Kyo No Oto Shimmer Inks: Ryukuyuiro and Ruriiro

 

Some time ago Kyo No Oto released some special edition shimmer inks, a blue one named Ruriiro and a green one named Ryokuyuiro.

 

I’ve always loved the subtlety of the colours and the packaging of the Kyo No Oto bottles, and I love these two special edition shimmer inks. I’m not sure how long we’re going to have them for, but they’re nice for when your pens need a little extra celebration, whether it’s Christmas cards or an endless project at work.

 

 

 

The green Ryokuyuiro is particularly subtle, a bit dusty, even with the extra sparkle. It’s inspired by one of the pottery glazes popular during the Heian period, derived from minerals and oxidized copper.

 

 

As always, use reasonable caution when inking up any shimmer inks. They tend to work better in broader nibs, and they also tend to look better (more ink, more shimmer coming through). The worst case scenario (unless something really crazy happens, like you microwave your pen, or you leave it in there for years), is that your pen clogs and doesn’t write well, in which case you could just empty the ink, and give your pen a good cleaning. I do find that unless I’m particularly fastidious about cleaning, there are some residual bits of shimmer left on my feed that sometimes appear in following ink fills, which doesn’t bother me too much, otherwise I might be more fastidious when I do clean them out, maybe even going so far as to take apart my pen (nib, feed, grip section), which is something I rarely find necessary to do.

 

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The other day I was cleaning out a cupboard and I washed and hung dry some of our tablecloths that we used to use when we had events at the shop, Letter Writing Club, on tables at events when we would serve food while people were browsing, Traveler’s Notebook Meet-Ups, journaling workshops. I used to wash them after every event, and because they’re all cotton, they still bear a few fountain pen ink stains that have never come out. There was no real need to wash them, I was just worried they were getting a bit musty, but I guess I’m still holding onto the possibility that these events are going to return someday, and at the very least the tablecloths are going to be ready.

 

Am I feeling nostalgic? A bit cabin feverish? It’s been a long run through this, and it feels like the kids have aged an era since the earliest days of the pandemic, when Naomi was still napping on top of me, Caleb was in kindergarten. I am ready for this new season ahead, even if I have to fake it til I make it. Just this morning, I sold two gel pens, Zebra Sarasas, out of the Studio Shop, so get ready, world.

 

Hot drinks, warm coats, holiday cheer. Audiobooks in the car on the way to pick up Naomi, finally reopening blog post drafts from six months ago, gathering all of my supplies and wits for Christmas cards to go out into the world.

 

And I’m working myself up to all from this spot on the couch.