Year in Review: Stationery Highlights 2024
2024 is wrapping up, and it’s time for my end-of-year summaries. The first is the 2024 Stationery Highlights (this post), the second is What Happened with my 2024 Stationery Intentions? (next week), and it will be followed in early 2025 with my 2025 Stationery Intentions. Hope you enjoy :)
Ink
I got so much new to me ink this year that I cannot possibly cover it all, so I’m going with highlights from my ink library.
On my desk: qtips for ink swatching, Montblanc Moctezuma, Montblanc Origin Green, Herbin Turquoise de Perse, ink testing (on Plotter A5 Chart Grid), glass dip pen, and menagerie friends raven and alabaster rabbit.
Jacques Herbin Turquoise de Perse. I love this ink so much. It’s an incredibly happy ink. Review here.
Montblanc Heritage Green. A dark forest green, I absolutely love it. Review here.
Montblanc Moctezuma Pierced Sky. This is an old, sold out special edition. I got it as a sample from Mary, fell in love with it, and some of my friends conspired to get me a full bottle. I love the gift and I love this ink.
I’ve really enjoyed my inky explorations this year, even though I did go overboard on just how much ink I added - I’ll touch more on that in an upcoming post. I’ve added a lot of blue-greens, greens, and turquoises, and I loved using this palette all year, with a smattering of browns, blurples, and an occasional red. Other highlights from my ink library included some pre-2024 inks : Diamine Rainbows End (Purple Inkvent sample), Diamine Early Dusk (Purple Inkvent sample), FWP Land of Shangri-La, and Jacques Herbin Shogun.
Fountain Pens
I bought eight pens this year. One is still in transit, and I might not see it in 2024, but I am counting it as a 2024 pen. Of these, 4 were Italian pens (including the one in transit), or 50% Italian pens total; usually the number is higher. I mostly collect Italian pens! But this year, I branched out. If I had to keep only one new pen from 2024, I would keep the Kilk Yggdrasil.
My other two top pens of 2024 are Italian: the Aurora 888 Volterra, and the Scribo Maddalena. Both were models from previous years, but I got them in 2024.
Accessories and other joys
Paper: I’m living my best papery life with the Plotter A5 Liscio Wine and my Hobonich Day-Free in an Orange Leatherworks cover. I talk more about this setup in my Mini Techo Kaigi post.
Stickers: my Stickii subscribtion continued to be a win this year. I love the more painterly options and alternate between Vintage and Pop - the Stickii website lets you switch between them if you prefer a different one when you see the spoilers for each month. I’m also doing the Stickii advent this year. Stickers are tiny joys.
The sticker insert in my Plotter A5 is full of current favorites - mostly bird, critter, and painting-style stickers.
Storage: I got a three-pen Rickshaw sleeve themed after Stationery Fest. It’s very cool; not sure if it is such a fit with my use case. I also got two Toyooka pen trays for my currently inked, and I use them constantly. Love them. My Galen Leather Magnum Opus for 6 pens is a few years old, but it continues to be in daily use. It’s my favorite case.
On the left: Toyooka desk tray in Hinoki Blue (love it). Center: a leather art box I bought in Estonia. On the right: StationeryFest pen sleeve for three pens from Rickshaw. Underneath: Galen Leather Magnum Opus for 6 pens (old case, also my favorite).
Desk accessories: I did not get any new inkwells or any other unusual accessories this year. I did get a small leather box from Estonia which I used for nibs, but now use to store my few sterling jewelry pieces when they are not in use. Not sure if it counts, but I love it anyway. What I really want is one of those gigantic and beautiful industrial pencil sharpeners. It would make my life better, since I use pencils for art, but they are pricey and also usually sold out. Maybe in 2025?
Menagerie: Not accessories, but a few new friends joined me this year, and you will see them in photos - Dave the cat, two new birds, a bear (birthday gift), and a crocodile I found in Europe’s oldest apothecary in Estonia. It’s been a year of new friends after a few years of no new friends joining. Super happy about the Menagerie also!
Dave the orange cat has become besties with the beadcat. They are often seen together. The chrysocolla raven is new to the Gathering, and loves talking to everybody else. The brown bird is supposed to be a roadrunner, but their very long tail and turquoise stars remind me of mythic images of the goddess Bird from my own fantasy universe.
It’s been a very good year for the Gathering, even though I do feel I’ve gone overboard somewhat, especially on ink. I’ll update you on the outcomes of my 2024 stationery intentions in next week’s post.