Extra Staples #0009

Boom, baby! I’m back with lots of links. Maybe too much, heh.

(Background music: I Heart Office Supplies by Riley Armstrong, as heard on NPR’s Don't Take His Stapler: 'Paper Clip' Author's Passion For Office Supplies). 

“I’m totally normal!” ♫ ♪

Stationery-related

National Stationery Show 2015, Part 1 – Oh So Beautiful Paper
National Stationery Show in NYC was a couple weeks ago, and many blogs are doing round-ups. In case you didn’t know, NSS is a trade show, a huge event for creators, vendors, and admirers of greeting cards, stationery, craft supplies, etc. Poppytalk also has a nice round-up here. Loads of pictures!

Letter of Recommendation: Uni-ball Signo UM-151 - NYTimes.com by Tom Vanderbilt
w00t! A New York Times piece on one of my favorite gel pens! Not only that, some of my favorite stationery folks, JetPens, Kinokuniya, and Brad Dowdy, the Pen Addict, are included in it. Brad’s top-five pens are even listed in the print version. Congrats!!

Catching up With Caroline Weaver, Owner of C.W. Pencil Enterprise | Travel + Leisure
and
A Graphite Interview with Caroline Weaver, of C.W. Pencil Enterprise – Pencil Revolution
Great to see that CW Pencil Enterprise is getting lots of press, and these interviews were interesting and fun to read.

In A Digital Chapter, Paper Notebooks Are As Relevant As Ever : NPR (via JetPens)
More big press in the stationery community. That’s a good thing.

A Penchant for Paper: Finding Journal Inspiration
I’m pretty content with how I’ve been journaling but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about how I can improve it. Heather’s post on finding inspiration in an old nature diary made me excited about journaling all over again.

Kokuyo IDEA Notebooks (Tomoe River Paper) | pencilsandotherthings
Woah! I didn’t know Kokuyo made notebooks with Tomoe River Paper, and this graph grid version looks quite tempting.

I Applaud You – No Apology Necessary | Pete Denison
Well said. I whole-heartedly agree! (I must learn to quell my apologetic thoughts whenever I lag behind my self-imposed “editorial calendar” and remember to have fun with this site).

Appointed Notebook Ink Test by Sketchscape (Brian Draghi) on Instagram
I missed out on the Appointed’s Kickstarter campaign but it’s good to see from this photo that the paper looks promising. American-made, beautiful notebooks? Yes, please. Looking forward to the launch of their online shop soon.

Midori Himitsu Fusen (secret sticky notes)
Midori makes all kinds of fun desk accessories, and these new animal-face notes are designed to give you some level of privacy when using them to send messages. Cute! I wonder if any US stores will carry them soon.

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto x Nicola Multi Pens
Ah, Japan and its abundant limited editions and cross-promotions. These designs are in collaboration with a teen magazine called Nicola. That egg and milk design cracks me up, I kinda want it.

Things I tried recently (and liked)

L!FE (or LIFE) stenographers’ spiral note pad, as seen in my Shangri-La Hotel pencil post. Smooth and easy on the eyes.

For Fun

The owner of Daikaya shows you how to eat ramen — the right way | The Washington Post
Slurp away, folks. Funny story: At one ramen place in Tokyo, I was offered a paper bib to wear around my neck, and when I declined, they gave me a funny look. I should’ve accepted it because I ended up getting some oily droplets on my coat from slurping. Anyway, it was interesting to observe that every girl in the restaurant was wearing a paper bib to protect their clothing. (Why not men? Sheesh.)

APAK ‘Pieces of Dreams’ Exhibition – Outré Gallery
Any Melbourne fans of APAK Studio? I’ve been a long-time admirer of this husband-and-wife duo’s whimsical and colorful work. If you’re in the area, check it out!

Inquisitive #39: Favourite Album: Federico Viticci and ‘(What's the Story) Morning Glory?’ - Relay FM
I think I squealed when I heard that Federico Viticci of MacStories chose this Oasis album. It’s one of MY favorite albums! :D

I can feel the summer Field Notes edition coming up. Are you excited???

Cheers,
Jinnie

Pencil from Shangri-La Hotel

One of my favorite pencils is this simple, black pencil from Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver, BC. I don’t know if this type of behavior is common among stationery enthusiasts (please say it is) but whenever I stay at hotels, I like to check out the hotel’s stationery, e.g. postcards, letter sets, pens, etc. If they look nice enough, I bring some home as travel momentos. In some cases, I actually send postcards and letters to friends and family. *gasp* I have yet to come across a hotel pen that I’ve liked but I’ve learned that pencils are a different story, and this pencil from Shangri-La taught me to never overlook hotel stationery.

Hopefully Shangri-La still gets their pencils from the same source because I find this pencil pretty fantastic (mine is from 2011). Back then, I didn’t think much of it but as soon as I started using it, I instantly regretted bringing home just one. It’s getting shorter and shorter, and it’s making me very sad.

One of the main reasons why I like it is that it has a triangular barrel, which I prefer for better grip. It’s minimal in design, with a slightly glossy, black finish. Other than the hotel’s bold, gold “S” logo, there is no other printed information. I’m guessing the softness of the lead is comparable to a Japanese HB or B. It may not look like it but the core is well centered; I blame my sharpener for not doing its job evenly. As for the wood, I’m not sure what type it is, but it’s lighter in color than most pencils I’ve encountered. And no eraser! I take no issue with that, as I’ve explained in my first pencil post.

The lead feels softer and darker than I’d initially expected. It writes smoothly with consistent opacity. This is my first detailed pencil post, so I’m still not familiar with the most descriptive, appropriate terms but the core feels soft without feeling too “gritty” or giving off graphite “dusts.” Perhaps “slightly waxy” is a better description. And did I mention the triangular barrel? If you couldn’t tell by now, I’m pretty attached to this pencil, partly because it was from a trip and partly because it exceeded my expectations. Well, the fact that it was complimentary doesn’t hurt either… Wait, these ARE complimentary, right??

I’m assuming a single pencil isn’t enough to convince you to stay at a particular hotel. But if you happen to stay at a Shangri-La Hotel, do check out their pencil and let me know how you like it! Hopefully they haven’t changed anything and use the same type across all their locations. I remember the Vancouver Shangri-La was quite pleasant; I had no complaints. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to stay there again (M and I were able to stay there with a special grand-opening discount) but I’ll always think of it as that nice hotel with nice pencils. Heh.

Woah, Jinnie pretends to be a legit pencil reviewer! *cough*  The notepad is LIFE Stenographers' notebook, with pale yellow pages and blue graph grid.

Do you ever take hotel stationery home? Have you found any hotel pens or pencils you like?

PS: Speaking of Vancouver, check out Josh Ginter’s series of posts on his recent trip to Vancouver. His photos are great, and it's always interesting to read how other people travel. Katherine at Feather Factor also has a nice post on Vancouver here. I’ve been to Vancouver a few times and love it as well. Just for its ramen scene and Paper-Ya, I would visit again.