I had planned to share a video of my process but technology is not on my side today so in an effort to get this post up today, I'm hoping you all will be okay with photos this time since very little has changed from October or November. If I can pull the video footage, I'll add it to this post tomorrow.

I've been noticing teal, deep blue-greens everywhere and is a great color for winter. It's a deep and moody color but also bright and happy to help get through the dark, cold days and long nights of the winter. There are so many beautiful stationery options in this colorway. I really think I want a whole teal backpack full of teal notebooks, pens and ink.

I keep picking up more purple inks. I don't know what's possessed me but I keep finding new, different and interesting purply colors. Over the last few months, I grabbed a bottle of the Yachingstyle Bellflower, Ink Institute Echeveria Sahviana (Mexican Hens) and Diamine Inkvent Black Edition Potpourri. The Inks: I confess I bought Ink institute Mexican Hens because of the name.

For some reason, the end of minting the US penny hits hard for me. While I do believe they will remain in circulation for many years to come, it just feels weird even if I haven't paid cash for anything in months. Dig around in those change jars, couch cushions and under the seat in your car and drop all your pennies off at your bank so they stay in circulation for as long as possible.

One of my lovely readers sent me a sample of the new paper that Aura Estelle will be using in their planners for 2026. My plan was to review this new Tomoe River Paper 52gsm white (New Sanzen) paper on its own but it quickly became clear that a comparison was needed between not just the Aura Estelle but the papers being used in some of the other planners currently available.

This week, I'm excited to share the work of my amazing friend, Donovan Beeson. I met Donovan after I left Chicago (bummer!) when she was working on her Letter Writers Alliance project. Donovan is a fabulous illustrator, and shares my love with derelict office equipment and forgotten art supplies. We also both have a history as comic book counter help.

I have a lot to say about this week's link of the week, a follow-up for left-handed writers based on a previous article in The Strategist about favorite pens. Oh, I have opinions. Lots of opinions. If you want to hear more, be sure to subscribe to our Patreon because next week, I'll spill the tea. Until then, can use guess where I agreed and where I disagreed?

I can't help but watch videos where people share what's in their purses or backpacks. They're a fun way to learn more about someone and their interests. If it means I'm nosy, so be it.  It's only fair that I share what's in my bag after my voyeuristic swiping on Instagram reels. To keep within the theme of this Well-Appointed Desk, let's take a tour through my illustrated journal travel kit.

I grabbed a luxurious Fabriano Classic Artist's Journal at the Dallas Pen Show. It's a delicious stack of 192 sheets of Fabriano drawing paper. Fabriano is a very famous Italian papermaker known in the art world for their drawing, watercolor and printmaking paper. To have a big, solid block of this fancy Italian paper that I can write, draw, doodle and collage on is so inspiring.

I grabbed a luxurious Fabriano Classic Artist's Journal at the Dallas Pen Show. It's a delicious stack of 192 sheets of Fabriano drawing paper. Fabriano is a very famous Italian papermaker known in the art world for their drawing, watercolor and printmaking paper. To have a big, solid block of this fancy Italian paper that I can write, draw, doodle and collage on is so inspiring.

Fountain Pen Day is a huge celebration of the pen and stationery community and this year is no different. Not only do we want to offer you great deals but we also want to remind you to shop at all the other small businesses participating in the 2025 Fountain Pen Day events, sales and deals. The Well-Appointed Desk Shop is offering 20% off all merchandise on…

A little life catch-up: Unfortunately, my dental surgery got postponed until tomorrow. Apparently, I was too nervous a patient for them without anti-anxiety meds. I warned them when I called to schedule the appointment. Why were they so surprised? I know its not a huge big deal for most people but I've never had anything like this done before so I am a little freaked out.

In honor of their 10th anniversary of Federalist Pens created FranklyX, an exclusive Robert Oster Shimmy Ink ($20). The ink is a black base color with champagne/light bronze shimmer particles to create a golden color-shifting shimmer showing green, grey and blue hues as well as the top color of gold. When compared to other inks in my collection, J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey…

First, Happy Halloween!!! May your day be filled with pumpkins, costumes and all the thrills and chills you can handle. I'm a fan of cute spooky, not scary spooky so I'm more Hello Kitty in a ghost costume than horror films. But I will be eating my weight in candy and drinking as much pumpkin spice beverages as I can stomach.

Another month, another chance to start over on my planner. This month, inspired by autumn vibes and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am pulling out all my leaf washi tape, mushroom stickers, and anything warm brown, russet, golden like the leaves that are finally starting to change color here in the Midwest. I was hoping to have my new sticker sheet that matches the November printable (available free to download to all…

Another month, another chance to start over on my planner. This month, inspired by autumn vibes and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am pulling out all my leaf washi tape, mushroom stickers, and anything warm brown, russet, golden like the leaves that are finally starting to change color here in the Midwest. I was hoping to have my new sticker sheet that matches the November printable (available free to download to all…

Another month, another chance to start over on my planner. This month, inspired by autumn vibes and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am pulling out all my leaf washi tape, mushroom stickers, and anything warm brown, russet, golden like the leaves that are finally starting to change color here in the Midwest. I was hoping to have my new sticker sheet that matches the November printable (available free to download to all…

I am scheduled for dental surgery on Tuesday so I am writing and editing Link Love ahead of schedule. Hopefully, all goes well and I will just be all "Thanks, Past Ana! Now you can sleep late on Wednesday." But, on the chance that I am completely high on Tylenol with Codeine, enjoy Link Love and be sure you brush your teeth, floss and get regular cleanings.

While attending the DC Pen Show, I had an opportunity to participate in a survey at the Pilot USA table. The tam at Pilot was asking attendees to compare to types of paper using various pens and asked a series of questions as to why we preferred one over the other. Upon completing the survey and giving the team my preference, I was given a small notebook with the paper I liked best as a thanks for participating.

While attending the DC Pen Show, I had an opportunity to participate in a survey at the Pilot USA table. The tam at Pilot was asking attendees to compare to types of paper using various pens and asked a series of questions as to why we preferred one over the other. Upon completing the survey and giving the team my preference, I was given a small notebook with the paper I liked best as a thanks for participating.

I met Mike Antkowiak at the St. Louis Pen Show several years ago and have followed him on Instagram since then. Mike got his start with fountain pens early in life but didn't really start using them until he discovered he could combine fountain pens with his love for drawing. Like so many of the people we have featured in…

Over the last couple months, I've seen such enthusiasm around the new Zento line of Uni-Ball gel pens. They are consistently sold out with massive fervor when they are re-stocked. I wanted to find out what the big deal was about. I decided to try both the standard Uni-ball ZENTO Gel Pen (0.38 mm Cloud Body) ($3.30) and the fancier…

My freelance work has been a little slow this week and so my initial reaction was sheer panic and stress. Then more level heads prevailed. I decided to tackle some of the very long list of Desk projects this week. As a result, I am slowly making progress on new designs for stamps and stickers and I'm getting inspired for more projects.

While attending the Dallas Pen Show I had the opportunity to talk with the rep from Chartpak, the distributor of many popular art and design supplies. He was displaying new products from Kuretake -- their fountain pen ink lines including the Art Nouveau series which is inspired by the art nouveau art movement which was in full swing when Kuretake launched on to the art scene back in 1902.

This summer, Esterbrook launched their new line of fountain pens: The Niblet ($175). This pen is definitely designed to compete with the Kaweco Sport and other small, pocketable pens. I got the Sea Glass model and the color is stunning and definitely reminds me of sea glass, oceans and hints of creamy shell and a little pearl oyster shimmer. This is the color combo that will totally work for my annual Mermaid month next year.