Summer Lovin' + Fountain Pen Life
Reflecting on a beautiful summer of fountain pen life.
Read MoreReflecting on a beautiful summer of fountain pen life.
Read MoreI'm taking a pause from normally semi-fun pen cleaning to report a sad tale.
The nib from my Platinum 3776 Century Sai went bye-bye down the bathroom sink. This is the second nib to leave me for the journey to Lake Ontario.
Read MoreEarly in August I had a short trip to Philadelphia. Being the pen addict that I am, I looked into pen shops to visit while in town by checking out the Stationery Shops Map on All Things Stationery as well as just plain old Googling.
Read MoreIt's been 3 months since I posted my fountain pen wish list as a means to keep me focused. Since then some pens have been acquired and others have come into my pen radar. I've made some updates to the list.
Read MoreThis summer is going by fast and September is just around the bend. With this in mind, I thought I would ease into the season of restraint and routines with a look back at this Lamy 2000 and Diamine Onyx Black combination.
Read MoreOne quiet morning at the cottage, the fountain pens came out to play...
Read MoreThe end of July marked 6 months since the launch of Pendora's Box. Back at the 1 month mark I had done a post with a story on launching the blog along with some highlights. I wasn't planning to do 6 months "anniversary" post per se, but I did want to reflect on these few months of running the blog and maintaining the momentum.
Read MoreThe Franklin-Christoph Model 45 XLV ("FC45") is the fourth Franklin-Christoph pen to enter my collection. I got the IPO version in Classic Black. Since I got in on IPO (Initial Price Offering) pricing, I decided to upgrade the nib to the Masuyama medium italic 18K nib. I've been writing with this pen for over 3 months now.
Read MorePicking up from the purple ink theme that started last week with Noodler's Purple Martin, this week I'm looking back on Diamine Amazing Amethyst. It's another another ink which I had only got as a sample.
Handwritten Review
Pen: Lamy Al-Star LE Blue Green 1.1
Ink: Diamine Amazing Amethyst
Paper: Rhodia No. 16 Grid
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October has been fairly light in terms of travel but duty called. This time the duties as a hockey mom which involved going with my son and his team to the city of Kitchener for a hockey tournament. Originally this was supposed to be a 3 day trip but cut short by the sad reality that our team did not make it into the final day of the tournament. On a positive note, it gave me an opportunity to plan another pen + ink load out.
Apart from my must-bring Hobo and TN, I wanted to bring whatever pens and paper I could fit inside a larger case. The case I had in mind was the A5 sized Lihit Lab Teffa Bag in Bag. I was expecting to travel a lot from rink to rink and I wanted a self-contained writing tool kit that I could bring along.
Last Wednesday, I posted some picturesI took on a recent hike. In fact, I went on a 1 night, 1 day get away trip to the cottage with the family. To be precise, we headed up on Friday night, September 30th. And headed back home on October 1st. I pondered a bit on what pens I should take seeing as I still had a couple of September inked pens to use up and my planned pens for October were only partially inked up. So, I did what any rational pen addict would do for a 1 day trip that starts at the last day of one month and ends on the first day of the next month: I took all pens in sight!
One week after returning from my trip to Philly, I was off to Canada’s capital, Ottawa, for a conference. I barely unpacked but gave some thought to my pen and stationery carry for this 2 day trip. Once again, I dipped into my September pen & ink line-up for this outing. This is what I brought.
Some family matters took me to Philly again last weekend.I expected to be busy and not have a lot of down time for playing with pens.Still, I brought along some essentials.This is what I brought.
After coming home from my annual family cottage vacation, I barely got my luggage unpacked before repacking for a short trip to Philadelphia. A few days was for working but there was a little time for sightseeing too.
Since this would be shorter trip I decided to pack lightly in terms of writing instruments and stationery especially since I was intending NOT to check any baggage.
To celebrate Canada Day, we decided on a weekend getaway to wine country at Niagara-on-the-Lake. I had a June 30th project deadline at work so I was going all-out the day before the trip. Still, I managed to get most of my pens inked for July and select my stationery and pens for the road trip. So, what made the cut?
Around the time that I discovered fountain pens, I also came across Midori Traveler's Notebooks. I was fascinated by the many ways that MTN users used their notebooks and the multitude of ways in which the user experience could be customized. I absorbed many blog posts on the subject including Brian Goulet's series of Midori videos. My little guy, then 6 years old watched quite a few of these videos with me so he got to know Brian and Midori quite well...
Those of you tapped into the pen and stationery blogosphere have likely come across the Pencilcase Blog run by Dries, a Belgian student. Somehow between his busy schedule of exams, projects and studies he has managed to become a seasoned pen collector and writer-extraordinaire. The Pencilcase Blog turned 3 years old this summer which makes Pendora's Box's 6 months of existence seem rather infantile. As a veteran blogger, Dries was kind enough to offer this rooky some encouragement and advice.
Read MoreAfter coming home from my annual family cottage vacation, I barely got my luggage unpacked before repacking for a short trip to Philadelphia. A few days was for working but there was a little time for sightseeing too.
Since this would be shorter trip I decided to pack lightly in terms of writing instruments and stationery especially since I was intending NOT to check any baggage.
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At one time I had got quite a few purple ink samples to try matching with the lilac Edison Nouveau Premiere.
Handwritten Review
Pen: Edison Nouveau Premiere - Lilac 1.1
Ink: Noodler's Purple Martin
Paper: Rhodia No. 16 Grid
Read MoreMy Galen Leather zippered pen case came along while I relaxed on the docks at the lake. Fountain pens living dangerously on the edge...
My Galen Leather zippered pen case tagged along for a hike and pens came out to admire the fall colours and scent of pine needles.
Thanks to Zeynep at Galen Leather for sending over this wallet insert for the Traveler's Notebook. A detailed review is forthcoming.
Thanks to Zeynep at Galen Leatherfor sending over this pen case. A detailed review is forthcoming.
Case: Sapelo Penvelope (The Pen Addict Live 2017 - RelayCon Atlanta & DC Pen Show Kickstarter)
Paper: Limited Edition Pen Addict notebook (RelayCon Atlanta: The Pen Addict Live 2016 Kickstarter)
Pen: The Pen Addict Retro 51 Tornado Rollerball
Pen: y Studio Portable Brassing Fountain Pen F
Ink:* Robert Oster Grün Schwarz
Paper: Rhodia No. 16 Grid
I headed off for my annual family cottage vacation a few days before the end of July. It was a hectic last week before I left so there wasn't time for me to switch to August ink fillings, plus, many of the pens inked up in July were 'not quite' used up. So, I did what any reasonable pen and ink addict with do in this circumstance...I packed up all my July pens, my planned August pens and all the ink I could find that was in plastic bottles or vials. These are think pairings I ended up with.
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Summertime in Canada means cottaging. The August long weekend kicked off the start of my annual family summer holiday at the cottage.
This summer I've continued a new tradition that I started last year with my little guy...we go on a early morning paddle to the local village docks and head to the cafe for breakfast. This year I tried to spend some time there to explore the antique shop, enjoy my latte and do some journaling.
So, is it a good idea to take notebooks and fountain pens on a kayak? What does a fountain pen and stationery addict take on the water? Since it's a short trip, I wanted to keep things light. This is what I brought...
Read MoreThe summer heat is in full swing.I'm up at the cottage this week and seeing some of the tones from this ink in the bone dry grasses.Read More
Thanks to Zeynep at Galen Leather for sending over this wallet insert for the Traveler's Notebook. A detailed review is forthcoming.