What's in My Pen Roll: Fall Currently Inked

Fall! My favourite time of year. What stationery nerd doesn't appreciate this season of fresh supplies and new beginnings? We've begun nearing the end of unpacking all the boxes, although I will admit an undisclosed number of boxes have been relegated to basement storage, unopened. There have been some lovely surprises - boxes of books, favourite dishes, another cooking pot - and also some head scratching: the 'hot' knob of a faucet, two broken umbrellas, a lone 4x4 ceramic tile, wrapped in a tea towel. Things that have been ostensibly packed up and moved for some purpose likely never to be discovered. I've still yet to find one last box of ink (a box! of ink! the bounty), but with most of my other stationery and office supplies finally out of boxes it was a good time to finally clean out some pens and ink them up. Many are old favourites, feeling new as it's been months that they've been packed up. A fresh armada for the new season.  

J. Herbin Lie de the - Lamy Safari Neon Lime, Fine

Sailor Chu Shu - Lamy Safari All Black, Medium

KWZ Confederation Brown Scriptus 2017 Edition Ink - Pilot Custom 74, Soft Medium

Diamine Denim - Sailor Highlighter FP with a broad

Sailor Kobe #21 Taisanji Yellow - Pelikan M400 Brown Tortoiseshell, Fine

Kyo No Oto Hisoku - TWSBI 580 AL Turquoise, Fine

Diamine Ancient Copper - Opus 88 Picnic Brown, Broad

Diamine Ochre - Parker Sonnet Cisele, Medium  

KWZ Confederation Brown (sort of a green/brown) was last year's Scriptus Toronto Pen Show's ink, which I thought I would slip in not only because it's a fall ink, but because we're coming up to that time of year again - Scriptus is taking place at the end of October, and we'll have some special surprises for this year. And a long-time top ten ink, Diamine Ochre, definitely a desert island pick. It looks perhaps a bit darker out of the pen than it normally does - this is an exceptionally wet Parker Sonnet medium nib, but also I was fiddling around with the converter a bit with the baby.  

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This week has been busy for us - we received our final shipment of Franklin-Christoph Model 20s, our first collaboration pen with them. We've had this pen for a while now, a couple of years, and so it's time to see it go. We'll be getting different models in our shop exclusive translucent bronze grey colour, but of course it's always sad to say goodbye to the one that started it all. In case you want a stroll down memory lane, here's the blog post from the launch. We've also got our Superior Labor Pen and Wallet Cases back in stock, the new TWSBI ECO in Transparent Blue is being released, we've got re-stocks of Pilot and Lamy and inks and paper and all the things coming in for the fall. It's that wonderful time when the weather is cool in the morning and warm and sunny in the afternoon, and things are picking up in the shop and orders are coming in every day. We've begun to settle into a new routine (dropping Caleb off in the morning, opening the shop, lunch time pick ups, after school snacks, etc.) but change is always an adjustment. I think a lot about those sayings about how the cobbler's kids don't have shoes, or hearing from other small business owners about how you open a yarn store and then end up with no time for knitting. It feels like the last six months, and especially the last few weeks, have been exciting and full of big thrills, but actually mostly been a lot of unglamorous, boring and patience-testing tasks: on hold with 311 trying to sort out our garbage bins, on hold with Bell, on hold with Rogers, mopping floors, visits to the printer for proofs, scheduling, emails. But the studio shop's shelves are getting more and more full, familiar faces are popping in again, and I'm looking out the window of my shop in that magical early morning light again.    

Currently reading: American War by Omar El Akkad

Currently eating: tortillas toasted with cheese

Current favourite bedtime story: The Dark by Lemony Snicket

Current short straw chore: cleaning the ear wax from the dog's ears Currently anticipating: Meet the Teacher Night at Caleb's school Latest inks at the studio shop: the full Iroshizuku line-up

Latest heard from the mouths of babes: Caleb, how many do you have? (answer: four) Caleb: Well, uhm, I have, uhm, so many, uhhhhmm, well lots and the number is big, and I can count them so there are MANY many, so here they are, I have to go.