Hippo Noto & Kiwi Inks V. 1: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I received an email several months ago from Hippo Noto (makers of the Hippo Noto Notebooks) about a collaboration with Kiwi Inks. The photos showed a sheeny, shimmery, purple-pink-green-blue ink that immediately ushered an audible "Wow!" from my lips. I ordered a bottle, but I didn't open it until this week.

What a wondrous unicorn ink this is! It isn't something you'd want to use in a sober office environment. Nope. This is an ink that says, "Hey y'all! Wahooooo! Let's party and eat cotton candy and ride carousels and chew grape bubble gum and dance in glitter!"

Of course, the wahoo factor depends on the paper you use. On my Col-o-dex card, the ink's properties are subdued. A deep purple predominates with lovely lime green sheen breaking through in the writing and splats. I must have forgotten to shake up the bottle thoroughly before I did my card, because only a little shimmer is showing.

On Rhodia white dot-grid paper, the ink is even more tame. Virtually no sheen is displayed (except in the swipes) and all you see is the purple. I did remember to shake before swabbing, so you can see the blue shimmer in the swab.

Chromatography shows the various base colors in the ink: lavender, pink, and magenta.

Midori MD Cotton paper and a fat ruling pen bring out the gorgeous green sheen in the ink. Clearly, you'll get the best results with broad nibs and paper that isn't too absorbent.

I wrote a longer writing sample in my MD Journal with a TWSBI stub nib. The ink flowed well and sheen shows up, especially in sunlight.

But the best paper to use in conjunction with Hippo Noto & Kiwi Inks V. 1 is Tomoe River Paper. On Tomoe, not only do you get the beautiful green sheen, but all the spectacular colors burst like fireworks in the splats and dribbles. This is definitely an ink you'll want to play with.

You can purchase Hippo Noto & Kiwi Inks V. 1 from the Hippo Noto website ($25.00 for 30ml). The third wave of this ink will ship at the end of January/early February. If you prefer even more wow you can opt for V. 2 which features rainbow shimmer!

(I purchased this ink with my own funds.)

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 444 - Complex Complicated Colours

Take my money.

I’m all-in on the new, old Lamy Safaris, and I’m feeling VERY confident that #TeamSafari will take the 2021 title over #TeamAl-Star. Myke and I also discuss an 87 pen list, the Parker 51 making its return, and our thoughts on the 2021 stationery landscape.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get an extra three months free.

Pen Chalet: Click the ‘podcast’ link at the top of the website and enter the password ‘penaddict’ for this week’s special offer, and to get your code for 10% off.

Van Dieman's Ink Sample Review, Part 2

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Here are three more samples of Van Dieman's ink, all from their "Seasons" series. These three are not sparkly inks, so I was curious to see how they would differ from the ones I reviewed last week.

The first is Spring Native Cornflower, a bright blue. It was the best behaved of the bunch, with no feathering and a very reasonable dry time. The color is lovely, too, and it had some great shading properties. It does not have any water resistance, and washed completely away at the faintest hint of water. This was my favorite of this brand that I've tried so far. It's bright enough to be a fun ink, but still blue in a practical way. Chromatography shows a hint of lilac to its hue.

The second ink is Spring Butterfly, and this ink is perfect for if you want to whisper someone a note. It is almost unusably faint. It's a gorgeous, delicate, key-lime green, but I don't think I'd enjoy writing with it. It has a longer dry time, no water resistance, and doesn't appear to shade. Chromatography shows a balance of blue and yellow tones. It almost seems watered-down or undersaturated. I think it would make a lovely tone for illustration, but isn't great for fountain pen use.

The third color this week is Autumn Deciduous Beech. This is a lovely rich amber orange. I did experience some feathering with this color, but it also had the fastest dry time. It shows some pretty shading, and a slight touch of line is still visible after a water drip test. This color had a fun chromatography, with a defined split between bubblegum pink and bright yellow tones.

So far, all of the Van Dieman's inks have shown a lot of character in chromatography, and though I'm not loving all of them for writing purposes, they are a blast to review and play with. There are three more colors for next week, and I saved those three for last because I'm most intrigued by them. Here's to another week frolicking with inky fingers!

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)