The Pen Addict

Uni-Ball Kuru Toga + Doane Paper = Giveaway!!!

Chad Doane of Doane Paper fame was asked to create a special run of his Doane Paper Utility Notebooks for a recent Uni-Ball gathering, and not only am I lucky to receive serveal of those notebooks to giveaway, Uni-Ball chipped in with a handful of their famous Kuru Toga pencils as well. Six of you will get the opportunity to try out two of my favorite products from two of my favorite companies, so be sure to get your entry in. Here's how:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.  You are limited to one entry.  Feel free to link this giveaway on your blog, or share it with anyone you feel is a true pen addict.  If you have a blog, I would love a link back, but it is certainly not required for entry into the contest.

2. For this contest, I will pick six winners at random from the comments section of this post.  The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on.  The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winners.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Friday, April 1st.  The winners will have one week to email me at the address posted in the "About" section on the right sidebar.

4. I will ship internationally.  I know there are many international readers and fans of The Pen Addict, and I will gladly ship to you at my expense.

I truly love the products in this giveaway and want to thank Chad and the gang at Uni-Ball for sending me these items. You can check out their websites at the links above, as well as their Twitter feeds @doanepaper and @uniball_usa.

Doane Paper / Jon Contino Utility Notebook Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered my on the fly giveaway for the unbelievably cool Doane Paper Jon Contino Utility Notebook, and a big thanks to Chad Doane for offering them up. The winner of the notebooks is:

Congrats Razide17! Here is what I need from you:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Email me your mailing address - just click on the About link on the sidebar.

Thanks again to everyone who entered, and be sure to check out the full line of Doane Paper products at the Doane Paper Store.

Doane Paper / Jon Contino Utility Notebook Now Available + Giveaway

The new Doane Paper collaboration with Brooklyn artist Jon Contino has hit the streets. The full details:

We've teamed up with the famed Brooklyn based Alphastructaesthetitologist; Jon Contino to create a limited run of Utility Notebooks that incorporate his unmistakable hand-lettering artistry. Mr. Contino's heritage based illustration approach can best be viewed throughout his quality menswear collection; CXXVI Clothing Co.

These well-crafted pocket notebooks were constructed by the fine individuals at Portland’s Pinball Publishing and utilize French Paper Co. Speckletone wine colored cover stock.

A high res 10 picture photo set of the Jon Contino Utility Notebook can be viewed here.

Notebook Size – 3.5” x 5.5”
Grid Size - .125” (.3175 cm) x .125” (.3175 cm)
Wide (Legal) Ruled Line Spacing
48 Pages per notebook
100 LB French Paper Co. Speckletone Cover Stock covers (100% recycled)
60 LB Text Stock content pages (100% recycled)
Printed using soy-based inks
Rugged 3 staple saddle-stitch binding
Made in the U.S.A.
Sold in packs of 3

Be sure to head over to the Doane Paper Store to pick yours up!

Update: Chad Doane has graciously offered up a three pack of these notebooks for giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post by Monday night (2/21) and I'll pick a winner at random. Thanks Chad!

Review: Sharpie Ultra Fine Permanent Marker - Brown

I mentioned it in the written review above, but it bears repeating here - you can thank Chad Doane for this review.  I read in his recent "What's on Their Desk" interview at Office Supply Geek that his daily arsenal consists of the Sharpie Ultra Fine Permanent Marker in Black and his own Doane Paper Flap Jotter.  I had some black Sharpies laying around the house, but I figured I would order a few of the more non-traditional colors from JetPens since they recently started stocking them.

One of the things I have always enjoyed about the Sharpie Ultra Fine markers is how rich the colors are, and this brown is a perfect example.  The way it lays down on the page makes it look almost as if it were painted on.  That being said, you also know going into it that you are going to get some bleed through the page.  If that is acceptable to you, then you are looking at a marker that can accomplish a wide variety of tasks on a daily basis.  It's no wonder why Sharpies are the marker of choice for so many artists and designers around the world.

What do you use your Sharpies for?

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Lamy Balloon Roller Ball

Another one of the great new Lamy products from JetPens, the Lamy Balloon Roller Ball is a very cool pen.  The great looking translucent colored barrels sold me, but would the performance keep me around?  Would you expect anything else from Lamy?

The Balloon Roller feels great in the hand.  The plastic barrel is lightweight, but in traditional Lamy style, it also feels very sturdy.  This is no cheap plastic pen here for sure.  I love how it writes too, but I do have a couple of minor concerns that keep this pen from being perfect.  One, I am getting a little skipping from the ink cartridge.  Until I can order a new cartridge, I am chalking this up as a fluke.  I either need to give this refill a good writing workout, or try another one to compare.  I have marked on the review where you can see the skipping.  From past experience, this seems like an outlier.

Secondly, I love the look of the clip, but I wish it was a little tighter.  That is an extremely minor complaint, but being used to how snappy the clips are on the Safaris and AL-Stars, this one is a bit of a let down.  It is by no means a deal breaker though.  It's just if I was making the perfect pen I would make it tighter.

In the big picture, I like the Balloon Roller more than the AL-Star roller I reviewed recently.  It feels better, and I am enjoying the blue liquid ink more than the black.  It doesn't seem as wet, and if I can get past the skipping it will be great.

Click here for the XL review.

Products used:
Lamy Balloon Roller Ball Pen - Blue Body from JetPens
Writing Pad from Doane Paper