Category: Design

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Words in Ink: Diamine Forest Gateau

Deep red Diamine 'Forest Gateau" ink with the following text: eating / a fresh pomegranate / the deepest red / on my fingers / and face / sweetness / and the slightest / bitterness / on my lips. Original text by A.E. Graves.
Such a pleasant shade of red… This is Diamine Inkvent 2024 Black Edition “Forest Gateau” (4/25) a sweetly scented ink.

I bought the Diamine Inkvent Black Edition for 2024, an advent calendar in which each little window contains a bottle of ink. Each year Diamine invents new colors, releases them this way, and then produces full-sized glass bottles later. This is my second year of purchasing the set. Prior years were impressive and produced two of my favorite sheening inks (Polar Glow and Holly), and so the series has high expectations to live up to.

This year’s set is influenced by the popularity of very muted colors (mostly coming from Asia – muted pastel grays and browns especially), colorful particulate glittering inks, plus a few sheening inks.

Other Diamine fans posted ink swatches and art daily to show off the inks, but long working hours and my desire not to just be another form of advertiser meant I took time to write letters and journal entries with the inks and get accustomed to my favorites. I also finally accepted that my phone mutes the colors too much, and scanning is really the only reliable way to go. I’ll post small writing samples of these inks, and others of many brands in my ink collection, over time.

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Writing: Fountain Pen (Teal and White Theme)

The pen! The ink is Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai, because I love that ink. Yes, the pen glitters.

I decided to buy an Esterbrook Camden in Manitoba Blue, because I couldn’t resist that the nib matched the pen. (Yes, I am that easy to sway.). It turns out that the pen is a pleasure to write with, and is extremely smooth. I’m keeping a journal with it now, and the way it glides over Clairefontaine paper is just magical.

Did I need another pen? No. Am I glad I got it? Yes. Will I use it? Oh, goodness yes – with eight active European pen friends AND so many members of my family suffering from arthritis, I’m on a spree.

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Writing: Deep Green Ink with Silver Glitter

Handwritten journal entry dated November 11, 2024 about the first real rain of autumn, and various cozy indoor activities.

I spent time this morning listening to the rain, and then opened up a souvenir of my trip to Japan to write with it. It is Takeda Jimuki Kyo No Oto ink in Ryokuyuoiro, which is a deep, grayish green with silver sparkle. The sparkle component clogged the first pen I tried, but I went with one with a wider feed, and enjoyed its beauty as I wrote.

Collage of the silver particles settled into the back of the ink bottle; the ink bottle label in Japanese and some English; gently glittering words.

My phone camera likes to increase the contrast when I photograph text (it wants it to stand out from its bright paper background), but hopefully you can see the silver glitter in the text, and the depth of the green.

Two images with sample, handwritten text in green, lightly shimmery ink. with ink-stained paper nearby to bring out the color.

It was pleasant to take the time to write with such lovely ink, and spill my thoughts after some time listening to rain. I needed it.

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Writing: Fountain Pens (Pale Blue Theme)

A collage of my TWSBI fountain pen and a writing sample in Diamine Glacier ink
Finally out of the box: my first TWSBI fountain pen; its stub nib; a writing sample in Diamine’s Glacier ink. (It is too full of sparkles – I had to clean out the pen afterward, when it started to clog.)

My writing hand is in a mood to write, so I unpacked my TWSBI Diamond 580AL Fountain Pen in Iceberg Blue to start a new volume of my journals.

It’s lovely! It feels well made, is comfortable to hold, and the angle makes sense. I am switching to another Diamine ink (with fewer sparkles, so it will flow more evenly) for the rest of today’s writing.

Yes, every autumn I do gush about autumn. Yes, there are pages listing all the foods I love to eat. No, I don’t have to hold back – I’m writing for my own satisfaction, and there’s no such thing as too much gushy enthusiasm in a private journal.

I anticipate this pen will go into heavy rotation for letter writing, when I need a large pen I can hold comfortably for long letters.

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Writing: Postscript to Fountain Pens (Chemical Rainbow Theme)

I want to show off the silvery sheen of this ink a little more, from when I wrote another letter earlier this morning:

Three image collage of writing with Monteverde Lightning ink in black. A silver sheen is plainly visible in the writing samples.
The sheen is more visible in this example: there are silver particles dispersed throughout each letter. (The stationery is from a recent business trip to Chicago. You can see four photos from inside this hotel on my phone photo blog here.)

The letter (in German) is about ordinary moments of joy: laughing with friends, enjoying the quiet of a Sunday morning, drinking fancy espresso drinks with my commute girlfriends…

I note that I enjoy such ordinary moments while I travel also, and that a favorite moment from a trip to Japan was appreciating a lovingly drawn carrot with luxuriant greens. Someone spent real time on drawing and painting it in their sketchbook (not as a final wall painting to impress others, but just a lightly colored sketch in their own sketchbook for themselves). It was made with such affectionate attention that I remain moved by the memory of it to this day. Anyone who chooses to invest hours in drawing the little lateral dimples and soft irregular greens of a fresh carrot is living life deeply in the present moment, and I can learn from that.

I like this ink, and if I let the pen sit for a bit, I can also achieve ombre effects over a page, as my writing gradually turns from black to silver. That’s nice.

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Writing: Fountain Pens (Chemical Rainbow Theme)

Collage showing writing sample (about autumn in San Francisco, and fondness for the gingko trees of Mission Creek) made with Monteverde Lightning fountain pen, Monteverde Lightning blank ink; the stub nib of the pen; the pearliness of the ink; and the pen in its gift box.
A slightly shaky page from a letter to a pen pal about my fondness for San Francisco’s local version of autumn, and fondly remembering the gingko trees near my temporary apartment on Mission Creek; the pearly metallic black ink that came with the pen; the stub nib I chose; the ink in the bottle; the pen in its box.

I’ve been waiting to enjoy this special pen for a day when my writing arm isn’t sore. That day hasn’t come, so I decided to stop waiting and write anyway, with soothing ice pack breaks relieving my arm of its internal swelling.

My writing sample isn’t the best here – I’ve waited weeks to hold a real pen again – but this Monteverde “Innova Formula M Fountain Pen – Lightning (Limited Edition)” pen provides a smooth, pleasant writing experience. The ink’s silvery sheen is pleasant. It has some special wetting agents that made it feather on my usual papers (and I thought nothing could feather on Tomoe River!), but works well on ordinary paper. I like the softness of this black. It makes me think of my well-washed, favorite black denim jeans, but more metallic. (This gives me ideas of special effects I might like in my denim if this didn’t make them less soft...)

As the writing sample notes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year, especially for food reasons, but also because of the delivery of dramatic skies. Oh, how I love them – they make mornings so moody, and sunsets so colorful…

I look forward to using this pen-ink combination on other papers for long writing sessions.

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Writing: Fountain Pens (Primary Red Theme)

A Pilot Metropolitan in Red, with a writing sample from its smooth medium nib.
My very red Pilot Metropolitan. The ink is likely Diamine Syrah.

This Pilot Metropolitan (yes, another) is another satisfying, well-designed, reasonably priced pen. It writes smoothly and looks great. It has spent many hours in my hand, and that time has been pleasant.

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Writing: Fountain Pens (Bright plus Dusty Green Theme)

Collage of three images showing a full length Monteverde fountain pen, a close up of its nib, and a page of writing in a dusky green
My Monteverde Prima fountain pen; its nib; a writing sample about the our golden summers, and how strange it is that other places have green summers. Who knew? The muted green ink is Herbin’s ‘Vert Empire.’

The view out my east facing dining room window is of the deep green of a holly tree, and the brighter green of a juniper, which inspired me to fill my greenest pen and write about the color.

This Monteverde Prima is one of my earliest fountain pen purchases. I initially thought it was stingy with ink, but just happened to be using a drier flowing ink. I tried others and improved my paper choices, which help me appreciate this pen’s smooth writing and pleasant proportions. It is comfortable to hold, is reliable (doesn’t clog or dry out), and the way it catches the light is attractive. The nib is firm, and I am amused that Monteverde is so proud of it that they engraved their long name on it TWICE.

The ink is Herbin’s ‘Vert Empire,’ the color of a dusty green velvet, or leafy desert plants that must protect themselves from the sun by being a bit gray. The pen isn’t an exact match for any of my five or so shades of green ink, though it comes quite close to Herbin’s ‘Lierre Sauvage‘ (which the Herbin website associates with anarchy. Ah, leafy green anarchy…). A medium bright green with silver sparkle could also come close, though that might be difficult to read if too shiny. (If you are a fan of Herbin’s “Vert Atlantide,” you probably beat me to this.)

Yes, my personal true color of California in summer is the yellow-gold of sun-dried grass on our rolling hills, but our extensive agricultural regions offer many shades of green, from the yellow-greens of grape leaves through the pale, silver-greens of artichoke leaves.

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Collecting/Mail: Carnival Nights Stamps coming from USPS

I’m a big fan of night photography (which used to be much more complicated back in analog days), so I’m looking forward to these colorful and festive stamps. They’ll be available June 6, 2024.

Carnival Nights Stamps | USPS.com
Experience the thrills of a favorite American pastime with the new Carnival Nights stamps from the U.S. Postal Service®.
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