New city, new local pen shops
I woke up on Saturday with a realization: I now live within driving distance of new pen shops. Actually, two realizations: I also have money left in my DC Pen Show budget line. The possibilities …
Well hello there, you merchantess of fine stationery goods …
The folks who run Pen Boutique pack a lot of stationery goodness into their cozy shop. It took me 90 minutes to circle the store, ogling and oohing over their pens and inks. I purposefully entered with an ill-defined plan of action. The universe would tell me if, or which, item I should take home with me.
My perusing revisited two limited edition Sailor Pro Gears multiple times. Two out of a landscape of fun Sailor pens.
Two frosty colorways … on a mind-meltingly hot day
Folks at the store jumped right into researching both models’ respective background themes with me. Pen folks will nerd out about pens.
I left for home with a new blue desk bound friend in tow. Details on the new pen day below. Hint: the universe chose wisely.
I limboed out just under my budget line
This week’s Inked Tines update includes pens that weren’t included in a currently inked writing tools post. How’s that for an adventure?
Toolset
Pens. In an exceptionally rare pattern, the Able Snail returns as my weekly standout combination for a second week in a row. It’s excellent in all respects: reliable, consistent lines; strong shading; comfortable to hold over long writing sessions; and pretty enough to want to reach for. Journaling, letter writing, and some lesson prep. Feed only.
Krusac Legend L-15 Buckeye Burl (EF) — 1/5. The hallmark of a strong daily driver: reliable, consistent lines, even after hours spent capped. Meeting notes, reading notes, lesson prep, and task management.
Relic Pens “Fire, Earth & Ocean” (M) — 1/5. Large and in charge. Reliable, smooth with subtle feedback. Dry combination — and so quick to dry. Journaling, letter writing, accent meeting notes, and reading notes.
Nahvalur Schuylkill Chromis Teal (EF) — 1/2. This pair writes consistently without drying out between writing sessions. I wrote a letter with this combo on Monday and then the Nahvalur sat unused the remainder of the week. A pattern I shall rectify next week.
Jinhao 9019 Transparent Green (F) — 3/4. A dry combination. The large #8 nib is soft enough to allow some gentle flex, which gives control over Copper’s shading. A fun accent writer. Journaling, teaching planning, and some scratch notes.
Franklin-Christoph 03 Antique Glass (F CI) — 9/10. A second rarely-used pen-and-ink pairing last week. The nib, the ink, and the pen are all favorites of mine. Alas, used once for a journal entry. More attention to come next week.
Notebooks. Work bujo. My orientation week was one-dimensional, shaped by long sequences of sit-down meetings. A full week of listening, recording my new school’s processes, and converting those quickly-jotted notes into new tasks. Straightforward.
I added eight pages of meeting notes to the work bullet journal. I’ll start next week on page 19.
All of last week’s notetaking lives in Tin Woodman’s dulcet mid-grey tones. Gravitas in salt-and-pepper.
I stuck to just the Krusac pairing out of necessity. Orientation meetings move quickly. Swapping to alternative pen-and-ink combos would have risked distracting myself in the moment. A round nib, reliable ink pairing, and simple ink color.
No drama in the halflight
Next, I reviewed the notes with an accent pairing (ahem: Relic Pens). Bright sky blue lines highlight tasks that require following up.
Brief summaries to help future me remember to adapt slideshows
Journal. I leaned into my journaling habit last week. Scribbling helped me to reconnect the details from my long orientation days back to the larger picture — at work and at home. Anchoring myself in the purpose for all of the rapidly accumulating tasks in my planner.
Four entires adorn the Kobeha notebook I’ve come to appreciate. Kobeha’s graphilo paper brings out flares of shading that keep me writing. I’m a serious fan of this paper.
The first two entries are written with my currently inked’s broadest nibs. The Able Snail’s B created a somber hued one-and-a half pages of self-analysis. I figured out, through journaling, that I have neglected reading fiction that’s only for my own enjoyment. Productivity is fine but I should enjoy my time, too.
The second entry is also one-and-a half pages. The bright blue Puka-Puka ink mirrors my cheery mindset Wednesday evening. The 9019’s M nib balanced filling in the notebook’s small 4mm lines while remaining legible. I wrote this entry outside, too. To a soundtrack of cicadas.
Journaling nerdery “after dark”
Written dry. The Able Snail arrived at the weekend with ink remaining only in its feed. The final 1/5 lasted all week somehow. No complaint.
Ainezu is a muted driver for all sorts of longform writing: from heartfelt personal letters to reflective journaling. I even thought through a possible lesson activity with the combo.
This is a pairing I like enough to revisit. A rarity for me.
Newly inked. I stuck to the plan this week. High fives all around.
The collection
Incoming / new orders. I left my visit to Pen Boutique last weekend with one of the last of their collaboration Sailor: a Pro Gear in their custom colorway, Bora Bora Waters. And a new bottle of Sailor ink. Because: themes require at least two items.
I swoon for transparent finials. The Bora Bora’s transparent blue finials attracted my attention. The transparent blue section puts the pen well into my aesthetic wheelhouse.
This pen also comes stocked with my first-ever Sailor B nib. The tipping on this particular nib also writes a consistent EF line on the reverse. Yep. The universe was sending me a message. That message: you need this more than you need a latent pen show budget.
The universe will have no argument from me
Sailor’s Yuremaki Seki is a temperamental taupe with delusions of green. The multiple personalities of the neutral tones add a fun personality to my color palette — all while easily matching other inks. Boo-ya.
A blushing, embarrassed green on this Rhodia paper
Outgoing / trades or sales. A boundless lack of movement.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. I started my evening reading 30 minutes earlier each night last week. The change gave me more time with Chambers’ wonderful A Closed and Common Orbit before falling asleep. I read a full quarter of the novel last week, making it to 58% completed by Sunday morning.
My reading took place in Apple’s Books app, across my phone and tablet. I appreciate the quality of bookmark syncing on Apple’s OS.
Sidra’s foray into what it means to be alive, autonomous, and an AI simultaneously has me enthralled.
Nonfiction. I dug into the readings for my new courses last week. Twenty pages of new-to-me overviews on the Aztecs, Ottomans, and Mughals.
I took the journey through time with my trusted trio: Mitsubishi 9852 pencil, Mildliner in Gray, and Mildliner in Soft Blue. Reading for teaching is an exercise in time travel.
And I don’t even have to go 88 mph
My annotations and grey highlighter emphasize core concepts and big events that the author wants readers to know. The here and now of my own understanding.
The blue highlights leave a trail of “teachable moments” that future me can draw on as students engage with my lesson. Key connections across readings, activities, and lessons. The inquiry that future me can scaffold for my students.
Music. I have settled into a comfortable listening patterns over the past few weeks. Chillhop’s lo-fi artists hit a happy place for me — especially while I read or write. It was easy to pop their latest compilation mix on and simply let it play.
So if you’re in the market for well-balanced lo-fi music that plays on and on without needing to repeat a video or tolerate frequent ads, I can happily recommend Chillhop’s latest continuous livestream. They’ve dumped songs from past Fall seasonal mixes together into one long mix tape.
All accompanied by a new Totoro-esque rainy bus stop animation. Aww and oh yea.
