There are notebooks, and then there are Japanese notebooks. Who else thinks of making notebooks with diagonal lines? This is the slim version of the Midori MD notebook. The stitching on the spine tells you what kind of paper is inside. Red means blank. India ink on this paper looks rich and velvety. Life is …
A visit to Aesthetic Bay yielded a lot of ink, and goldfish. The Platinum Kanazawa-Haku line features five new designs, each one a classic Japanese theme from nature. Kanazawa-haku is a gold leaf technique, and here variations of it are applied on a slim Platinum body. A thin coat of clear lacquer protects the applied design. The goldfish are …
“Oh look, parchment.” “Yes, it used to be part of a goat, you know.” We are divorced from the origins of what we use. We don’t touch soil before we eat grains. We don’t spin and sew to keep out the cold. We have mechanized our production, our consumption, and our spirits. I admire those …
One of the great things about the Fountain Pen Network is how helpful forum members are. Thanks to this thread, what began as a search for fountain pens became my very own art supplies tour of London. A short walk from Saatchi Gallery is Green and Stone of Chelsea. This shop feels like a cabinet …
My first glass pen was a souvenir from a friend. I no longer have it, but it began a low-key love of this alternative writing instrument. Today’s glass pen is usually marketed as a calligraphy pen, even if most don’t write all that well. Much of that can be traced to the style of the …
Disposable fountain pens and most student-friendly ones, while certainly useful, only scratch the surface of what makes writing and drawing with a fountain pen such a gratifying experience. These entry-level pens, what beginners are usually told to start with because of the minimal investment, can end up making them feel, “Meh. That’s it?” Even expensive …
Caran d’Ache’s Grafcube is a formidable chunk of graphite. You can letter with it, draw with it, or conceal it in your fist for added punching power. (Pardon the dirty fingers.) The graphite is dense. I did a test run to loosen my shoulder, because big letters call for big arm movements. The Grafcube lets …
I have an art sensei. He looks like a bug and he answers to either “Phil” or “The.” He doesn’t teach me about materials, or make me memorize the taxonomy of art movements since the 12th century. What he does is ask a lot of questions. Most of them start with “why don’t you.” Why …
There is room in the world for cute. When you go to the official Kaweco website, turn off your sound because it auto-plays a song that goes “I don’t want to set the world on fiiiiire…” I do not dislike songs, but I hate auto-play. Anyway, back to cute. What’s good about cute is it’s …
The coming Lunar Year is the Year of the Water Dragon, so I thought that needed appropriate wallpaper. For fans of geomancy and dragons, here it is.