Ian Hedley is part of the ever-growing British contingent of stationery bloggers, bringing us wonderful reviews and artwork via Pens! Paper! Pencils! and Pennaquod, the pen blog searcher. My thanks to Ian for answering Three Questions.
1. What role do analog tools such as pens, pencils, and paper play in your day to day life?
I have a busy job with lots of meetings which, if I'm honest, I sometimes have trouble staying focused in. Taking notes with a nice pen and ink, on good paper, gives me something to do. It helps me concentrate and remember what was discussed.
I also keep a diary (journal in American) which I write in every day. Often I'm writing about pens because that's the kind of person I am. As well as the diary, every morning I write down three plus one good things from the previous day.
Recently I decided I needed to watch every episode of Star Trek in order. I write a couple of sentences about each episode after I've watched it. Another excuse to use a pen.
The most useful tool I've ever found isn't a pen or a pencil, though, it's a homemade set of 43 folders called a Tickler File. I can't understand why everyone doesn't use one.
2. What are your favorite products you are currently using?
I've settled on my favourite paper – Calepino and Rhodia. I've also settled on a favourite ink – Sailor Jentle Apricot – so I felt very sad when it was discontinued. I can't get enough new inks though. My favourite pencils for sketching are Tombow Mono 100s.
With pens, though, my favourites change week to week. My Platinum #3776 Sai, Twiss Marmalade, Franklin-Christoph M02 and Kaweco Liliput are usually in there somewhere but ask me again next week and it might be different.
3. What post are you the most proud of on your blog?
My most favourite pen review would have to be the Twiss Marmalade but to be honest it would be impossible to write a bad post about such a beautiful pen. The sketch I'm most proud of to date is Going for a Walk. But I try to make each post better than the rest so, while I don't always manage this, some of the posts coming up over the next few weeks I'm really quite pleased with.
