fountain pens ink paper

Thanks to Scribe Essentials for bringing J. Herbin inks to the Philippines! I got these from the wide assortment at their stand in Power Books at Greenbelt, Makati.

As I’ve already written before, J. Herbin inks are among fountain pen users’ most coveted ink brands, not only for the smoothness of their ink formula, but for the beauty of their bottles and packaging.

The brand goes back to 1670, and is still popular among stationery enthusiasts today.

These color swatches are as close to true-color as I can get them to show on a computer screen.

The radiant rainbow hues will inspire anyone to reach for a pen and write a love letter, a poem, or a story, or reach for a brush and paint the images  in their mind’s eye to share them with the world.

Je vous le désir.

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From a small selection of notebooks similar to those beloved of writers and artists in the past to its present wide range of stationery products, Moleskine is engaging buyers with things that evoke the artistic lifestyle.

The Moleskine Memo Pockets lets you keep receipts, notes, tickets, and other little bits in a stylish case that looks exactly like one of their notebooks.

The same elastic as in their notebooks runs down the right side.

The case has six pockets made of acid-free paper.

The pockets open wide to provide lots of space. The edges are reinforced with red ribbon.

Moleskine Memo Pockets also come in black. They have a larger version in black of a notebook full of pockets, called the Folio, for papers, drawings, and such.

Moleskine seems to be developing a one-stop system for organizing your paperwork. Notebooks are for jotting down your thoughts and other information – let’s face it, it’s still easier to write something down than take out an iPad or a Galaxy Tab, boot it up, and do the touch-pressing on the virtual keyboard. Planners help you keep to a schedule.  The cases like the Memo Pockets and the Folio help you sort and stash your bits of paper, the journals help you store information specific to a certain topic (books, wine, recipes, etc.). I’m looking forward to what they’ll come up with next.

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Thank you to my friend Thomas Overfield for sending me this lovely Lamy Safari Aquamarine fountain pen! I must have been a very good girl the past few months to deserve this coveted limited-edition writing instrument.

Lamy is a  German brand established in 1930 that pioneered in the use of molded synthetic plastic to make their products.

The Lamy Safari Aquamarine with box, wrapped in a note.

The popular Safari, made of ABS plastic, was designed by Fabian and Spiegel and has remained in production since 1980; new colors have been rolled out at intervals since then as limited editions. The standard colors are red, yellow, and blue.

The Lamy Safari Aquamarine parts – cap with stainless clip, barrel with ink view window, nib-and-section with ink converter. It’s ready to be inked with J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, the color in my stash that comes closest to the color of this pen.

Safari is also available in clear plastic (called the Vista demonstrator) and aluminum (the AL-Star line).

The Safari comes with a stainless nib; a black extra-fine nib was substituted for my pen.

A writing sample on a page from a plain pocket Green Apple notebook (available at National Bookstore branches across Manila). The paper is a bit thicker than Moleskine’s, with minimal show-through on the reverse side – great for fountain pen use.

J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche ink with the Lamy Safari Aquamarine on a Green Apple notebook. The notebook cover is waterproof printed rubber; note the elastic band placed horizontally, minimizing the slippage usual to vertically-placed elastics like on the Moleskine. A notch on the sides of the cover holds the elastic in place.

The Lamy Safari Aquamarine (fountain pen and ballpoint) will be available at National Bookstore in July; they are now taking reservations.

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Moleskine was the pioneer of the luxury “writer’s notebook” market, positioning its product as something that traces its origin back to the old-fashioned journals used by writers and artists like Hemingway, Van Gogh, and Picasso, that until the mid-80s were still being peddled in obscure bookshops in Paris, as rhapsodized by Bruce Chatwin in his book Songlines.

Fast-forward to 1997, when a Milanese publisher revives the product and launches a trend.

Today there are many imitators and rip-offs, and Moleskine has to keep several steps ahead by coming out with interesting designs.

This is one such limited edition design – Moleskine Le Petit Prince.

Inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s self-illustrated 1941 novella, the line features pocket and large ruled and plain notebooks with covers engraved with drawings from the book.

Pocket notebooks, ruled and plain.

The back covers are plain black, but the paper label has all the information on product specs.

Detail of front cover of pocket notebook showing an engraved line from the book – “What is essential is invisible to the eyes.”

Detail of the front cover of the other version of the pocket notebook.

I haven’t opened my pocket notebooks yet, but I got these images from other sources to show you what they look inside.

The inside front cover and  first page have more drawings from the book. The text says: “If found, please return to planet _____. As a reward, my secret about ____.”  Image of large notebook here.

This limited edition line comes with cut-out and stand-up scenes from the book. Image cropped from here.

Sunset scene above comes with the pocket notebook, flower scene below comes with the large. Image here.

For lovers of the Little Prince, literature, and fine notebooks, here’s a product that combines all those for you.

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Last holidays were fantastic for me for several reasons, one of them being the arrival of a pleasant surprise from gogirl cafe reader Gil Q. He sent a lovely bottle of Mont Blanc ink in Bordeaux, and a Ciak Ecological Journal with elastic strap.

The Mont Blanc ink bottle is itself a product of marvelous design. Shaped like a little shoe, raised ridges along one end form a no-slip grip when twisting open the plastic cap with an inlaid signature white star. The color of the ink is like the rich wine it is named for.

Mont Blanc Bordeaux ink shown here with circa 1920 Moore Manifold flex fountain pen.

The Ciak Ecological Journal is made of pre-consumer waste material inside, while the cover is made of waste leather. Handmade in Italy, it is also superbly designed – the crosswise elastic strap is less likely to slip, unlike vertically-oriented straps. In addition, a notch in the cover prevents the elastic from slipping.

The  Ciak also has a bookmark. Its binding allows it to be laid flat open.

Thank you, Gil Q, for the beautiful gifts! I promise you they’ll be put to good use.

In the gallery below are more pictures – fountain pen, ink, and journal enthusiasts, enjoy.

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Meet my colleague Noy’s heirloom pen. It was given to him by his father over the holidays, when Noy asked if there was a fountain pen around he could use as a sign pen at work. His father gave him this one. Noy took it to me one morning to check out.

I was impressed by how pristine it was. There was no ink discernible on the nib or within the barrel or cap. Before inking, I flushed the nib and fill system. The water remained undiscolored. Then I realized – IT WAS UNUSED. Mint condition, save for a few rust spots on the barrel.

After some research at Penspotters, I identified the pen as a Sheaffer Targa 1005, circa 1985. I knew Rick Conner’s site would have the answer.

The clip has a white dot; both top and bottom tassies are black enamel. The cap and barrel are gold electroplate, perhaps 23k.

The nib is the typical upturned-tip associated with the Sheaffer Targa. It’s a 14k fine, but I keep comparing the Western nibs to the Japanese so to my mind this is a Japanese medium .

It uses an aerometric fill, very convenient and easy to use – just dip and squeeze until no bubbles appear.

It had feed issues and would not go even after being inked with black Parker Quink. I inserted a business card several times between nib and feed, a trick taught me by Leigh which has helped me save many a pen here and abroad, and it got going.

This handsome pen is a buttery-smooth wet writer, perfect for Noy to sign any peace treaties, declarations of independence, and attendance forms that may cross his desk.

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Muji is a terrific little Japanese shop which carries houseware, stationery, and even clothes, all in neutral colors. It’s almost like Ikea but not quite because it doesn’t have the same staggering selection of goods. Still, it’s a place to get interesting stuff. Last week I visited the Powerplant Mall, Makati branch close to closing time; not having much time to look around, I went home with only a few items – a couple of erasers and this yummy kraft-paper covered notebook.

The cover is actually quite smooth, as is the creamy unruled paper inside. But the cover was excruciatingly plain. So I hacked it.

How to hack a boringly blah notebook or something of similar persuasion:

Step 1: Wait for an inspiration to come like a lightning bolt.

Step 1a: In the event that no creative brainstorm occurs, open drawers and rummage through stuff to quickstart the process. I found red and purple ink stamp pads, a flex-nib fountain pen, ink, and a great poem.

Step 3: Using the materials you have found, use them to embellish your notebook by gluing, painting, writing, drawing, cutting, folding, verb+ing, and so on.

Step 4: Enjoy your one-of-a-kind modded thing!

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“La Perle des Encres” – “The Jewel of Inks”. Thus now are known the inks first created in 1700 by sailor-entrepreneur M. Herbin in his atelier in the Rue des Fosses Saint Germain in Paris. The company, known as J. Herbin, has been in existence since 1670; they began as a purveyor of fine sealing waxes.

Using inks in fountain pens and sealing wax in correspondence is an enjoyable visit to a splendid age, when the educated people of that time wrote long letters on thick paper in an elegant hand, carefully sealing them afterward with colored wax, an impression from a seal or a ring, and perhaps a kiss.

It is a marvel that we today can enjoy these same things. J. Herbin still makes fountain pen inks from natural dyes; their neutral pH is fountain-pen friendly. Here’s my latest haul of J. Herbin, from Scribe Writing Essentials in Eastwood Mall.

The packages are very chic, a designer’s dream.

The ink bottles are also beautiful, as are the labels. And the names of the inks, in French, will make you fall in love. Je t’aime.

The bottles are of glass and come with plastic caps.

There is something so very satisfying about a well-made and well-designed product.

The bottles are a special shape – the caps are set slightly back to give space for a groove that functions as a pen rest.

The bottles are works of art in themselves.

Even the bottom of the ink bottles are lovely.

These simple writing samples show how spectacular these water-based, lightfast inks are. Can you imagine using one of these colors in a pen to write a letter to someone special? Or using several colors to create a watercolor artwork?

This new year, make it a resolution to tap in your own creativity. What is it you enjoy doing – writing, drawing, singing? Express yourself through that channel, do whatever it is that makes you happy, and renew your spirit in words, color, or sound.

Photos taken with a Nikon Coolpix L21 at PICC Complex, Pasay City.

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For Christmas I treated myself to a bottle. Not of wine, nor perfume, but of a headier and far more potent potion – fountain pen ink.

J. Herbin of France was founded in 1670 by a sailor, Monsieur Herbin, who brought back from his travels to India formulas for sealing wax that made him his fortune. Some years later the company also began manufacturing ink, and thus they are “the oldest name in ink production in the world.” They made ink for the Sun King, Louis XIV, and a black ink for the sole use of author Victor Hugo.

To commemorate the company’s 340th anniversary this year, they released a limited edition ink – the “1670″.

J. Herbin calls the color rouge hematite, described as a “dark red color and earthy tone”. The hue recalls the color of  the company’s logo, while the use of red wax to seal the cap is a reminder that the company also makes wax to seal the grand cru wines of Europe.

The bottle is a different shape from their usual, being a heavy glass cube. The cap is of aluminum, sealed with red wax; the neck is strung with gold cord sealed to the bottle with gold glue-gun wax.

The ink goes on blood red but dries in gradations and with flecks of gold here and there. The color is warm and saturated. It has depth and complex layers of shades that make it more suitable for use in pens with flex or calligraphy nibs.

Writing sample made with a Waterman 52-1/2v, circa 1915, with a superflex gold nib.

Read these excellent reviews of “1670″ at Inkophile, Rants of the Archer, Biffybeans, and Lady Dandelion.

“1670″ is available online and, in the Philippines, at Scribe Writing Essentials store, Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City.

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