Revolver Bound Books at Madison Square Mark't

Just an FYI to New Yorkers and visitors to the Big Apple, Madison Square Mark't at Madison Square Park (23rd Street between 5th Avenue and Madison) begins Friday, October 9th through Saturday, November 1, 2009 from 11 am to 8 pm daily. There will be a Food Square in the area between Broadway and 5th Avenue from 24th to 25th Streets featuring BBQ, tacos, pork buns, and more.

The Mark't shopping will be on the 5th Avenue side of the Park from 23rd to 25th Street features unique goods such as Revolver Bound Books and Journals. Matt or Ellen Dudley will be there daily showcasing their RevolveR Journal. Drop by and see their really unique time-and-space-twisting journal in person. It's the Rubric's Cube of notebooks.

I had the chance to meet and interview Ellen at the couple's design shop on Essex Street, and my review of the RevolveR Journal will be posted next week. But do stop by the Mark't if you're in the neighborhood and say hello to the Dudleys.

Shown above from the side is the RevolveR Bound Journal Little Blue.

I'll Be There (Tomorrow)

The 9th Annual New York City Pen Show begins today and runs through Sunday, October 11, 2009. I have been looking forward to this for some time, and will probably drop by Saturday.

The Show is at the Park Central Hotel, 870 Seventh Ave. at 56th Street. Times are Friday, October 9th, from 11 am to 7 pm; Saturday, October 10th from 10 am to 5 pm; and Sunday, October 11th, 2009 from 10 am to 4 pm. All three days are open to the public, and I believe admission is $10 a day.

SEMINARS

A MATTER OF NIBS - The Nib Meister Richard Binder at his exhibition table and a workshop

BASIC SHEAFFER REPAIR by Ron Zorn

JOHN MOTTISHAW of Classic Foiuntain Pens - “The Persistent Pen, its relationship to social change. Plus the nib nuts and bolts getting it writing right for you.”

DEBORAH BASEL - Calligraphy - Copperplate Workshop

WHY SOME FOUNTAIN PENS CAN MAKE ANYONE'S HANDWRITING LOOK GOOD by Susan Wirth

PCA PENS FOR KIDS

PENTRACERS AND ZOSSERS MEETING

Pentel Handy-Lines and Sharpie Accents

While hunting through the office supplies section at Rite Aid I came across a pack of Pentel Ultra Slim Handy-Lines, a retractable permanent marker that's also refillable. I like both ideas but especially the latter, as I really would rather not throw plastic things away. Billed as a fine point, the Handy-Lines marker is made from 55% post consumer recycled plastic and is part of the Pentel "recycology" campaign. The marker has a broad stroke, and the bleed through is spectacularly impressive--two sheets of Doane Paper were sacrificed, something I've never seen with any other marker I've tested before. Definitely a great marker for writing on CDs or DVDs or for other projects, but not for general note writing on paper.

The other two-pack that caught my eye was a set of Sharpie Accent retractable highlighters in yellow and pink. The feature Smear Guard technology, which resists smearing of many pen and marker inks. The pic to the left doesn't really capture how bright the colors are, but you can definitely see there was no smearing. I used it over the Handy-Lines marker, and almost no black ink was picked up on the highlighter tip (a yellow highlighter with black ink on the tip annoys me to no end). These will be tested against some gel and ballpoint inks, but the Sharpie Accents seems to be a great find for me as I want to highlight notes I make as well as books and magazines.

First Purchase From Etsy

I was reading Julie aka Okami's blog post about her new Handbound Steampunk Journal that she bought from Rhonda Miller at Etsy, and decided to see if there were any interesting fountain pens for sale. And boy, were there ever! I fell in love with a handmade pen by Robert Parrish that is beautiful and functional. He sells a number of handmade wooden items, including hair accessories, boxes, and crochet and knitting needles. As someone who crochets, I was interested in the handmade crochet hooks which look incredible and would add a dash of fun and elegance to any crochet project.

The Southern gem wood fountain pen I purchased is dyed, laminated hardwood in bright pink, green and turquoise colors, which I hope my picture shows (the first one above was taken by Bob Parrish for the Etsy website). It is certainly a colorful pen in person, and there were many ooohhhs at the office when I unwrapped the package. The flat top fountain pen has threads at nib and end, so when I take off the cap I have to remember not to pull but turn, same with putting the cap on the end of the pen when I write. The German made Iridium fine point nib is trimmed in 24 kt. gold plating; all in all, a superb purchase. Bob also included an international size ink cartridge and a converter for bottled ink. I filled the converter with Noodler's Boston Brahmin Black and have taken it for several test drives. The nib is smooth over the various papers I've written on, and the pen is nicely weighted and has a great hand-feel. What is also a bonus is that you can request either a fountain pen or roller ball, so if you're more interested in the latter you need only ask. Like Julie and her journal, I will treasure this pen and use it as much as possible.

Third Carvinal of Pen, Pencil & Paper

The Third Carnival of Pen, Pencil & Paper is being hosted by OfficeSupplyGeek, and there are some great submissions. To submit posts to the Fourth Carnival in November, apply here.

Uni Ball Gel Impact 1.0mm

While browsing at the Essex Card Shop a few weeks ago I was looking over the pens and decided to get something unusual not just ink-wise but with a larger point width as well. This Uni Ball Gel Impact pen scores on all counts. It is one of the heaviest pens I've used outside a broad fountain pen, and it is also one of the most aesthetically pleasing. The cap is curvy, and the pen color shades from dark gray to light gray and back again in a really lovely manner. The pen clip is also curved-there are no hard edges on this pen. The cap has a band of color (in this case red) to let you know what you're about to write with, while the barrel has clear oval windows, again in this case clear red, to let you see the remaining ink in the cartridge.

I like ballpoint gel ink pens, they write smoothly and remind me of the whole ballpoint experience without the spidering ink or dots of messy color. This is definitely a smooth writer, and with a 1.0mm width on the point it is a broad flowing line. The barrel has a rubber grip for comfort and greater control. Most likely because of the broadness of the point, the ink takes a longer time to dry and may smear after 10 seconds. Not necessarily a good option for lefties then. On the whole, this is a very solid-feeling gel ink pen, and a definite choice if you like the Pilot G2 but want a more mature look to your pens. Of course, the red ink--which practically glows--may not be your choice, but there are other colors to choose from.

Post-it® Padded Cards

My neighborhood drugstore, one of those old-fashioned mom-and-pop places, doesn't carry much in the way of office supplies. A lot of bubble mailers, Mead notebooks, and Bic pens as well as some of the cute 99 cent stuff like pencil sharpeners and erasers. So I was surprised to see these Post-it® Padded Cards--something I didn't know I needed until that moment. I bought two packs (white plain and lined), leaving the lined yellow-blue-green pack for another day.

I'm thinking this is old stock they've had around for years without anyone really noticing (myself included). When I checked 3M's website I couldn't find any information on the Padded Cards; only when I ran a search did this one reference come up: Post-it® Padded Cards with restickable adhesive allow you to visually organize your tasks and ideas. They are durable, portable, and easy to carry with you wherever you go. Stick important information in planners, notebooks, files, & other organizers. Which makes me wonder how old these are, and whether they've been discontinued.

The Padded Cards are a really great idea. Each pack contains 50 cards almost the size of a 3x5 note card; they are made from a heavy paper stock and are quite thick. I decided to split off cards and stick them in various notebooks (Moleskine, Rhodia, Field Notes) for those times when I want to add something or, more likely, for when a colleague asks if I have a piece of paper to write on. If I'm using a tablet, tearing out a sheet isn't a problem. But lately I've been carrying journals, and it's annoying to rip out a page just to right a sentence or two. Now I can just pull off a Post-it® Padded Card and my journal is saved. This pic shows some of the cards in the back of a Field Notes journal. The pack sold for $1.49 plus tax, and I'll be heading back for a few more packs.