I Spoke About Going Paperless To A Paper Loving Audience And Survived
Thankfully, no one threw rare Japanese pens, artisanal notebooks, or staplers at me.
I actually really enjoyed Duncan’s talk. I even own and employ many of the practices and tools he mentioned (My wife and I love our ScanSnap and use it daily). For me, it’s not about loving paper and keeping it around. It’s about loving paper and only keeping the right paper around.
Having a journal which is thick with crossed off action items and scribbled-down thoughts is proof that I am, in fact, showing up every day and getting to work. It’s proof for me alone. It’s my own reminder that today I am not in the same place I was yesterday.
The Power of a Handwritten Letter | Pens! Paper! Pencils!
These days, no one ever expects the hand written letter. That’s what makes it so memorable when it is received.
by Erik Mallinson
It’s InkTober! Back in 2009 Jake Parker, a cartoonist, illustrator, and concept artist, wanted to brush up on his inking skills while developing good drawing habits. He created InkTober, a challenge to do one ink drawing a day and share them along throughout the month of October. Since then it’s been adopted by aspiring artists, everyday inkers, and other illustrators looking for a challenge.
I’ve enjoyed the flexibility and lack of pressure that goes with InkTober. I’ve walked into this as an everyday inker, so drawing something isn’t the challenge for me. My goal for this month is to loosen up by practicing blind contour drawing and working with a big, inky, water brush.
InkTober only requires you to use ink and share your work so don’t wait till next year. Start today!
See what other people are posting with the #inktober hashtag on: Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook.
Erik Mallinson is a Web Production Specialist at MIT OpenCourseWare who draws, takes sketchnotes, and writes music. He carries a notebook, fountain pen, watercolor set, and trusty p207 with him everywhere he goes. You can follow him on his blog and Twitter.
My Used Pocket Notebooks — The Finer Point
I have seen a lot of photos of collections of unused notebooks but rarely a collection of used notebooks. Therefore I thought I would share my used collection here.
What we believe in.
Organize your notebooks for quick reference – Unclutterer
Some good ideas here.
New product released for order today from the makers of The Confidant.
This one is a pocket sized notebook that, from the looks of it, seems to be on level playing field with Field Notes or Moleskine Voliant sized notebooks. They are taking pre-orders now with shipping beginning on 10/14. I remain pretty happy with The Confidant and the folks there are very nice. Worth checking out.
by Tony Sculimbrene
I am not what you think. You see me, and you expect a certain level of refinement–a genteel experience. And you get that. But you also probably think I am dainty, that I am a light and fragile fountain pen, but Kaweco means it when they call me the Sport. This isn’t “sport” like you see on some fancy European car. This is “sport” from phrases like “Nice job cleaning out the gutters, sport” or “That was one heck of a roundhouse to the abdomen, sport.” I ain’t no sissy pen–I am the Kaweco Sport. I ain’t even an expensive pen, no aluminum here like my rich brother. I am basic black plastic, one hell of a smooth nib, and I am a tough bastard.
You see, I am workhorse for a public defender. They take criminal cases when people can’t afford a lawyer, and as you can imagine, we have a lot of adventures and lots of work that we do. Its not often in a quiet office or a fancy boardroom. I write in court. I scrawl out notes in a hurry during a Probable Cause hearing. I take detailed notes in depositions. I write down facts in jails and prisons. I am used by a dozen different people a day. But I still write like the paper is glass.
Sure, I am little beat up. The gold “Kaweco” lettering is fading away. My plastic barrel is scratched to hell. My nib is a little sweaty, but that’s because I do real work. I ain’t no dainty signing pen. I ride in pockets with keys and when they get physical with me, I get physical right back.
My owner and I, we ain’t got time to waste, so in the 19 months I have been with him, he’s never cleaned me, not once. And its all cartridges for us–no time to mess with wimping converters or eyedroppers. We write, jump in a car, go to the next court, deal with the next crisis in someone’s life, and move on. That’s what we do.
Now I am not just tougher than you think, I am really a good writer. 20 pages of notes in an hour is nothing for me and because I need less pressure to work, my owner’s hands don’t cramp up like they used to. I am also quite the looker, so even in rough places, people comment on me being a fountain pen. I get handed someone that has never used a fountain pen, that uses me upside down, and guess what, I still kinda work. My owner shows them the right way to hold me and everyone, every single person comments on how nice it is to write with a fountain pen, even in the rough places.
So I am here to tell you–use us. We can take it. Good fountain pens are tougher than you think. I may look like a belle from a ball, but I am really a tough, rough writin’ SOB. I am not what you think.
Tony Sculimbrene is a Dad and husband obsessed with everyday carry gear and pens. He writes with pens way too much during the day and writes digitally during the evening for his own site, everydaycommentary.com, alloutdoor.com, and a few other places. He also hosts a twice a month podcast on EDC gear, Gear Geeks Live.
History of The stylographic pen | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
Alonzo T. Cross patented his stylographic pen on this day in 1880… Unlike the quill or other form of pen that must be dipped into an inkpot, the stylographic pen is a version of a reservoir pen, which contains its own store of ink inside the barrel.
Very interesting history about the invention of the modern pen and the inventors who are household names in the pen world battled for the perfect solution. For instance, I had no idea about this:
Stylographic pens only enjoyed about 10 years in the limelight, however, before Lewis Edson Waterman had improved the reliability of the nib pen so significantly that nibs surged past stylos in popularity. And a nib was sturdier than the stylo’s thin wire, which was easily broken or bent. Waterman was a former insurance salesman who had once lost a sale because his pen leaked onto the paper. He made it his mission to improve the design of the fountain pen to prevent leaks and provide a more reliable performance, and then he figured out a way to mass-produce his pens. Waterman led the pen market until the 1920s.
Seriously, go read the whole thing.
I made a bunch of maps for the United Airlines inflight magazine. They are all geographically accurate.
Beautiful work here. Click through for the whole collection.