Lessons from Saturday’s in-person pen group meetup
My local pen group took advantage of low COVID-19 rates and met up on Saturday. A sunny gathering at a local tea shop. Pens and tea. Two of my favorite things.
We have over 30 members — even since our move to virtual gatherings. Eleven were able to make yesterday’s in-person meetup. An afternoon spent smiling. And a reminder that while pens are great, the people are what make this hobby so rewarding.
Two lessons stand out from yesterday’s shenanigans.
Set a fun tone. Loose themes > structured activities. Our theme this month was “Something you want to see.” Folks shared stationery they’ve wanted to see in person all last week. A strategy I stole shamelessly from @allthehobbies’ requests before pen shows. Accept successes where you can.
My takeaway: folks will have a great time wherever the pens and inks and papers are. Less is more.
Stationery swap meet = yes. We had a WTT/WTB/DONATE table. A first for me at a pen group meetup. The intention was to set the stage for folks to talk about what they like and dislike about what they brought.
I brought four pens (details below). Folks brought pens and nibs and notebooks. Inks and sample vials. A little browsing wasn’t bruising.
Bring what you aim to use. Bring paper you use. My current kit includes two paper types: the Musubi is filled with Cosmo Air Light paper, and both my YT Bindery journal and Hobonichi planner comprise Tomoe River.
I used the blank pages in the back of my Hobonichi planner for scribbling and scrawling and nib testing. Having my own notebook to hand confirmed whether every pen and ink pair I tested would work the way I truly write. The analog triad in action.
And using the planner saves a great memory where I’ll see it.
Bring an empty pen. Or five. Like I did. The benefits seem twofold. First: the debates over which ink to fill pens with were lively and great fun. We’re a boisterous group.
Also: An empty pen is easy to share out for pen friends to take home. Prior proper planning prepares penenabling.
Even my editor made an appearance
This week’s Inked Tines update includes my most recent currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. I dig a week with a clear standout combo. The Esterbrook J continues to shine. A murky purple lighthouse. (That’s a terrible metaphor.)
The EF Flex nib gives me control over when Yozakura’s shading displays. And the narrow EF lines are true to size. The slim section profile lends this pair to short, detailed notes and reflections. Meeting notes, lesson plans, journaling, reading notes, and paper marking.
Kaweco Classic Sport Blue (BB) — 1/5. Has begun burping into the cap. This is common when the converter is mostly empty. The round BB nib was excellent for long writing sessions. And odd writing angles in my pocket Stalogy.
TWSBI Eco-T Mint (EF) — Feed. My daily driver this week. Task management, scratch notes, lists of student research projects, lesson plans, and meeting notes.
Lamy Safari All-Black (B) — 1/5. The generous B nib ensured plenty of fun shading. 13’s great shading ensured notes were fun to write and read — and were easily skimmable while teaching. The black colorway also suited my one serious meeting this week. Meeting notes, lesson plans, lecture notes, and reading notes.
Esterbrook J Copper (EF Flex) — ?? The vintage flex nib gives me control over when, and how much, shading Yozakura presents. A great nib and ink pairing. The slim vintage Esterbrook body encourages fine control for short bursts of writing. Uncomfortable over longer writing sessions. Journaling, lesson plans, manuscript marking, planning notes.
Franklin-Christoph 45 Diamondcast Blue (B SIG) — 1/2. Yuletide sheens prominently with this B italic nib. Hits a sweet spot: crisp enough to feel the paper and smooth enough to write comfortably — when writing slowly. Lesson plans, lecture notes, and meeting notes.
Get Lathed Moonwood (F) — 2/5. A great marking pairing. The narrow nib and bright Pumpkin Patch orange kept short written comments legible and easily skimmed. The metal section grows slippery. Scratch notes, paper marking, planning notes.
Visconti Homo Sapiens (F CI) — ?? The generous Visconti feed brings out Lichen Watermark’s dark side. A near-black green. The wide, sodden lines are easily skimmed and visible — even from odd angles while teaching. Journaling, lesson plans, lecture notes, some miscellaneous notes.
Nakaya Neostandard (B) — 2/5. This sentimental pen and round B nib was my creative writing tool this week. Poetry, to be exact. While distracted with my words, I often rotate my pen away from me. The forgiving Nakaya nib keeps this pair writing, and smoothly. Also: lesson plans, scratch notes and D&D notes.
Notebooks. Work bujo. Musubi Cosmo Air Light 83 (A5). Twelve more pages now serve my educational adventures. The bedrock two-page weekly spread precedes five pages of lesson plan outlines.
I prefer lessons with a three-act structure
Papier Plume’s Ink No. 13 misbehaved on Cosmo Air Light paper. Feathering like a baby chick. However, the Lamy’s B nib ensured fun shading and a smooth flow. Combined: a tolerable combination. And visible against Colorverse’s Matter.
The Nakaya, Franklin-Christoph 45, Visconti and Esterbrook were also tagged in for lesson outline duties. The Esterbrook was far and away my favorite to write with. However, Higashiyama Moonlight was easiest to reference while teaching. Chalk up a win for orange.
The work bullet journal ends with four pages of lists and one more of meeting notes. Next week begins on page 172 — of 208.
My history students are working in heterogenous groups to compare and contrast three diaries from three women at Court in Heian Japan: Murasaki, Sei and Sarashina. Students assigned to Murasaki are in Yozakura (because: purple). Sei gets Lichen Watermark (because: dark and subtle). And Higashiyama for Sarashina (an excuse to use the Nakaya).
Colors allow for easy skimming and, importantly, revising to ensure each group has one student representative from all three diaries. Fun inks with a purpose.
Journal. YT Bindery Yu-Yo (A5). Twelve new pages in my personal journal. Three longform reflections and one brief recap of Wednesday. Two pages away from completing the first 20% of this notebook — which was a holiday gift from my partner.
I reached for the Kaweco and it’s BB nib twice. The Visconti also touched sweet-sweet Tomoe River twice.
Two pens, none the richer
One entry was an exploration of directions I could build my ongoing D&D adventure. I think best in analog writing. Handwriting slows my mind down. I get to focus on the words needed to capture my ideas.
Devious ideas for a D&D group of good people
Written dry. The TWSBI Eco-T reached feed-only status Friday afternoon. Consistent, smooth writing all week long. The European EF line width kept my small writing clear. A certain re-ink in the coming weeks.
Newly inked. I inked four pens during Saturday’s good times. The Monteverde Giant Sequoia, my TWSBI 580-ALR in Prussian Blue, my new Franklin-Christoph 03, and my LoftPens Highworth.
All four are kitted with EF nibs. These assignments may change as I reconfigure more purposefully for the coming work week.
The collection
Incoming / new orders. Three waves of additions rolled across my doorstep this week. Goody goody goody.
I ordered a used Franklin-Christoph 03 in Antique Glass from a lovely gentleman in the Pen Addict Slack. The antique glass material is an excellent simulation of glass. This is a demonstrator I may yet eyedropper. Gasp you should.
Insert the theme song from Skyrim here
The pen arrived with an EF nib, which was perfectly tuned out of the envelope. A pen made for my writing style — and comfortable in my unconventional writing grip.
I also refreshed my reading materials. I had run my final mild grey Mildliner dry last weekend. So I ordered a box of 12 mild greys.
A box full of boring … awesome-boring
Additionally, I am now the content owner of fifty more book darts and two new woodcase pencils. The darts are a long-trusted reading tool.
The pencils are experiments in hard cores. A Mitsubishi 9850 and a Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood. Bring on that squishy publisher paper.
Helen’s Creations also offered to bring inks to our Saturday pen gathering. Troublemaker inks. A bottle of Petrichor came home with me.
My kind of grey. Distinguished, with a fun streak.
Petrichor writes green and dries to a mid-toned graphite grey. Shades of pink and purple sneak in where the ink pools. Unobtrusive and decidedly un-boring. One guess as to my daily driver ink next week.
Outgoing / trades or sales. I settled four pens on the WTT/WTB/DONATE table at Saturday’s the pen group-a-thon. The Nagasawa special Sailor Profit with black trim, a white Faber-Castell Ondoro, and my Karas Kustoms Winter Wonderland special were all offered up for sale or trade.
The Diplomat Aero was up for sale only. I intend to convert the money from selling this Aero into Diplomat’s black-and-orange Elox model. A colorway that is more my speed.
The Nagasawa went home with a good friend. Theory also appreciate narrow written lines. And Nagasawa’s cool rooster proudly emblazoned on the black nib. Hooray for joyful rehomings.
I also offered fifteen bottles of ink to the “pretty please take as much or all of this bottle” box. I was happy to see eight bottles find their ways into friends’ bags: three greys, two black inks, and one each of a blue, purple, and yellow.
Photo of me choosing fifteen inks to give away courtesy of my supportive partner
Lastly, my friend A was interested in my KACO Retro. So I gladly loaned the pen to her. The low price of entry for KACO’s hooded nib and fun colorways drew excitement. Penabling victory.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. I am presently at the beginning of Chapter 45 in Mattimeo. That’s fifteen chapters of fun reading this week.
Mattimeo grows darker and darker. Balanced with heartfelt inter-character relationships. Characters like Cheek grow fiercely loyal to their friends. I feel that I am watching Jacques grow as a writer. A rewarding added layer in a series like Redwall.
Mattimeo digs into the history of the Loamhedge immigrants from the previous book in Jacques’ series. No complaints about a little history. Living history. With anthropomorphic animals.
Nonfiction. Diaries. Three diaries. Personal diaries. From Heian Japan. And I got paid to do it. 51 pages.
I annotate to highlight passages within the diaries of Murasaki Shikibu, Lady Sarashina and Sei Shonagon that coincide with the political power of art. A Blackwing and two Mildliners accompanied my time traveling. A solid crew.
I also revisited my existing annotations for Margot Canaday’s important history, The Straight State. Well, for the Introduction chapter — 15 pages. For my elective course on LGBTQ Studies.
I use a pencil and a new accent highlighter color to review previously-annotated texts. The new accent color separates what I thought was important during each read-through.
Music. My soundtrack this week was eclectic. All over the place. That said, yesterday’s pen group meeting has me happy-happy. Hunky Dory has played off and on all morning and afternoon.
So, without reservation, I share David Bowie’s Hunky Dory album. For when you feel good and want your music to match that energy. Phenomenal beginning to end.
For those who aren’t yet familiar, this is the Skyrim theme. Welcome.
