If you see the Kaleidocraft Prints table at a pen show you can custom build your Washi Wallet in person. I built mine at the Chicago Pen Show. Online, you can select which color cards you want and they will sent it to you built but it sure was fun to build my own.

Each Washi Wallet includes:

• 1 Washi Wallet cover and backer
• 3 removable washi tape inserts
• 1 built-in washi tape cutter
• 1 screw assembly for changing inserts

With my three cards, I was able to reduce 15 rolls of washi– color coordinating with the cards, of course– in to three small card which easily slip into my travel kit (and I mostly travel from my studio to my couch).

I will probably invest in the Washi Wallet Rainbow Expansion Pack ($30) which will allow me to color coordinate each card with my ridiculous washi collection for all my planner needs in 2027. Then I can swap out the cards in the wallet each month.

This is such a cleaver idea and the name is so good. I have joked that Kaleidocraft needs to trademark the name.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Kaleidocraft Prints for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

My first experience with Penultimate inks was at the Ink Crawl following the Pelikan Hub. There were nine colors at the Ink Crawl and they were all amazing. A lot of the inks included shimmer but some were extreme sheen. I fell in love with Paladin immediately which was a purply grey with shimmer and made it to the top of my “must buy” list. all of the colors were beautiful and surprisingly Rogue, the most black-ish ink seemed to be super smooth and dense. When was the last time I wanted to buy a black ink? Its good.

In the end I bought five colors: Cleric (a sale version of the ink due to some color inconsistencies), Paladin, Sorcerer, Rouge and Barbarian. I wanted to get Warlock, Fighter and maybe Ranger but they were sold out by the time I was able to get to the Penultimate Inks.

Three of colors were shimmer, from left to right Cleric, Sorcerer and Paladin. The shimmer in Sorcerer is  holographic and looks so cool. The shimmer in Paladin and Cleric is a silvery color.

The version of Cleric I received is much brighter than the version on the Penultimate Inks site. Its pretty but it was an oopsy bottle so be prepared if you buy your own. The color is a little more grey and desaturated. I think I’ll actually prefer the more subtle version but I do like this bright, happy version.

Barbarian is a bright red with tons of sheen. Rogue is a purple-based black ink with minimal shading but with a hint of sheen. It might be my new favorite non-permanent black.

Other ink colors available:

Warlock is a deep purple sheener with a shimmer. Yum! Must order soon!

Wizard is a deep blue with a lot of sheen and gold shimmer. So magical!

Above is Bard, a surprisingly usable golden yellow shimmer ink. Kind of cool, right?

Ink Comparison:

So, despite the fact that Cleric is a mistake color, it is a great shimmer alternative to Inspired Blue, if that’s how you roll. None of the inks I compared with Cleric are not shimmer inks but are a close match to the base color.

Paladin is a multichromatic that reminds me of the Sailor multichromatic inks like Kyokkou and Ink Institute Cat at Dusk but the hues are slightly different AND Paladin adds shimmer into the inky magic.

While Rogue is pretty similar to a lot of other black inks, the smooth “wet” quality of the ink is quite pleasant to use. Kaweco Pearl Black is the closest in terms of density of color and base hue.

I was shocked that I had other bright pinks in the range of Sorcerer. None of them are shimmery inks but close in color, particularly Rose Quarz and Rose Pink. Australian Opal Pink is less saturated but a similar hue.

Finally, Barbarian is not at all similar to the inks I thought it would be. I thought Sailor Irori would be close but its a lot lighter red-to-red-orangey. Krishna Brown Pink is a similar sheen but darker and Diamine Ancient Copper is much more orangey-brown. So, Barbarian is filling a gap in my collection I didn’t know I had.

Penulitmate Inks is a new, small maker creating fun, unique inks and I want to support businesses like these. If you want to support other nerds with mad ink skills, let me know if you place an order! I like it when I can enable other folks to support small businesses too!

I bought these inks with my own money. Opinions are my own.  

Things the Jinhao 82s are:

• Very affordable, approx. $10USD or less through most channels
• Available in an array of barrel colors
• Standard international converters included, not proprietary converters or cartridges

Things the Jinhao 82s are  NOT:

• Does not have a gold nib. Strictly steel.
• Limited nib options: EF, F and M only
• Not Japanese nib sizing

The Nib Comparisons

To make this a fair comparison, I filled all three nib sizes with Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku. I am also including sample writing from Sailor ProGears in EF, F and MF (I don’t have a ProGear in M so MF is as close as I have). The ProGears were all filled already so I went with whatever ink was loaded. The MF was not filled so it got Ku-Jaku as well.

The Jinhao 82 is actually quite smooth in writing. For the price point, they really are good performing pens in a TON of color options.

The Jinhao nibs are much wider than the ProGear Slims. Jinhao nibs are probably more comparable a European nib sizing than Japanese nib sizes. So, if you are hoping to get a budget Sailor F or EF pen by buying the Jinhao 82, you’re going to be disappointed. However, if you want a pen comparable to the Sailor MF, than the Jinhao 82 in EF is probably pretty similar.

In writing, I did find that the nib widths in the Jinhao 82 pens did not seem as different from one another as the Sailor nibs but there is some variation. I didn’t notice enough difference between the Jinhao EF and F nib on the same paper with the same ink (see image above). If I were to repurchase I would only get the EF and M and skip the F since its not that different from the EF.

I did occasionally notice a skip when writing with the Jinhao 82 pens but I am an overhanded left-handed writer so it could be a “me problem” but I don’t have skipping issues with other (higher priced) pens.

Is it a fair trade for a $10 pen? — absolutely. Would I stand for skipping in a Sailor ProGear Slim? — not even a little.

Do you own a Jinhao 82? Would you consider buying one? What nib size?

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.

Now, for the winner of our Owl Paper Co. A5 Undated Planner:

I hope this A5 planner convinces you to give them another shot!

Stay tuned for more giveaways soon!

Not only did people share their love of pens and stationery with us but also with each other. I’m always tickled to watch one attendee help another by recommending their favorite ink, helping someone find something on the ink racks or just make new friends simply flipping through the ink swatch books and ooh-ing and ahh-ing together over the colors.

Thanks to the Dromgoole’s for continuing to allow me to be a part of their team. Every show with them is a true joy even if I have to alphabetize inks, lift heavy boxes and crawl around on the floor looking for something I put under the table for “safe keeping”.

Thanks to Ardwolf Ink for answering all my questions about their fascinating new ink line but of course I forgot to ask the most important question which was “How can people buy your inks after the show?!?!” because I forgot to pick some up during the show.

Thanks to Josh John of Precision Writing Works for making my Kaweco Sport actually an EF nib.

There was more kindness and joy throughout the weekend as well. On Friday night there was a Pelikan Hub event hosted by Hubmaster Mike (sing that like the Beastie Boys please, “Hub D in da House.. say hey now!”) and everyone who wanted to attend were invited so I was able to go. Mike put together a history of Pelikan slide show and had folks in the audience share their Pelikan stories. Then hosted an Ink Crawl that was so much fun and introduced folks to new ink colors, new brands and new ink makers.

Big thanks to others who brought me gifts and kindness throughout the weekend like a mini Traveler’s notebook (you didn’t tell me your name! Leave a comment below if this was you since I want to send you more business!), a tiny magnifying glass (Natalie), chocolates and snacks (Kimberly), stickers and washi (Danielle) and probably a bunch of other things I am forgetting but will remember the moment I hit post. For those folks, consider this your full page ad in Variety after the Oscars. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Pen people really are the best sorts of people. Thanks to everyone for making the Dallas Pen Show awesome this year.

Pens:

• I Custom Dyed a Pilot Kakuno! (via Heather Marie Plans on YouTube)
• Pen Pit Stop : LAMY AL-star Harry Potter Limited Edition Series (2024) (via inkxplorations)
• Pairings Party: Kaweco Sport Marble Ocean, Pennonia x SultilsAttila Stormy Meadow (via The Pen Addict)
• Nebotek (II) (via Crónicas Estilográficas)

Ink:

• My Favorite Red Inks in 2026 (and Why I Still Decided to Make My Own) (via The Gentleman Stationer)

Notebooks & Paper:

• Interview with Scrively: What Makes a Good Notebook? (via Scrively)
• Review: Kinbor Undated Weekly Planner (via Inky Imaginings)
• Free For All Friday No 933 Tabs by Laurie (via Philofaxy)
• Apica Notebooks – A Quick Review (via The Pen Addict)
• analogue system prototype – Hobonichi Cousin // wakako (via Baum-kuchen)

Art & Creativity:

• What freelance life taught me about my ADHD, burnout and what I need to make great work (via It’s Nice That)
• Book Review: The Art of Rachel and Terry Dodson (via Parka Blogs)
• Drawing With Friends in San Jose (via Apple-Pine)
• Using colour blocks (via Liz Steel)

Other Interesting Things:

• Still summer (a mixtape) (via Austin Kleon)
• Digital life might have seemed perfect for a while, but paper is making a comeback (via Flow Magazine)
• A Pelikan Hub recap, London UK, 2026. (via Fountain pen blog)

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!

I was browsing for stationery news headlines this week when I found an article in Publisher’s Weekly announcing that Barnes & Noble has acquired Levenger. Levenger is a lifestyle brand known for its stationery products, writing instruments and office and desk decor. So I thought it merited a mention on a blog dedicated to desk space.

I don’t know what my reaction is though. On the plus side, Barnes & Noble has always had a nice selection of journals and planners in its physical stores. I don’t recall seeing a large selection of pens there before, but I’m not opposed to it. I’m also in favor of sharing more delightful analog tools and products with audiences everywhere, and it sounds like a selection of products will be introduced fairly soon. Plus they are keeping the Levenger headquarters and employees in place and are continuing to sell through the Levenger website. This seems like a great opportunity for Levenger.

However, I can’t help but be a little wary of the large company purchasing the smaller one. B&N has announced it will sell select items in its own stores and in the future will add some items through Paper Source, which it acquired in 2021. I don’t know if you remember that Paper Source declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021 (likely how it led to the B&N acquisition) but that whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth. Again, I want to see small and medium-size stationery brands succeed in the marketplace, but I’m also not sure how to feel about large corporations entering the space.

Do you have thoughts?

Links to everything mentioned in the video:

• Orilum Magical Readathon Journal Video
• Audrey Matteson charms
• On the Paper Trail LIVE in Nashville
• On the Paper Trail LIVE Workshops
• Lauren Phelps A6 Live Plan Dream Notebook
• Studio Calico Rolling Date Stamp (no longer available)
• Customizing a Soolla Bag
• Aura Estelle B6 Magnet Planner
• Drillog Kodachi Dip Pen Review
• B6 Leather Notebook Cover (Etsy seller no longer available)
• Lauren Phelps Tip-in Tape
• French Paper Letter Sheets
• Washi Station Cat Washi
• Washi Tape Cards Hack Video

Pens for October:

• Pentel Fude Sign Brush Pens
• Writech Dual Color Olive and Black 0.5
• Uniball Signo DX 0.38 Green Black
• Zebra Sarasa Nano 0.3 Camel Yellow
• Staedtler Triplus Fineliner in Lilac
• Sailor Pro Gear Slim Celestial Grey EF
• Benu Viper (no longer available)
• Nagasawa Pro Gear Fresh Green (color no longer available)
• Sailor Pro Color 21k (no longer available and this one was custom built)
• Pilot Cavalier (color no longer available)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this post were provided free of charge by JetPens and others for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The Owl Paper A5 Undated Bullet Journal features a Caramel Macchiato leatherette cover. It is a 6-month, undated bullet journal. For each month, there is:

• a two-page monthly calendar spread
• followed by a two-page habit tracker spread
• followed by a two-page vertical weekly spread
• then there’s eight daily pages with a timeline lightly printed in the margin

There are also 50 additional pages in the back for additional notes.  This planner also features Delphina 80gsm paper and has a total of 384 pages. The cover is a camel leatherette.

The planner feature a very light grid printed on the pages, a two-page monthly calendar and a vertical weekly calendar spread.

(There is a slight ding in the upper corner but it will not effect the binding or usability. Thanks, USPS!)

GIVEAWAY: We have ONE Owl Paper Co. A5 Undated Planner in camel leatherette to giveaway to one lucky winner.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and let me know what size planner or journal you usually use OR if you’ve tried or heard of Owl Paper Co.?  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 Tuesday, September 29, 2026. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. 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.

In Link Love news, its a very arty week and art markers get some serious love. USPS provides shipping guidelines for the upcoming holiday season and there’s some tips for reusing old planner inserts from Philofaxy. Enjoy!

Pens:

• A Joy of Acrylic Markers: Two Different Sets of Arrtx Reviewed (via Apple-Pine)
• Hinze Pen Co. Sleipnir Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
• VIDEO: gourmetpens LIVE | episode 97 | schondsgn lil’ dipper aluminum dip nib (via Gourmet Pens)

Ink:

• Ink Review #2910: Ink Institute Cat at Midnight (via Mountain of Ink)
• Ink Review #2909: Pennonia Fenyves Boreal (via Mountain of Ink)

Planners, Notebooks & Paper:

• A Successful Pivot (via From the Pen Cup)
• Paper Sizes Explained (via JetPens Blog)
• Repeating Years? (via Philofaxy)
• September Reset (via Philofaxy)

Art & Creativity:

• Miata’s Birthday Portrait (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
• A Joy of Acrylic Markers: Limited Palette Experiments. (via Apple-Pine)
• Playing with Markers in Backgrounds (via RozWoundUp)
• Using collage in my everyday sketching (via Liz Steel)
• Step Into Surrealist Seasons With Mulgil Kim’s Contemporary Paintings (via My Modern Met)
• Sketchbook covers (via Drewscape)

Other Interesting Things:

• Best San Francisco Pen Show Ever 2026 Edition (via The Penguin Post)
• Art by Humans, For Humans: A Letter from Our Editorial Director (via Colossal)
• I didn’t know Beehiiv had a program to support independent journalists… (via Kottke.org)
• Music for the Dyeing (via Kottke.org)
• Postal Service Recommends 2026 Holiday Mailing and Shipping Dates (via USPS Newsroom)
• Pen Rotation Transition (via Rachel’s Reflections)
• Pelikan Hubs 2026 this Friday Has Pelikan Let Us Down? (via dapprman)
• My Stationery Origin Story (via Inky Imaginings)
• Video-Review: Galen Leather “Expansi-Pouch” (Wide) 10-Slot Pen Case (via Scrively)
• Sunday Reading for September 20, 2026 (The We-Have-a-New-Storefront Edition!) (via The Gentleman Stationer)

In case you’re curious, I build each Link Love illustration from bits and pieces of vintage artwork collected or purchased through reputable stock illustration sites. No AI is used in making the art or building our curated list of links each week. 

If you love Link Love, you’ll love our Patreon where you can get inspiration, gossip and free printables plus a  biweekly podcast and more. Your patronage supports this site. Without our Patrons, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

Ayame is a dual shading ink. It starts as a muted darker green (more of the sage) and then shades into violet and pink tones. I can also see bits of a brighter green there in closeups.

This ink is gorgeous! I don’t know that it’s my original intended, but I feel like I want to put it in every pen now. Obviously it shows up darker in my splotches and brushing, but I do think in a medium nib it would be dark enough for decent writing.

As far as comparisons go, I don’t have anything that’s even close. Ukikusa is bright green and not close at all. Styx Valley Forest Green picks up the darker tones in Amaye, but is way too dark. I love that I’ve filled a whole in my color options!

DISCLAIMER: Special thanks to Jet Pens who sent us the ink sample for the purposes of review. Other items may have been received for review, or purchased with our own funds. Please see the About page for more details.

• Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00) and Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
• Pens: Pilot Iro-Utushi Dip Pen (F, M, $11 each), Komamono Lab Fonte Glass Body Pen ($7.50)
• Swatches: Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
• Ink: Sailor Manyo Ayame (50mL for $24)