If you can tell your nebulae from your quasars, you will feel a special fondness for Colorverse, a high-concept line of inks out of Korea. The brand brings outer space down to earth in two ink collections: Spaceward, Season 1, has 12 colors, including Proxima B, a blue-black with hints of grey, and Sea Europa, …
Most fountain pen inks aren’t water-resistant. Unless you have a habit of spilling coffee on your notes, you normally wouldn’t mind. It’s for a good reason: modern pens, with finned plastic feeds and relatively tight tolerances between feed and nib, need inks that flow easily. What can make an ink water-resistant or waterproof can inhibit flow, stain …
It’s the color of zombie skin, go, absinthe, envy, Vulcan blood, spring. Green ink can range from bright to moody. J. Herbin Vert Olive does look like extra virgin olive oil. Rohrer & Klinger’s Alt-Goldgrün is a spring green with a touch of decay. From the Sailor 2010 limited edition line is Waka-uguisu, a true …
Good inks come in threes. Pilot iroshizuku shin-ryoku, Noodler’s Spirit of Bamboo, J. Herbin Vert Empire. Private Reserve Cosmic Cobalt, Sailor Nioi-Sumire, Pilot iroshizuku kon-peki. Private Reserve Arabian Rose, J. Herbin Larmes de Cassis, Pilot iroshizuku tsutsuji. Wouldn’t it be great to have a triple-chambered piston filler that you could fill with three different ink …
I couldn’t buy everything. Damn. I tried to describe what I wanted in a brush – as if I knew – to the helpful lady in Man Luen Choon. I said, “Bouncy.” And “I’m just starting.” She said, “Wolf.” So I got wolf. In small, medium and large. I also decided to get an auspicious …
I went to Hong Kong for work. I came back with too many notebooks, too many Uni Style + Fit refills, too many linen tops from Muji, and not enough booty from Man Luen Choon, Chinese Cultural and Artist Supplies. Man Luen Choon is online, and has an English sitemap, which is not comprehensive but …
OMG, YAGWP: cosmetic bags, yet another free (but not too useful) blush brush, drawstring pouches – you name it, if it’s a gift with purchase I have it moldering in a drawer somewhere. This is when it helps to have a NBT (Natural Born Tinkerer) in your life. He repurposed my freebie box (free with …
Cannes Next door to Puyricard, purveyors of Provençal chocolate on Rue Belges, in between the Croisette and Rue d’Antibes, is Maison Franco, a well-stocked art supplies shop. Of interest to aspiring calligraphers would be an assortment of nibs, nib holders, notebooks with fine-grade paper (such as the Essential Notebook by L’Atelier du Papier), and Talens’ …