2024 Stationery Intentions
I’ve written before that I like to make stationery resolutions, which I’m going to call stationery intentions from now on - it seems more appropriate. Here is the 2024 edition.
I’m entering the new year with the feeling that my pen cup is full. I don’t even use a pen cup for my fountain pens! But it’s full. I’ve acquired some amazing pens, including my Aurora Internazionale grail, so I don’t have much to put on my wishlist. Of course, there are any number of pens I would love to have - the Namiki Yukari Herb Decoration has been on my wishlist for years - but I don’t feel like actively pursuing a big grail right now, or pen acquisition in general. As of this moment I own 19 pens, which is at the top for my guideline of 15-20 pens total, and I want to spend time with my collection before I expand or reduce it.
On New Year’s Eve, I uninked and cleaned all of my pens except the top three. I then inked the two Leonardos with Diamine Inkvent 2023 inks: Lavender Frost and Rainbow’s End. Three out of the five pens were purchased in 2023: the Aurora, the Scribo Piuma Impressione, and Leonardo Fioritura Viola. These are my five pens to start the year.
I’ve been thinking how 2024 might be the year when I finally exceed 20 pens. In previous years, I made some great purchases, but also quite a few mistakes - many pens became catch and releases as I learned my preferences and fine-tuned which pens entered the gathering. I began to notice a reduction in turnaround. This is a good thing, but it also means that if fewer pens leave, then fewer pens enter.
Collecting and using patterns are very individual. When I talk about my approach, I’m always careful to speak only about myself — I have no judgment of other people’s processes, and I am always curious about what other pen people do. I do think that most pen bloggers have larger collections, and that is great - I love reading everyone’s thoughts, and I enjoy staring at other people’s large collections. I myself do not want a large collection - though I might yet eat my hat there. But I really do not want a large collection. I want to use each one of my pens regularly, and I want a reasonable-to-me rotation. I love using the same pens over and over. I want a long story with my pens.
Plants and pens = bliss. Aurora Internazionale and Leonardo Fioritura Viola are both inked with purple inks.
I’m entering 2024 with a bit of apprehension and a lot of curiosity. I started this blog as a respite in a year when I was facing an overwhelming amount of health issues and other big stressors. I enjoy the blog, and plan to continue. At the same time, I don’t know how blogging in 2024 will influence my stationery usage - these are uncharted waters. I am giving myself plenty of room to experiment and to fail.
My pen intentions for 2024:
Spend time with my collection. I bought some great pens in late 2023, and I want to write with them and really get to know them. I also want to revisit a few pens from previous years to see if they should stay or go.
Continue to streamline the collection. Some pens and some bottles of ink should leave the gathering. At the same time, I plan to take a more unhurried approach to this process. The collection is much more streamlined at the end of 2023 than it was at the end of 2022, and there is no rush to move things along.
Explore unique nibs/nib units in 2024. I love the pens I have, but some swappable nib units would be cool to add, and they will increase the versatility of the collection.
Buy 6 pens or fewer in 2024 (not counting returns and immediate catch-and-release situations). I do want to acquire even less.
In terms of ink, I am opening this up. No ink guardrails (uh-oh). But this is an experiment to see what I will do inkwise without a guardrail at this point in my collecting journey, given that I am generally happy with my ink library. My ideal scenario will be to try 1-2 new to me ink brands and to continue to streamline the ink library. I originally planned to acquire primarily shimmer, since I feel that my nonshimmer situation is wonderful, and any new additions will not shift all that much for me. However, the last moment of 2023 addition of the Purple Inkvent Calendar threw a curveball into my wants list: I’m set up with interesting shimmers for a while.
Maintain a low-buy until Fall 2024. I am also not sure how to quantify this goal without feeling too restricted — so I’m setting the low-buy as an intention rather than a guardrail. Let’s see what happens.
Continue to focus on seasonality and consider (and write) about my seasonal use of stationary.
Find a better way to document my currently inked. I have no idea what this will look like :)) Time to experiment.
Focus on process. Continue using my stationery to organize my life and draft manuscripts. I also want to talk about using my stationery for mental and physical wellness. There is a lot I want to accomplish in 2024, but I do not want to stress. 2023 has been a difficult year healthwise, and I need to continue working on improving my health as I hopefully keep recovering from Long COVID and assorted other health issues, which are all exacerbated by stress.
Do some fountain pen-related art. I’ve not been able to do much art in recent years, but I want to ease back into it - no pressure, though. No pressure. I’m not doing any of this for the pressure.
Enjoy the blog, and track how blogging interacts with my acquisition patterns. I have a lot of curiosity about this process, and 2024 should produce good data.
I am not setting a pen show goal this year. I have a medical procedure, an archival trip, and one more big travel incoming in the first half of 2024, and I have no idea if I will have physical ability left for a pen show. But I’d love to try a pen show if health and finances allow.
My open Plotter with the first inky art of 2024: a crocodile I drew with Diamine Inkvent 2023 Merry and Bright. He is certainly merry and bright! With bonus menagerie friend the horned toad.
Pens, Inks, and Accessories of Interest
This is a traditional category in my year planning - noting things I am curious about. I might or might not acquire any of these - this is not a to-buy list.
Aurora 88 (on sale/second hand) with an F nib. I don’t own any 88s, and I love my two Auroras, so it’s tempting to add another Aurora.
Aurora Dante Inferno. That thing is beautiful. Also out of my price range.
A Montblanc Heritage pen. This probably will be out of my price range unless I get very lucky, but I am interested in the Heritage nib - it’s softer than the regular MB nib, and there are a few MB Heritage designs I love.
Another pen for shimmer inks - I’ve been happy with my two Leonardos, so there is a temptation to add another Leonardo SE for my shimmers. It would be nice to have an addition in a Spring colorway, as my pen tray colors right now lean heavily towards Fall.
Pelikan M600 Glauco Cambon - this is the only Pelikan that ever appealed to me enough to consider buying, but I’m not convinced. Leaning no on this one, but I’d like to try it in person.
Schon DSGN Monoc nib in F - just the nib unit. I am not convinced about this either, but also curious - so this is a maybe.
A carved nib with an unusual grind. There are so many amazing options out there right now.
Try Wearingeul and/or Dominant Industry inks. I am reaching the end of my fascination with Ferris Wheel Press - I love a number of their inks, but I have question marks around this brand’s business practices, and I want to branch out.
In terms of Montblanc inks, while I have been collecting them, I also feel that I have a larger variety than I can feasibly use. Unless something perfect comes along, I will need to stay strong :))
Toyooka Craft pen case — for how many pens, though? I like the looks of the 40 box, but if I buy it, I will be tempted to fill it, and 40 feels like too many pens for me. I don’t like the looks of the pen box for 20. What really appeals to me is their Long Pen Tray. It holds 28 pens. I’d love to have one custom made for 27 pens - 27 is my birthday number, and I could use that as a guardrail for my collection. Something to ponder.
A currently inked pen tray for my desk - either one of the Toyooka trays, or a walnut tray.
An antique carved fob for wax seal. This has long fascinated me, and I want one, preferably with a bird on it.
Hobonichi Day-free notebook I started yesterday, still with my Orange Leatherworks cover, may it reign forever. A card I got from Yoseka Stationery, I believe this is by Ameruu :)