Currently Inked: Loadout for Ottawa Conference
One week after returning from my trip to Philly, I was off to Canada’s capital, Ottawa, for a conference. I barely unpacked from the Philly trip but gave some thought to my pen and stationery carry for this 2 day conference. Once again, I dipped into my September pen & ink line-up for this outing. This is what I brought:
Loadout (In order of appearance in line-up)
Travellers Notebook Passport As always, this TN comes along for the trip. This time I did my usual 3 notebook set up since I didn’t need to carry actual passports for the flight. I also used the Essential Leather zipper case / card holder from Baum-Kuchen. This minimalist case is perfect to carry a few cards and some cash on hand inside the TN.
Writing Instruments
L-R:Franklin-Christoph 66, Nakaya Decapod Twist, Pilot Vanishing Point, Lamy 2000, Baron Fig Squire
> Pen:> Franklin-Christoph 66 Stabilo Ice HPS 1.1 Cursive Calligraphy
> Ink:> Akkerman #28 Hofkwartier Groen
In a surprise move, I took along my big FC desk pen. It had not come along on a trip this month with me. Frankly, I needed to make a good effort to use up the ink. I used it to do some journaling, lettering and just to admire that icy mint look.
> Pen:> Nakaya Decapod Twist SF
> Ink:> Platinum Blue Black
What can I say, I love to use my > grail pen> . I love to admire the Heki-Tamenuri (Brown-Green) urushi finish and spin the pen in my hands to admire the light dancing off the angles. It’s a perfect way to keep me awake when there is a dull conference speaker. Not only that, the SF nib meant relatively low ink usage so I was pretty confident that I could still take a boat-load of notes without risk of running out. My friend Anh, who is not a pen person, tested all my pens and the Nakaya was her favourite. She has great taste!
> Pen:> Pilot/Namiki Vanishing Point Raden Water Surface F
> Ink:> Sailor Jentle Oku Yama
The Vanishing Point is one of my go-to pens for long meetings and conferences. The raden finish is eye-candy and the click mechanism is makes it super quick to reveal the nib for writing. The only drawback is that it makes a clicking noise which may annoy some neighbours.
> Pen:> Lamy 2000 EF
> Ink:> Franklin-Christoph Noir et Bleu
This is another of my must-have pens for long meetings and conferences. It’s stylish and understated. Plus it’s a snap cap which makes frequent capping and uncapping a breeze!
> Pen:> Baron Fig Squire Pen
> Ink:> Baron Fig refill
Well, this is the perfect pen for that Baron Fig notebook that I use as one of the refills in my Travellers Notebook. And it’s always handy to keep a non-fountain pen around for certain situations.
Hobonichi Techo I took this along for that beautiful Tomoe River paper and for writing my mantras of the day and gratitudes.
Franklin-Christoph pen cases These are the standard pen cases that Franklin-Christoph pens come in. I think they are handy for light packing. 2 pens can easily fit into each case.
Leuchtturm 1917+Whitelines notebook This is the notebook I use for anything work related. The paper is fountain pen friendly for the most part. The light grey paper with white lines makes scanning very fast and easy even without using the Whitelines app. I use Scanbot or Evernote depending on the situation. The pocket in the back of the notebook is very handy for stashing handouts or business cards.
Travellers Notebook Pan-Am Edition I keep 2 inserts in this: one for long form writing and one for drawing or lettering. I always do at least 1-2 writing sessions on the weekend so I had to take this along. I managed to get some good writing in during my short flights.
Final Thoughts
Well, between all the outings and trips that I did in September, I think I may have managed to take every one of my pens on a trip. Each is made more pleasant and memorable because of pens and stationery chosen.
Easter Egg
I wanted to share something kind of cool but non-pen related. While in Ottawa I visited Vintage Wings and had the opportunity to fly on the Fleet Finch, a vintage WWII aircraft. It's pretty awe-inspiring to fly in an aircraft en plein air. I felt like Amelia Earhart flying in a bi-wing plane wearing a helmet. If you're ever in the Ottawa area and have a couple hours to spare, you should definitely check out Vintage Wings.
I didn't want to blow up Pendoras Box with a bunch of non-pen stuff so here are just a few shots of my aviation adventure.
The arrival of October brings to mind fall colours capped off with Halloween. So, my pen and ink line up for the month rich reds, oranges and brown. The one limitation was that the ink had to come stored in plastic bottles. This was because October 1 fell on Sunday but I headed up to our family cottage for the weekend on Friday. I didn't have time to ink up before leaving for our trip hence, I tried to choose ink bottles that wouldn't crack.