They Just Work — From the Pen Cup

But then I had to reconnect ALL THE THINGS to the network as the settings had changed — the desktop computer, my Kindle, the Sleep Number bed, the Ring doorbell, the Generac generator, and probably some things that I haven’t discovered yet. Oof—everything is complicated and connected!!

Except for pens and paper.

I’ve been thinking about writing a little piece similar to this one the last few days. I won’t now, because the above says it all well, but I will add that lately I’ve been noticing how often modern digital technology just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to. Twice in the last few weeks my Apple Watch has stopped syncing messages with my phone, for example. As I type this, my MacBook won’t sync messages, either. I’ve had to reboot my laptop once today. My iPhone 15 Pro’s keyboard lags intermittently in every app.

My Kaweco Brass Sport, though, writes beautifully and smoothly every time I want to use it—as long as I keep it inked.

The five-year journey to make an adventure game out of ink and paper

I couldn’t walk away from the pen and ink thing,” says John Evelyn, creator of The Collage Atlas, a dreamlike storybook adventure recently released on Steam. The entire game is hand drawn, from tiny flowers and insects to huge buildings and the clouds that float over them.

A tale from “ye olden days” of graphic design that taught me to love and embrace constraints — Rohdesign

It was an earlier time filled with layout boards, non-repro blue pencils that made lines invisible to production cameras, technical ink pens to create registration marks, and typography and photography output on photo paper.

It was hardcore analog, with nearly everything done manually.

What we believe in.

Montblanc asked Wes Anderson to direct its ad. He did – and designed a pen | Vogue Business

Anderson agreed to their brief, which involved directing a short film focussed on the brand’s famous heritage and craft, but he also wanted to be the main character in front of the camera. Then, when he showed up on set in Berlin, the filmmaker presented a prototype pen of his own design that he asked the German company to manufacture. He’d even named it: the Schreiberling, which means ‘the scribbler’ in German.

Omom Blog | Omom

A handwritten blog by Hansjörg Schlüter. Though I’ve seen others before I still find it a neat idea that there should be more of.

The Tools of Excellence v4, 1: The Notebook & Pencil – Nicholas Bate

1: The Notebook & Pencil Paper and pencil. There it is: no power needed, discrete, ultimately flexible. Portable. Breezes through security. On a plane, on the beach, back-backing in the Western Isles. The tool which allows you to plan, record, create, schedule, sketch, brainstorm and write a love note. Never be without the pair.

An Analog Library of All the Lives I’ve Lived – Josephine Sittenfeld , New York Times

I hold on to these journals because when I feel discombobulated and lost, reading through who I was at 14 or 19 or 25 years old helps connect me to myself. Paging through the diaries now, I’m startled to realize how far I’ve come and also how little I’ve changed. In Journal No. 1, I’m a 9-year-old living in Ohio. I’m 4 feet 5 inches tall, weigh 75 pounds and feel a kinship with Curious George. In Journal No. 11, I’m 20, working for my college professor on an archaeological dig in Syria and flirting with a German man twice my age. Journal No. 19 leaves off in June 2009, when, unbeknown to me, life is about to pivot: In a month I’ll become engaged, in six months I’ll be married, and in a year I’ll be pregnant with my first child.