Ink Links

– The Carnival of Pen, Pencil, and Paper - February 2012 (Office Supply Geek)

– less waste / personal spaces / writing (Colour Me Happy)

– Japanese Artbooks, a Look into Mangaka Methods (Keep on Truckin’, Nattosoup)

– Azuryte Ink (Palimpsest)

– Comparison - Kaweco Sport VS. Stipula Passporto (Tyler Dahl)

– Blog Fail? (Supply Cabinet)

– Paper vs. Digital: an iPhone user’s perspective (Plannerisms)

– Kaweco Classic Sport Ballpoint Pen (Pocket Bonde)

– Notebook Addict of the Week: Julian Kay (Notebook Stories)

– Banditapple 2G carnets (Bleistift)

– From Pencil Back To Ballpoint, From iPad Back To Paper? (Recording Thoughts)

– Muji Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen Hexagonal 0.4 mm Black (Multi Pen Dimensions)

– Pilot Frixion Eraseable Pens Review (Ezra Hilyer)

– Pen Experiment - Pilot Hi-Tec-C .4mm (Nick-Walter)

– Pen Review: Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto (East…West…Everywhere)

– My (current) favorite pen (Safe As Milk)

– Zebra Arbez Piirto Ballpoint Pen (No Pen Intended)

– Essential Writing Low-Tech (Tera Lynn Childs)

– This Year’s Killer App is Pen and Paper (52 Tiger)

– Review: Uni Style Fit (Well-Appointed Desk)

– Neither cold nor heat nor grease nor zero gravity shall keep me from writing: A Review of the Fisher Space Pen (From the Pen Cup)

– Bic Rondo Select 0.5 mm Mechanical Pencil Spotlight and Caran D’Ache Edelweiss 341-1 3B graphite pencil spotlight (Lung Sketching Scrolls)

– (Most of) My Notebook Collection (Economy Pens)

– FOUND: The best - pen - ever: the Pilot G2 Pro (Lost Cowboy)

– The Glories of Capitalism (Reason Magazine)

– Are you in a viciously competitive business? Boy, am I glad! (Value Acceleration)

– I’ve discovered the cure for writer’s block (East Side Bride)

– Work mess I mean space (Andy Thomas)

– Choosing and Using Pens (Anatomy of Percival)

Announcing The Pen Addict Podcast

Entering the world of podcasting has always been rattling around in the back of my brain, so I am very excited to announce that The Pen Addict Podcast has become a reality!

It took a lot of poking, prodding, and arm twisting from my co-host Myke Hurley to get me to come on board. I wasn’t convinced I could pull this off, but as the founder of the 70Decibels podcast network, Myke used his British charm to sway me and we are off and running with Episode 1.

You can subscribe to The Pen Addict Podcast directly in iTunes or download from the 70Decibels page. There is also an RSS feed and Instacast link for your iOS devices.

I am humbled to be joining such a great network of podcasts. Thanks to Myke for taking a chance on me, and I hope you will too!

P.S. Huge thanks to Aaron Mahnke and Wet Frog Studios for the amazing logo!

The Hallmark 3 x 5 Index Card

Ana Reinert of The Well-Appointed Desk is a long time friend of the blog. I remember talking to Ana as far back as 2007, right after I started The Pen Addict, and our friendship has continued ever since. Knowing my love for index cards, she sent me a package recently that knocked my socks off. I’ll let her explain:

These are “official” Hallmark 3 x 5’s. The story goes that the founder of Hallmark, J.C. Hall, asked the pressman to trim down the waste bits of paper into 3 x 5’s for him to write notes. He was seldom ever seen without a handful in his pocket and soon others were asking if they might have a stack.

Now, there is no place in the company where you will not see a stack of these. Conference room tables always have at least one pile. Every desk has a stack so people can leave a note when you are away. Writers start ideas on cards and throw them in a bowl at writing review meetings so each bit of editorial is “anonymous”. Designers fold them in half and make mini-card thumbnail drawings.

So, welcome to the world of Hallmark 3 x 5’s!

What an awesome story Ana! Thank you so much for sending me these cards and allowing me to share the story behind them.

I hope to do the cards proud!