(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)
Wearingeul is quickly becoming my favorite ink brand, largely because their inks are fun and interesting, but also because they have the best ink names. The Autumn Night After a Thousand Years is part of their "The Color of Literature" line, in which all the colors are inspired by lines from Korean Literature. This color is inspired by Lee Yuk-sa's poem "Musa" which means "the dancer." The poem features starlight shining through tree leaves, and the ink invokes this imagery with its dark olive color and gold shimmer.
The color is subtle and stunning. Chromatography shows a charcoal grey base, with a slate blue tint, then sand brown, pine green, and a shock of teal. I want this chromatography strip as a tie-dye shirt immediately. The ink does have some water resistance, though not much. The grey base color stays put while the rest of it washes away. If you spilled your water on your writing, there's a chance you could still make out your words.
The ink has a reasonable dry time of just over 20 seconds, and while it does have a dry feel to it when writing, it flows very well. I had no issues with the shimmer causing any clogging. It does show some shading where the ink pools, but the real star here (pun intended) is the gold shimmer. It's not obtrusive, but it does show up in the written lines. It's very difficult to photograph the effect, but when the light hits the writing, it glistens. It's more pronounced, of course, in larger pools of ink. It's a serious ink with a bit of lovely whimsy, and I think it's fantastic.
This line comes in cube-shaped blown glass bottles with plastic lids and nice labels. The bottle's opening is wide enough for most pens and the bottle is sturdy. The 30 ml bottle costs $27 at Vanness Pen Shop, which puts it at the pricier end of inks in general. I would judge the quality of this ink as worth the cost. All the swatch images I've seen of it do not do it justice, and I found it almost impossible to accurately photograph. I highly recommend seeing this one in person, and using it to write some beautiful nature poetry.
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