the review I thought I’d be writing today. I purchased an array of notebooks over the past few weeks — at the San Francisco Pen Show and via Yoseka Stationery — and I was quite excited about them. All four of the notebooks I purchased (or were given for review) were well-made and came from Asia, known for their attention to detail and high quality paper stock. I really thought they were all going to be stellar performers but when I started testing them, the majority fell flat for me. I did PUSH the usability of these notebooks beyond regular daily use so keep that in mind as you proceed with this review.
Top row: Musubi Rasa 83 A5 and Life Kleid B6. Bottom row: Book Note 360 B6 and Nakabayashi Yu-Sari A5
Musubi Rasa 83 (A5, 7mm lined, 83 gsm, 105 sheets, made in Singapore, approx. $23 USD)
Like I said in my intro, I think my expectation may have been high for these notebooks, maybe unreasonably so. With the price points varying from just under $15 to almost $30, one might think that my preferences would fall along price lines — the more expensive, the better the performance but that was not the case.
When looking at the overall construction and binding of the books, all featured stitched Smyth-style binding with multiple signatures of paper stitched together and then taped with bookbinders tape or wrapped with board-supported book cloth covers. The Book Note 360º and Musubi both are completely wrapped in book cloth with board underneath to create a sturdy, flexible cover. The Yu-Sari and Life Kleid books both have book tape spines and cardstock covers but the Life Kleid has a plastic overwrap that can be left on the notebook to protect it or removed.
From top to bottom,Yu-Sari, Musubi, Life Kleid and Book Note 360º
Both the Book Note 360º and Musubi have rounded corners while the Yu-Sari and Life Kleid have squared corners. I don’t know if these aesthetic decisions will be make or break for you, they certainly weren’t for me but its intersting to see the similarities and differences.
The Book Note 360º and Musubi Rasa 83 are the most similar in all aesthetic details but the Musubi is actually less expensive (minus shipping costs) than the Book Note 360º and its a smaller notebook. Even the paper texture on both books is more similar to each other than the Life Kleid and Yu-Sari — the paper in both books has a slight powdery texture to the hand. Under a pen, it is ever-so-slightly toothy creating a bit of friction, slowing down the writing process.
The Life Kleid and Yu-Sari are also more similar to each other with square corners and black-tapped spines. Even the paper is more similar being very smooth — more like Rhodia paper with an almost slick surface that will keep pens skating along the surface.
The only aspect where the similarities change is in paper color. The Book Note 360º and Life Kleid both feature a creamy, ivory paper color while the Musubi and Yu-Sari both feature more of a natural white paper color. The Musubi paper is the brightest white of all four books.
Now is the point in the review where the proverbial wheels come off the wagon. The writing tests. Which, in all honesty, is the most important part of any notebook.
My first ding is the Book Note 360º which performed fine overall except that there was a good deal of show through to the back side of the page. For the price, only getting to use one side of the paper effectively is not ideal.
From the front side, the paper looks just fine and will be a good writing paper. It does not handle copious amounts of ink well so don’t reserve this notebook for ink testing or swatching purposes.
Clearly, the Book Note 360º on the left had some issues with show through and occasional dots of bleed through, especially when compared ot the Life Kleid on the right.The horror that is the back side of the Book Note 360º on the left and the Life Kleid on the right, which behaved much better.
The paper used in the book is OK Fools which I’ve tested in the Yamamoto Paper Sampler in the past but it always feels different when I start using paper in a notebook that just testing a couple full-sized sheets. There is also very visible laid lies and watermarks. This may be a bug or a feature depending on your personal preference. I am okay with it but is definitely something to be aware of.
Laid lines and watermark on the Book Note 360º paper.
Notebook grievance #2 is the Life Kleid Noble Note Section notebook. I was all keen to have a full notebook of the teeny tiny 2mm grid lines. What I didn’t realize is that the printing technique used to get the grid on the paper, resists most ink. This is a huge “nope!” for me. Overall, the Life Kleid was more tolerant of fountain pen ink than markers or brush pens but what a strange reaction!
Life Kleid ink resistance
On the plus side, there was no show through or bleed through on the Life Kleid paper, even when copious amounts of ink were thrown down so it did redeem itself a bit when used with a folded nib pen for ink experimentations.
On close inspections, slight ink resistance on the edges of the letterforms but overall, the Life Kleid did not resist the fountain pen ink as much as it did the markers in the writing tests.
This is the notebook grievance that is hardest to talk about. The Musubi Rasa 83 did not meet my expectations. Even after reading the lengthy explanation on the Musubi site about he paper choices and the trade-offs that had to be made in order to find a paper that would dry relatively quickly while keeping many of the properties required by fountain pen users. However, there was a mention in the description that the original paper has been modified to improve dry times and resist hand oils but in doing so, I found that the line weights of my pens was significantly altered. My Japanese fine and extra fine nibs performed more like medium nibs, and so on. I buy extra fine and needle point nibs because I like an extremely fine line and a paper which increases my line width willy-nilly is not acceptable.
This is a close-up of the Rasa 83 with the Nakabayashi Yu-Sari directly below it. I used the same pens with the same inks to test both of these notebooks on the same day. The line widths should be identical but you can see how much broader the Sailor Fine nib (in purple ink) looks on the Musubi Rasa 83 than on the Nakabayashi. The same goes for every other pen shown on these pages.The bask view of regular pen test writing samples on Musubi Rasa 83 on the left and Yu-Sari on the right.
I don’t normally use lined paper but the 7mm line width on the Musubi Rasa 83 is good with a pale, extra fine line printed on the sheets. But the issue with lined or grid papers, like the Life Kleid is the printed lines or grids can have unexpected results depending on the type of ink chosen to write on the paper. When I attempted to use a folded nib on the lined Rasa 83 paper, weird things happened.
The back side of Musubi Rasa 83 on the left and Yu-Sari on the right.Top, left to right, Yu-Sari and Book Note 306º. Bottom, Life Kleid and Musubi.
So, those were the three disappointments for me: the Musubi Rasa 83, the Book Note 360º and the Life Kleid. They all have things that recommend themselves depending on how you use your notebooks. I use my notebooks for everything and I ask a lot of the paper contained within them. Some of the issues I ran into specifically had to do with the pre-printed lines so I recommend that if ink resistance is something you don’t like, I recommend purchasing blank notebooks and using guidesheets behind your page to help keep you straight.
I plan on purchasing a Life Noble Note in blank because the paper is really good, with no bleed through or show through. It was really the grid lines that made the Life Kleid a no-go for me. I will also pick up a blank Rasa 83 from Musubi in blank as well since I am hoping that without the lines, the paper might perform better. Though the widening of the line widths might still be an issue so I’m on the fence about investing in any more of this specific paper from Musubi.
The one notebook that was the pleasant surprise was the Nakabayashi Yu-Sari notebook. It was the least expensive of the four and performed the best across a variety of writing tools and techniques from extra fine nibs to folded nibs that I use for ink testing. This is the second time that a Nakabayashi notebook surprised me. The first time as the Nakabayashi Logical Prime Notebooks. They are such unassuming notebooks with simple paper covers and a small gold foil logo on the cover. I just didn’t expect the Yu-Sari to be the runaway winner in this batch of notebooks. I expected it to be a solid option but not necessarily the notebook I would most likely recommend to others. I tested the blank version of the notebook so it had the unfair advantage of not having any pre-printed lines or grids that might resist my fountain pen ink or markers. The Logical Prime notebooks I tested earlier were pre-printed with grid lines and I did not notice any ink resistance like I saw with the Life Kleid and Musubi Rasa 83 so I feel fairly confident in moving the Nakabayashi notebooks into my Top 5 list at this point.
Have you tried any of these notebooks? If so, what are your favorite features or not? I’d love to hear how these notebooks perform for you.
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided free of charge by Musubi for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
It’s finally getting cooler here in the Midwest and that makes me pull out all my sweaters, drink spice teas and even crave the occasional pumpkin spice latte. Even my ink cravings start leaning more autumnal: browns, russet reds, pumpkin oranges and dusky greens.
Oh, and have you seen the monrach butterflies migrating? We ooh-ed and ahh-ed at lunch today as butterflies flew over our heads. It was magical.
Are you ready for the change in the season wherever you are?
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Even though I don’t get to attend all the pen shows, Ana does sometimes bring home fun products to try. So I was excited last week when she handed me a Uni-ball One Gel Pen 3 Color Set (Limited Edition: Miyabi). Ana purchased the set at Mai Do at the San Francisco Pen Show, but it doesn’t appear on their website. I did find it available on JetPens (3 Color Set, $6).
Many folks say that Uni-ball gels are their favorite kind of pen, and after trying these I can see why. The 3-color set comes with smooth plastic barrels and comfortable rubber grips. They are clickable, and sport a clip that easy holds onto the front cover of a notebook or a small stack of paper. The gel pens are available with either .38mm or .5mm tips. I got the .38mm ones, and the lines are thin and precise!
The packaging denotes that the ink is water-resistant, and pigment based. It lays down cleanly and is quick drying. While it’s referred to as “vibrant colors” the Miyabi is really more of a bit of a pastel set. The Orange (Loquat fruit) is fairly vibrant but the Purple (Bellflower) and Gray (Mamedifuku) are softer colored, while still being legible. I happen to love gel pens (I favor them over ball points and roller balls) so I’m pleased to have some fun new colors in my pen cup!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
I cannot believe that someone hadn’t thought of doing this sooner but Yoseka created the Yoseka Labs Two-Month Weekly Planner sampler ($9.50) and it is genius. (There’s your TL:DR. Go buy it now.)
In a lovely B6-sized (12.5cm x 17.6cm / 4.9in x 6.9in) cahier-style notebook with 68gsm Tomoe River paper are an assortment of differnt weekly page layouts to try. Most weekly styles include two weeks of the layouts but a couple just have one week to try. There are also a couple options for monthly overview pages as well to test out. Honestly, Yoseka, you had me at B6.
The monthly spreads include a month-on-two-pages (classic monthly view calendar), Vertical Gantt (based on Bushimen’s PAL), and Horizontal Gantt (based on Art Print Japan’s Visualife Planner). The Gantt style calendars blow my mind a little but find them useful for Habit Tracking. It’s definitely a different style.
This was one of the few layouts that left me a little stumped. Maybe for longer project planning?
The weekly spreads include:
Vertical Schedule
Horizontal + Memo
Vertical + Memo
Horizontal Quadrant
Vertical Quadrant (Divided)
Vertical Quadrant (Memo)
This is very similar to the layout in the Jibun Techo.
This is one of my favorite planner layouts. I don’t need a ton of space for specific time tracking but like to have a large area for notes, lists and to do’s.
This layout was similar enough to the previous one that I didn’t fill it out. I do like the blank area and lines at the bottom. I think it would be good for a more creative planner — sketch, lettering or ink swatch at the top, notes at the bottom?
Of the weekly layouts, the horizontal + memo and vertical + memo are my favorites. I don’t use my planner for time keeping as much as task lists and logging activities from what and where I ate to activities I did and media I consumed. I like bbeing able to got back through the year and see what movies were watched, books were read and which podcasts were keeping my attention during different moments in the year.
Yoseka, then included a printed sheet with a chart of which planners they sell that feature each of the different styles of layouts as well as the sizes available. It’s a great cheat sheet for finding which planner aligns with your favorite layout at a glance. So efficient!
Since the notebook is undated, you can try all these different layouts right now and still have tie to find your perfect planner for 2024. With a full 10 weeks of weekly planner pages, that’s enough to get you almost to the end of the calendar year too.
I think, depending on feedback from customers, Yoseka should offer some of the most popular options as full undated planners. The size is great, the paper is great. Honestly, blank B6 Tomoe River cahiers would be amazing to offer too! Please!!!
DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review 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.
Over the last week or so, I’ve been slowly updating the shop. First, I have added more pen clean out and ink destashing. Patrons get advanced notice when I do stationery cupboard clean outs so if you join the Patreon, you too can get first dibs when I clear out my ever-expanding pen, paper and ink stash. I’ve been a little stressed by my collection — that feeling of having too many things to keep track of, etc — that I’m probably removing items from my collection that are from the core of my collection, not the fluff. My loss is clearly your gain.
Lots of stamps have been restocked in the shop as well as our stamp cleaner (also on Etsy). We are even stocking refill bottles of the the stamp cleaner (8oz bottle for $14) if you have a spray or dauber bottle that needs a refill.
The pen and ink destash is only available on our Big Cartel site which ships to the US only. Sorry to our international readers but shipping ink out of country is very complicated.
And finally, we have created the first products in our new Tiki Collection. Bob and I have been cocktail fans and tiki collectors for years. In the heat of this summer, we wanted to capture the joys of delicious cocktails and that retro vibe of a Trader Vic’s or Beachcomber Don’s bar. When you live in the parched, land-locked part of the country, its fun to dream about the sea breezes and sounds of tropical birds cawing from a nearby tree. Jot down your favorite cocktail recipe on our new notepad (40 lined pages, fountain-pen friendly paper, $10) and put your icy cocktail glass on one of our absorbent coasters (8 coasters, 2 of each design $12). Aloha, friends! See you at the bar!
Do people write posts analyzing second year pen shows? 2022 was the first year for the Orlando Pen Show and I have seen plenty of posts looking at the event – did it live up to the hype? Did it have any new events or features? But I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a post specifically looking at a second year show.
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?
