On Sunday was the Melbourne Pen Show. Itโs a small show but it has a 20 year history and this year there was quite a few interstate visitors (and even at least one international). The Melbourne Pen Show isnโt the DC Pen Show; it isnโt the London Pen Show; itโs a small regional pen show. But because itโs small and regional itโs very people focused and I expect offers a different experience to that of the bigger show.
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Ink Comparison: "Blackstone Blues" Barrier Reef Blue, Sydney Harbour Blue, Blue Cypress and Blue Gum
Blackstone Ink from Just Write in Australia recently released a set of Scents of Australia inks. These inks compliment the older Colours Of Australia lineup. Two of the inks from each set are blue (or are at least called blue) and I wanted to see how they compared to each other. Barrier Reef Blue is one of my favourite sheening inks and Sydney Harbour does pretty well for it self as well.
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Notebook Review: Bookbinders Design Cloth Notebook
in Paper Review
Bookbinders Design is a Melbourne based store that make their own notebooks and other paper products and also sell some other fine stationary products. They approached me to review one of their notebooks. The notebook I received is this 210 x 240 mm Cloth Bound Hardcover Notebook. Bookbinders Design offer a variety of colours and I was sent a red one.
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Ink Review: Organics Studio Ralph Waldo Emerson Twilight Blue: "the third sheeniest ink in the world"
in Ink Review
Organics Studio did what only few ink companies have done; made an ink that really creates a buzz. With Nitrogen Royal Blue, Organics Studio made an ink that everyone was (and still is) talking about. The same thing happened with J.Herbin's Stormy Grey and Emerald of Chivor, and also with Robert Oster Fire & Ice. Nitrogen Royal Blue was unique because of the extreme amount of sheen it produced. Organics Studio did the same extreme sheen with the more green Walden Pond Blue, and have now done it again with Ralph Waldo Emerson Twilight Blue. I bought Twilight Blue from Pen Classics in New Zealand (not a paid endorsement; Rene runs a good shop).
I've recently created a Facebook page for this blog so if you'd like to keep up to date with this blog via Facebook there is now a way.
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Ink Comparison: Diamine Blues
Reader, Alex, asked me to compare Diamineโs Oxford Blue to some other related dark blue Diamine inks so Iโve done just that! I have interpreted this not in terms of Diamineโs Blue-Black inks but in terms of their darker rich blues. This means that I have skipped the much darker blues such as the 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black, Blue Black, and Midnigt. I have also tried to not include lighter inks such as Blue Velvet or Asa Blue, and Iโve also skipped the low saturation Denim and the much more purple Imperial Blue. The inks in this comparison are Tchakovsky, from the Music set; Tudor Blue, from the second 150th Anniversary set; Majestic Blue; Oxford Blue; Lapis Blue, a Philippines exclusive; Regency Blue, from the first 150th Anniversary set; Sargasso Sea; and Blue Pearl, Blue Flame and Shimmering Seas, all from the Shimmertastic series. Iโll admit itโs a little arbitrary, but I believe these inks are an interesting comparison.
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