Year in Review: 2023 Stationery Highlights
I originally planned a series of end-of-year review posts, broken into ink, pens, and accessories, but I decided instead to do a single post of stationery highlights, rather than a blow-by-blow account of absolutely everything. Let’s begin!
Ink
This year I purchased seven bottles of ink, plus a bunch of samples; I also received some wonderful ink samples from pen friends. In terms of bottles, I got three Montblanc inks, which has been a collecting interest of mine, and four shimmery Ferris Wheel Press inks.
A nice stack of 2023 inks, with three Montblanc inks at the bottom, and four Ferris Wheel Press inks at the top. Sneaky Menagerie friend camel on the right :)
Of the seven full-bottle newcomers to my ink library, the highlights were two Ferris Wheel Press inks: Hearty Harvest and the Land of Shangri-La.
A close-up to show the detail of these gorgeous shimmers.
Both inks have exceptional packaging, wonderful colors that work well with my palette, and good flow and lubrication. The shimmer gave me no trouble - I experienced no clogs or other issues common to shimmer. I use Franklin-Christoph SIG nibs with my shimmer inks, usually a steel M SIG, and gold B and BB SIG.
The Land of Shangri-La is a dark brownish-green with champagne shimmer. It is difficult to photograph. It is a brooding, sophisticated color with a dash of glam. The packaging evokes the intrigue and elegance of a high-end hotel. I love it! The ink is a great match to my Leonardo Momento Magico Bohemian Twilight.
Hearty Harvest is one of several FWP inks which features a frequently recurring character, Bearnice the bear. Bearnice is charming, and yet I am not sure what “Hearty Harvest” has to do with Bearnice (or her grandmother Grizzelda). In any case, it’s an outstanding Fall color described on their website as “amber butterscotch with rose gold shimmer.” It’s orange :) It’s the kind of orange that reminds me of a big crate of pumpkins and squashes at a Midwestern farmers market. I bought the ink on a whim, and fell absolutely in love with it. It’s a great color that fits well with my palette, and has momentarily displaced Diamine Vintage Copper as my go-to titles and accents ink.
In terms of samples, I fell in love with a sample of Sailor’s Sailor, which I received from Michael. This is a special edition ink from a few years ago which sold out quickly; now it is unobtainium. Enough said.
Swatch cards of these three inks side by side: left to right Ferris Wheel Press Land of Shangri-La, Ferris Wheel Press Hearty Harvest, and Sailor’s Sailor.
Fountain Pens
This has been a great year for fountain pens. I purchased 7 new to me fountain pens this year, of which I already sold one; another was a preorder that arrived literally yesterday - a Leonardo Momento Zero. I do not feel like I can say anything meaningful about that pen yet. Out of the remaining five pens of 2023, I already earmarked another pen for resale. So overall there’s a total of four fountain pens from 2023 which I can say something about; all four are staying in the gathering (for now, and hopefully forever). All four are Italian: two are Scribos, one is an Aurora, and another is my first vintage Omas. I will highlight two: the Scribo Piuma Ratio, and the Aurora Internazionale Arancio.
The Scribo Piuma Ratio and the Aurora Internazionale Arancio perching on an antique Eastlake inkwell, accompanied by Menagerie friends beadcat and beadbird, and camel in the background.
I got the Scribo Piuma Ratio with an 18k EF nib from Goldspot. I was not sure if I would love the Piuma shape, and I am also not an EF nib person, but at that price point I felt I could try it and see what happens. It worked out brilliantly - the pen is gorgeous, writes really well, and the transaction was smooth. An EF pen is helpful for quick notes on bad and mediocre paper - it’s my only EF nib right now. Score! I loved that pen so much I ordered another Piuma from Goldspot, in the colorway I wanted for a long time, and with the nib grade I wanted (18k F). However, that purchase has been a mixed experience for me.
Aurora Internazionale Arancio deserves its own blog post and in fact, I’ve already published a blog post about it. A stunning pen with a special nib to commemorate a big career milestone. This pen is a dream, and the crowning glory of my fountain pen year.
Quite a few pens left the Gathering this year, and I’m quite happy with the balance between refining my collection and following my curiosity :) More about this next week when I will post about my 2023 stationery plan versus what actually happened.
Accessories and Other Joys
The winner in this category is without doubt my Orange Leatherworks Hobonichi cover in A6 (link will show you the detail of the cover). It’s an excellent example of what I call a “single good thing,” an object that is so good there is no need for other objects of this type. I am very happy to have a single A6 cover which delivers on craftsmanship, soul, and function.
Working at my co-op coffeeshop this morning - coffee with a bird I doodled on it, Galen Leather Magnum Opus for six pens, notebook in my A6 cover by Orange Leatherworks, and the new arrival from EndlessPens - Leonardo Momento Zero Fioritura Viola (my first MZ and second Leonardo). It is currently inked with Diamine Vintage Copper. Nothing can displace Vintage Copper for long.
In terms of paper, I loved my Hobonichi Day-Free, with the last of the old Tomoe River paper. Let it be known that I enjoyed the old Tomoe River till the end. :))
I also loved the YosekaLab planner. Read my reviews here and here. Also from Yoseka, I’ve been loving the fox and dog stamp you can see in my swatches. One of the issues I’ve been having with Yoseka is that things get sold out very, very fast. For example, I wanted one of their special edition Travelers inserts, but it sold out in moments. Yoseka folks, if you’re reading this by any chance - please order bigger runs of your cool things. Thank you.
Two new antique inkwells joined the Gathering this year, both are absolutely smashing: just look at them! One was a gift, the other a serendipitous antique store find. I might revisit the inkwell situation in 2024 - there are always more wonderful inkwells out there.
Two inkwells: Art Deco cloisonné inkwell, probably Chinese in origin, discovered in Kansas City (left); Arts and Crafts inkwell, discovered in Prague (right); two fountain pens: Scribo Impressione and Aurora Internazionale; menagerie friends.
In terms of books, the highlight addition to my stationery library has been 1920-2020. Cento anni di FILA | A century of stories, colours and pencils by Andrea Antinori and Valerio Millefoglie. It comes with a pencil. It’s not even a fountain pen book and I’m not even a user of FILA products, but this is a fantastic book. And I also picked up a copy of the Pelikan book Pelikan Schreibgeräte:Writing Instruments 1929-2004 by Jürgen Dittmer and Martin Lehmann, despite not owning any Pelikans ever (link to Pelikan’s Perch, where this book is described along other Pelikan books). I read the book with great interest. Next year I’d like to take a more systematic approach to my stationery library, which will start with a blog post about the many books I already have. :)
Books, books, books and a turtle.
I hope you enjoyed this review post! Overall, Italian pens continued to win big this year. I love them, and I’m looking forward to another good year.
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