In each box is an assortment of notebooks, stickers, washi tape, non-fountain pens, and an assortment of other goodies. Each box is themed to a certain extent so the right person will get the right box. Some pens were tested for review but have not been used. The notebooks and washi are new. Some stickers are early editions from The Desk.

1. Bright: This box has bright colors, playful and cute washi and is looking for a home for someone who wants more color and fun in their life.
2. Vintage: This box has more of a retro vibe, with some academia vibes, warm colors and lots of vintage art.
3. Traveler’s: If you love the original sized Traveler’s Notebook, this box is filled with some collector items from the Traveler’s Company plus refill notebooks, washi and travel-inspired items.
4. Quirky: Like the label, this box is filled with unique, unusual items in terms of color and subject matter.
5. Artist: This box has more art and craft items like drawing papers, and has an art supply vibe.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us which box you would like to win and what you might do with the mystery contents. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Instagram, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Thursday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

About the Pen:

The Hong Dian M1 ($18.98) is a matte finish aluminum pen that is available in three different colors: Ice Blue, Silver, and Purple with two nib options: fine and extra fine. The packaging is an aluminum hinged box which is too large for the pen but its plain so it might be reusable or recyclable.

On the cap, below the hinged clip, is an engraved smiley face and on the opposite side is the Hong Dian branding and bird logo.

The nib is decoratively engraved and about the same size as the Kaweco Sport nib.

Did I mention that for less than $20, this aluminum finish pen includes a converter?!?!?! Why is this something that Chinese brands can do for a pen selling for less than $20 and big name brands who sell their pens for a lot more often don’t include a converter?

Writing Sample:

The extra fine nib has a little feedback but not a lot. The nib is stiff with no bounce. The nib is a little finer than a lot of western EF nibs in my collection but not quite as fine as my Japanese F and EF nibs. I’d compare it to maybe an MF nib in Sailor nibs. I quite like it.

Size Comparison:

I have a ton of Kaweco Sports but I don’t have a lot of other small fountain pens that might be in the same price range as the Hong Dian M1. The only other pen in my collection was the Tom Studio’s Wren which is a felt tip pen that can be filled with fountain pen ink.

When capped, the M1 is just a smidge longer than the Kaweco Sport. The Wren is about a half an inch smaller.

When posted, the Kaweco Sport is longer than the M1 and the Wren remains shorter than both.

It probably seems odd to compare the M1 to these pens but it was an enlightening comparison. I tested the M1 next to the Jinhao 82 which is a similar price point and then the Nagasawa Sailor Pro Gear Slim which is what the Jinhao 82 is meant to dupe. And I added in another Chinese made pen, the Moonman “Metamorphosis” — a knock-off of a Montblanc that was made many years ago (This pen is no longer available) which I thought might have a similar nib.

The nib sizes are similar with the Sailor/Nagasawa being the largest (and the only 14K) nib. The other three are quite similar. The Hong Dian nib writes very much like the Moonman nib and a little smoother on the Midori paper than the Sailor Pro Gear Slim. The Sailor has the most feedback on the Midori paper and most pencil-like in feeling. The Jinhao was the smoothest on the Midori paper. It’s shocking how smooth the Jinhao 82 is at the price point. I know its a knock-off of Sailor Pro Gear Slim but the steel nibs that Jinhao uses are so good, much better than Sailor’s steel nibs. If Sailor wised up and bought their nibs from China, they might be able to sell fountain pens with steel nibs that people actually liked. Until then, I have a soft spot for the Jinhao 82.

But I was talking about the Hong Dian M1…

Final Comments

I like the design details, excellent nib quality, and overall look. That clip is epic and the inclusion of a converter at the price point makes this a great entry level pen for many.

I find the clip a little heavy when the pen is posted which throw off the balance (for me). The aluminum finish looks beautiful but I am realizing that I don’t like metal pens (for me). The surface seems a little slick (for me). It makes me sad to not love this 100% but its more of a “me problem” than the pen. Overall, I give the M1 high ratings. It can’t be beat at this price point especially if you like aluminum pocket pens. If you prefer a wider nib, then I’d give this pen a pass and try the N8 with the “long blade” nib.

DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

I enjoy making my journal pretty but am I putting too much pressure on myself to make it “fancy”? Do I set my expectations too high?

Am I the only one struggling right now? Let me know in the comments and left me know how you’ve reset your journaling or just commiserate with me.

Pens:

• Pen Review: Revisiting the Pilot FA Nib, This Time on the Pilot Custom 743 Verdigris Green (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• Video-Review: Pilot Custom Heritage 91 (via Scrively)
• Edison Pen Company, beginning of many things (via Fountain Pen Chronicles and More)
• Would I Buy Them Again? Take 2 (via Rachel’s Reflections)

Ink:

• Van Dieman’s Tasmanian Lavender (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Tono & Lims Explained (via Yoseka Stationery Blog)
• A Few Grey Inks (via An Inkophile’s Blog)
• Colorverse Erebus Crater Ink Review (via The Pen Addict)

Pencils:

• Mechanical Pencil Update, May 2026: Pentel, Pentel, Pentel (and Pentel, Pentel) (via Urban Adventure League)

Planners, Notebooks & Paper:

• Paper, scissors, glue: how to make a vision board (via – Flow Magazine)
• ACMc Blotter Paper (via Fountain Pen Love)
• Journal Pages (via Wonder Pens)
• The Best Planner Washi Tapes and Stickers (via JetPens)

Art & Creativity:

• Review: Ohuhu Cotton-top Watercolour Pad (via Parka Blogs)
• Flanders Poppies 2026 – Part 2 (via Apple-Pine)
• Little Things Here and There (via Apple-Pine)

Other Interesting Things:

• New zines: Not-knowing and Complexity (via Austin Kleon)
• New Book Offers a Glimpse Inside Kahlo’s Personal Sanctuary (via My Modern Met)
• Artist Review: Huawei MatePad Mini with M-Pencil Pro (via Parka Blogs)
• Rogue One: The Andor Cut (via Kottke.org)
• 2026 Chicago Pen Show Recap (via The Pen Addict)
• Sometimes it Needs Simplicity (via Dime Novel Raven)
• Travel Stationery: How to Pack for a Two Week International Trip (!?!) (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• Parting with parts (via The Typewriter Revolution blog)
• Twilight of the Velocipede: Typesetting Races before the Age of Linotype (via The Public Domain Review)

Check out our Patreon where you can get inspiration, gossip and free printables that include a biweekly podcast and more. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

We’ve just updated the Pen Show Schedule to include all the news we know about. Drop us a comment if there’s a show we’ve missed and we’ll get it added in.

What’s the next Pen Show you’ll be attending?

I am hitting the age where I have conversations with friends about the ailing health of parents and other relatives. Some have lost loved ones recently. As a result, my friends have had to deal with the possessions of these family members. Some have had to downsize parents into assisted living or memory care facility. Others have lost loved ones who had not had the time or inclination to tackle their possessions before they passed. So many of our conversations have been about how to distribute items to those who might want them and what to do to with items no one they know wants.

It’s an overwhelming thought to tackle someone else’s detritus be it heirloom quality antiques or a beanie baby collection.

As a regular collector of not just pens and inks, but also camera equipment, yarn, books and so much more. I often wonder what will happen when I need to downsize my home, or god forbid, Bob has to deal with all my crap.

This is where The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson comes in.

“It is amazing, and also a little strange, how many things we accumulate in a lifetime.”

While anyone can use some of the ideas from Swedish Death Cleaning as it is one of a multitude of techniques for decluttering, I think the perspective of what is excess junk vs valuable keepsakes is a nice variation.

“Start with the large items in your home, and finish with the small.”

The audiobook is narrated by the amazing Juliet Stevenson which makes it sound like a wise great aunt is extolling her life advice to you as you listen. The audiobook is also just tree hours in listening time which could easily be completed in a few days of dish-doing, walking or cleaning while listening.

“This cycle of consumption we are all part of will eventually destroy our planet—but it doesn’t have to destroy the relationship you have with whomever you leave behind.”

The book, while short, introduces a lot of ideas for thought but the overall steps or how-to is not as apparent. This is definitely a book for someone looking to consider the best way to remove excess, detritus and extraneous items from their lives before it becomes someone else’s responsibility. There are some tips like starting with large items first like furniture and move to small items that may have considerably more sentimental value like jewelry, letters (or fountain pens). The author says when she tackles projects like this, she always starts with clothes. For me, I have a huge sentimental attachment to clothing so I am more apt to start in the kitchen and other common areas. I am not emotionally attached to towels, tupperware or pots. Well, maybe not most of them anyway.

“Recycling and donating can both help the planet and also bring things to people who may need them.”

There is also a lot to gain from considering ideas from this book, even if you are still in your 20s or 30s and a long way from your imminent end.

As many decluttering books mention, if you have too many things, it is often hard to find what you need when you need it. This loops around to some of the concepts from the minimalism movement including the $20/20 minutes idea.

“To hunt for misplaced things is never an effective use of your time.”

How does this relate to fountain pens and stationery?

Let me loop this around to fountain pen and stationery collectors. How much stuff have you accumulated over the years? In your enthusiasm for the hobby did you purchase a bunch of budget pens or every color variation of a specific pen you liked? Do you still want or need all of them? Do you have boxes full of ink or samples you never use?

What about notebooks? Stickers? Washi tape? Is it time to host a swap with friends? For years, my friends and I have hosted a clothing exchange where we bring all our unused, unwanted and no-longer-fit garments, shoes and accessories and swap with one another. Once we have all acquired new items, everything left goes to a pre-selected charity and we load up one vehicle (sometimes two) with the items and feel good about getting new items while also clearing our closets of things that no longer work for us. The goal is always to take home way less than we bring.

I have wanted to do the same thing with stationery and craft supplies. To invite other stationery folks for snacks and swap seems like a great way to spend an afternoon. Or take excess items to your local pen club meet-up. Some pen shows are setting up swap tables and some events even have local art supply charities set-up a table so that anything not collected will be taken to their facility for resale or donation to local schools.

If that feels too overwhelming, consider donating usable items to a local school or take them to a local thrift store.

While I am sure that a stationery cupboard cleanout might be the most sentimental part of a Swedish Death Cleaning, knowing that you were able to distribute your items to people who might enjoy them as much as you did is a good feeling.

As for the book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, I think it gave me some ideas as to where to start and made it a little more acceptable to talk about what needs to happen with “all the stuff”.

It did make me think that I spent the first half of my life accumulating items and the second half trying to figure out how to get rid of it all.

Have you tried to tackle a declutter or Swedish Death Cleaning recently? How did it go?

All of us have moments where we hit a mental roadblock in our planning and journaling. Usually, in late Spring, I hit a personal lag. Maybe, as the weather improves and I get busier, I find it harder to make time to sit down and actually “do the work”. SI have been spending some time this week trying to get my journaling mojo back. I’ve been researching notes and websites to see if I can find some tips and ideas to inspire me to write.

Here are the five tips I found that were most helpful:

1. If you don’t feel comfortable writing long form, use a bullet-style log

This is a tip I originally saw from Austin Kleon many years ago but I’ve seen other people implement it as well. If you are busy, tired or not comfortable writing long sentences about your day, make it a list.

For example:

• morning full of client meetings
• lunch with Kim (mmm, Meddy’s)
• walked to library
• watched too many episodes of Deep Space 9
• made homemade ramen for dinner
• read for about a half an hour before falling asleep at 10

2. Make journaling a habit

The same way that you set aside a specific time or day to workout, make time in your schedule for your journaling, planning or writing. This can be a specific time of day, a specific day of the week or it can be a combination of both. During the week, I try to do my journaling and planning at the beginning of the day and I set aside a larger chunk of time on Sunday to pre-plan, catch-up and clean up anything from the week.

3. Use prompts

When you feel stuck, use prompts. There are lots of resources online for journaling or writing prompts that can inspire you or just giving you a jumping off point. Prompts can be something as simple as writing own three goals for the day or three things you are grateful for. I use prompts featured in my Gamify Your Life zine at least once a week to provide a framework for a writing session.

4. Add visuals

If you like to decorate your journal or planner, this can be a great way to help create personal memories and spark creativity. Add personal ephemera like labels, receipts, tickets as reminders of events and activities but you can also add photos with a mini photo printer, stickers and washi as well as elements collected from magazines or online (with a printer). I often download and print out the covers of the books I have read since I often check books out from the library (physically or digitally) so I don’t have the physical object as a keepsake. I find printing out the covers and sticking them in my planner or journal a great way to remember what I’ve read but also to have a keepsake of the experience.

Junk Journaling, art journaling and memory keeping are all terms for collecting and cataloging the things we enjoy in our world into our books. Each type of journaling is slightly different but you can integrate elements from any and all of these techniques in your journal.

Mixing up how you use your journal will keep it fresh and personal.

5. Do whatever you want

I think the best advice I can give you is to do whatever you want in your journal or planner. One entry can just be free flow writing for pages but the next entry can be photos, sticker and washi tape and then the page after that can be a sketch of your lunch. No one can tell you the right way to do it. There are no journal police who are going to take your book away if you don’t do it exactly one way or if you don’t have a separate book for every style or method for journaling or planning.

In this vein, if you find that its easier to keep up with journaling using a digital tool, then do that. My husband has become a convert to DayOne because taking one photo a day and adding a few short sentences provides a quick easy way for him to track his life. He also loves to look at the calendar view and see all the boxes filled with photos.

Conclusion:

There is no one right way to document, track and organize your life. Analog tools provide a great way to think, organize, plan, remember and strategize but you may find that a system that combines digital and analog tools works better for you. That’s great too. Really, I just want to leave you with permission to be messy, make mistakes, skip pages, scribble, scratch, fold and whatever else gets you from one day to the next.

I hope this tips inspired you to keep going, start over or jump in. The benefits of using a journal or notebook are countless as long as we don’t hold ourselves to unrealistic expectations. Good luck and get messy!

Resources:

• How to Jumpstart Your Journaling | A 31-Day Journaling Prompt Calendar (via The Art of Manliness)
• Lynda Barry Four-Square Journaling Technique (via The Writing Cooperative)
• 6 Journaling Ideas for Self-Development and Self-Discovery (via Dean Bokhari)
• Free For All Friday – No. 911 by Anita (via Philofaxy)
• How To Start A Journal You’ll Actually Love: 16 Expert Tips (via Vanilla Papers)
• Journaling — how and why I keep a daily diary (via James Gill)
• Junk Journaling Daily Practice by Faith Hale (via Creativebug)
• Austin Kleon’s Logbook posts

I want to say thank you to everyone who came by the table at the Chicago Show, attending any of my workshops or placing orders while I was away. I am so touched at all the kind words, support and confidence. I am so grateful to you all.

So, enjoy this week’s Link Love while I take a nap.

Pens:

• TGS 12th Anniversary: What’s in Your Pen Case These Days? (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• A comic diary and my thoughts on fountain pens (via Drewscape)
• Which pen got you into fountain pens? – by Ricardo (via Extra Fine Writing)
• How To Buy Pens From Japan (May 2026) (via fudefan)

Ink:

• Brown waterproof inks compared: Diamine Forever Ink, De Atramentis Document, SketchInk (via Parka Blogs)
• Cult Pens Deep Dark Brown (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Col-o-dex Update: 3 Years In (via Olive Octopus)
• Anderillium Ichthyoformes Series Ink Review (via The Pen Addict)

Pencils:

• Pencil Gradation Explained (via Yoseka Stationery Blog)

Planners, Notebooks & Paper:

• My New Wallet: Traveler’s Company 20th Anniversary Card-Sized Notebook (via CJs Wunderkammer)
• The Konik Method for Making Analog Notes (via Bullet Journal)
• My Paper System: Coming Full Circle (via Rachel’s Reflections)
• A Spring Refresh: Meet YOSEGI & MIZUHIKI Charms (via TRAVELER’S COMPANY USA Blog)

Art & Creativity:

• Freebie- 5/8″ & 3/4″ Sided Hexagons for English Paper Piecing (via Wearing History® Blog)
• Fifth-Generation Quilter Creates Narrative Quilts Inspired by African Tradition (via My Modern Met)
• Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Experiments (via RozWoundUp)
• My current Inktense and Tombow Selection (via Liz Steel)
• The Ever-Versatile Neocolor (and Latest Sketch Kit Improvement) (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
• Illustrator Spends Years Rendering Detailed Architectural Drawings (via My Modern Met)
• Laura K. Sayers’ Vibrant Postage Stamps Celebrate the Beauty of Everyday Moments (via Colossal)
• Recreating Low Friction En Plein Air Sketching Habit (via Comfortable Shoes Studio)

Other Interesting Things:

• NASA Just Dropped More Than 12,000 Photos from the Artemis II Mission (via Colossal)
• Book Review: Miniature Worlds: Files of Illustrators Who Draw Small Fantasy Worlds (via Parka Blogs)
• Here’s When National Geographic’s Museum of Exploration Opens This Summer (via My Modern Met)
• Hotel Retro revives graphic luggage labels from the golden age of travel (via It’s Nice That)
• I Bought Friendster for $30k — Here’s What I’m Doing With It… (via Kottke.org)
• The Pebble Time 2 Arrived! (via CJs Wunderkammer)

Check out our Patreon where you can get inspiration, gossip and free printables that include a biweekly podcast and more. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

We were set up in the lower level ballroom (AKA the basement, the dungeon, the “cool kids room”, and “where all the stationery vendors are”) with about 20 or so other vendors ranging from makers, leatherworkers, sticker makers and Blick*.

(*Why yes you can buy Col-o-ring directly from your local Blick Store now!)

Since I was working my table alone, I didn’t have many opportunities to walk around and see the 100+ vendors upstairs and, in some cases, I didn’t even know some vendors were at the show until I ran into them in the elevators.

As you can see, our little room was a great place filled with cool creators, smart people and we had such a good time. Many attendees enjoyed our little hideaway too. I heard many people say that our little ballroom was “where all the stationery was” which was interesting.

In the foyer downstairs there was a large table with ink testing stations, assorted tables and chairs and was quieter making a nice place for people to rest and relax.

VIPs and early arriving attendees were able to get a promotional tote from Atlas Stationers/Esterbrook. It was a really nice black cotton tote with cross body strap and a zipper closure (customer below shopping the Dime Novel Raven table has one). It was probably one of the nicest freebies I’ve ever seen at a pen show.

Over the weekend, I taught two workshops. I taught Gamify Your Life on Friday afternoon and then taught Sigils on Sunday morning. Both workshops sold out and were full of happy, active attendees. I think everyone enjoyed the workshops and got something out of them. Teaching these workshop has become one of my favorite things to do at events. I love helping people find new ways to use their notebooks and supplies and feel creative and productive. If you’re interested in taking one of my workshops, I will be teaching several workshops at the St. Louis Pen Show in June.

Overall, I think the Chicago Pen Show was a huge success for both vendors and attendees, even if I only got to see a little corner of the show.

Some notes about the hotel:

There were only a few small elevators that were SLOW. It made getting to and from rooms in busy times a long wait.

Guests staying in the hotel pretty much all agreed that hot water is not readily available. I took one tepid shower and had to make do in between. I luckily stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of the suburbs on Sunday night and took an epically long hot shower to make up for the weekend. The hotel was across the street from a large, high-end mall with lots of eateries for dinner but required crossing a large “strode” to get there.

The main ballroom was considered unusually cold and our downstairs room was a little warm.

News is that the 2027 Chicago Pen Show will be held at a different hotel a few minutes away that will allow vendors to be in one extra-large ballroom. I hope to see you at the Chicago Show in 2027 because I am definitely going to go back.

(*If you’re curious about the special limited edition Land of Inkin’ Col-o-ring, we will make them available in the shop soon. Consider signing up for our shop newsletter to be notified when they are listed.) 

At the same time, I have taken up quilting in the past few years. And you know what you need to do sometimes in quilting? You need to mark sewing lines on your fabric.

I recently worked on a project where I needed to mark approximately 200 fabric squares with sewing lines. Normally you mark the fabric on the back side so that once you’re done sewing an trimming it ends up on the inside of the quilt. And there are plenty of markers for this. Some folks use Frixion pens, some use water soluble fabric ink pens (to varying degrees of success). I even found a Sakura Gelly Roll pen in white that was sold in a few fabric stores as a way to mark dark fabrics.

Well, heck. I have so many writing implements… I don’t need a special pen! So here are my tests. In general they more or less look the same. I will say that in practice the mechanical pencil skips a lot on the fabric (the point is small enough to catch it). I’d probably have better luck with a regular old #2 pencil, but I married an engineer so Bic mechanicals are plentiful around our house. One of my favorite gel pens, the Pilot G-2 Juice writes better on a paper than fabric. And surprisingly, one of my ho-hum tests of yesteryear, the Pentel GlideWrite series, has proven the most reliable on my fabric!

Looks like I’ve got plenty more writing, and quilting, to do!

This is the story of Boxy, the little package who went on a big adventure.

Mr. Bob dropped little Boxy off at the USP station early one morning on his way to the office. He often helps Miss Ana out when she’s packing orders and updating web sites and feeding the cats.

It was a little hectic in the UPS station that morning and the staff was crowded with all the boxes and packages waiting to go out on the next truck. At one point, Katie, a new employee stumbled over a pile that had accumulated on the floor and the whole pile went tumbling.

Our hero, little Boxy was accidentally kicked under a table in the chaos and he was left to wonder “will anyone ever find me? I’m filled with happy little goodies for Miss Margaret and she’s going to be so sad if I don’t make it to her.” He tried to tap the table leg to get someone’s attention but his soft little Boxy sides didn’t make any noise. Poor little Boxy!

Many days passed and Boxy started to accumulate dust bunny friends, little scrap of paper detritus and even a few pieces of string. How long would he be under here before someone found him???