Day 6’s ink is Diamine Fir & Fog, a chameleon ink. The base ink colour is an attractive dark grey grey, which is very evocative of fir trees in the fog. The chameleon effect is subtle but lovely – shimmers range from green, through blue and silver, to pink. What you see depends on the lighting conditions, the angle at which you view the paper, and the width of the nib. I used a generous Lamy Safari medium nib.
Col-o-ring swab
The base ink, without the chameleon effect, would have been excellent as an Inkvent ink in and of itself. It’s a muted and characterful green that offers a good amount of shading and interest and is dark enough to be used not just for holiday correspondence or for journaling. The chameleon effect isn’t in your face, over the top shimmer. It’s more like a little secret that only those in the know get to experience.
Writing and sketching sample
Today’s bear is a Canterbury Bear with no name. I like his “frosted tips” fur and his owl-like face (and the fact that he’s from a small maker), which is why I purchased him.
The Bear
Diamine Fir & Fog is a wonderful ink, a great addition to the Inkvent calendar, and definitely an ink that I would consider purchasing a full bottle of in the future. I think it’s a great wintery ink, and it would look even better on cream coloured paper.
What do you think of Fir & Fog? Did you catch the chameleon effect?
Day 5’s ink is Diamine Marie Rose, a standard ink that looks like a thousand island dressing. Apparently Marie Rose is a British seafood or cocktail sauce. I never heard of it before, likely because I don’t eat seafood. In any case the ink colour is unique and beautiful, with plenty of interesting shading.
Col-o-ring swab.
Although Marie Rose is a light ink, it’s dark enough to be readable, and would work particularly well in thin papered notebooks, as there’s bound to be no ghosting or bleed-through.
Writing and sketching sample.
Today’s bear comes with very little information, beyond a price tag and an embroidered tag with the name “SHULTZ” on it. He’s tiny (about the size of a Col-o-ring) but full of character, and proper bear.
The bear
I like Diamine Marie Rose and I’d see myself using it in the future. It’s a light and optimistic ink that’s well behaved, interesting and unique. It makes up a bit for yesterday’s disaster ink.
What do you think? Do you see yourself buying a bottle of Marie Rose ink?
Day 4’s ink is Diamine Smoky Tobacco. It’s a scented sepia ink and I loathe it with every fiber of my being. I hate that it’s named after tobacco, I hate that it’s a scented ink, I hate that it stinks to high heaven, I don’t like the ink’s flow and I’m not a fan of the colour. I have no idea what Diamine were thinking naming an ink after Tobacco and then having it reek of stale Tobacco but it’s a terrible idea and a terrible ink. It went straight to the trash can after this review, and the pen is about to be thoroughly cleaned out.
Col-o-ring swab
The issue is that this ink stinks so much that it actually made my whole notebook smell like it had been in a smokers house for the past few years. I am considering ripping the page out and throwing it to the garbage. If it still smells this badly in a day or two that’s what I’ll do.
Writing and sketching sample
Today’s bear is one of the prettiest in my collection. Her name is Zelda and she’s a Charlie Bear. Her body is so, so heavy but her mohair fur is as soft as it looks. It’s like stroking clouds.
Today’s bear
I am so angry at Diamine for naming an ink after Tobacco, and then going out of their way to give us the full Tobacco experience. Here’s hoping that tomorrow’s ink is better, and that this is the last of Diamine’s scented inks, at least for this year’s Inkvent. Otherwise we might be getting a “dead rat carcass in the chimney” ink, or a “rotting wreath” one.
Day 3’s ink is Diamine Carousel. It’s a red pigment ink – which should mean that it’s waterproof, something that I will test later on.
Col-o-ring swab
Carousel is an orangey/coral red ink that flowed well in my Lamy Safari medium nib. There’s a bit of shading with this ink, which surprised me. I wasn’t expecting any shading because it’s a pigmented ink, and from my experience they tend to be “flatter”. In any case Carousel is a bright and cheerful colour, perfect for the season.
Sketch and writing sample.
I had to check if Diamine Carousel is waterproof, so I sketched one of the beaches near my apartment. I then waited for the ink to completely dry, and painted over it with watercolours. It worked perfectly, as you can see, and I actually like the effect of sketching with such a peculiar colour of ink.
Watercolour sketch
Today’s bear is Lialu, and he’s a Dean’s bear, and another one of the few blue bears that I own. Look what a serious little fellow he is:
Today’s bear – very dignified and distinguished
Diamine Carousel is a fun ink that’s completely waterproof when dry, and a joy to sketch with. I will certainly enjoy sketching with it, and time will tell if I’ll be adding it to my waterproof ink collection later next year. For scenes with lots of greens I think it would work particularly well, as it makes greens pop.
Day 2’s ink is Diamine Energy, a purple ink with golden green sheen. I used a Lamy Safari with a medium nib to test this ink out. The ink is very saturated, as I’d expect from a sheening ink, but there’s so much green sheen on it that it makes the ink look dusty.
Col-o-ring swab
Energy can be mistaken for a black ink in certain angles and from a distance, which is a bit of a shame as the base purple colour is gorgeous.
Close up on the colour and the sheen
The sheen is interesting – there’s a cooler, bluish undertone to it that makes it more dusky and more muted than the standard golden green sheen that usually appears in dark purple inks.
Writing sample
The ink has a generous flow, and it will likely sheen even on relatively absorbent paper. I didn’t test it on Tomoe River Paper but I’m guessing that you’d likely not even see the base purple colour there.
A closeup of the sheen in this ink
There is an issue with such a dark, saturated and wet ink: ghosting and bleed-through. Both occurred here, to the point where I’m likely to just dump this ink out rather than use it for writing. This is an ink that is either for those willing to use only one side of the page, or those using very thick paper.
Visible show through and bleed through
Today’s bear is Jayson. He’s literally one-of-a-kind – an artist bear made by Cornfield Cubs. He’s got a bit of a goofy face, which is why I bought him.
The bear
Diamine Energy is an interesting ink. I like the original name, though I don’t think it really fits the Christmas/holiday/winter theme of the Inkvent calendar. I wouldn’t buy a bottle of this ink because the sheen is too much for my liking and the ghosting and bleed-through make it impractical. What do you think?
Day 1’s ink is Diamine Celestial Skies. It’s a dark, saturated teal shimmer ink with plenty of red sheen on the proper paper. It’s a festive start for the Teal Edition calendar, and I love how rich and regal this ink looks on the page.
Col-o-Ring swab. I used a Lamy Al Star with a broad nib to test this ink
The ink has a silvery green shimmer that looks golden under certain lighting conditions and in certain angles. It has a generous flow, and I do see myself contemplating purchasing a full bottle of it when Diamine starts selling Teal Edition inks sometime in the middle of next year. With the shimmer, the sheen and a good amount of shading, plus the wonderful base ink colour, this ink will never be boring.
Writing and sketching sample.
I think I have only three blue bears, and Finn here is one of them. Once I saw the ink colour I decided he’d be a nice bear to start off this year’s Inkvent reviews with. He’s five years old, though he doesn’t look it, and I love his pensive face and outreaching “hug me” paws.
As the year comes to a close, it’s time for this year’s Diamine Inkvent. This year’s calendar is the Teal Edition – one of my favourite colours. I am guessing that it will include some version of Diamine’s new Forever pigmented inks. It will likely also include shimmer, chameleon, sheening and super sheening inks, scented inks (alas) and likely also a few surprises. I have done as much as possible to not read about the inks in it in advance – the surprise is most of the fun.
My Diamine Teal Edition Inkvent calendar.
I have been reviewing the Diamine Inkvent calendar since it was first issued, and it’s been a huge undertaking, and a fun one. You can find my review of the 2019 Blue edition starting here, the 2021 Red edition starting here, the 2022 Green edition starting here, the 2023 Purple edition starting here, and the 2024 Black edition starting here.
This year I’ve decided to streamline things a bit. I’m very busy, and my calendar arrived very, very late due to shipping issues so I haven’t really had a head start creating the review posts, and they take a LOT of time and effort. To cut down on the overhead I will not be photographing the individual doors or bottles – they aren’t really interesting. I will be creating a writing sample and a teddy bear sketch for each ink – using teddy bears from my collection as models. This year, however, the sketch and the writing sample will be done in a single notebook – the Apica Premium C.D Notebook. It has very fountain pen friendly paper that does a good job of showing off individual ink properties.
Apica Premium C.D. Notebook
Like in previous years, I will be using my trusty Col-o-ring to swatch and sample each ink. I will also be actually filling fountain pens instead of just using dip pens to test the inks. I think that it’s provides more insight into how an ink behaves in a pen, particularly in terms of flow. Unlike in previous years I have a brand new ultrasonic cleaner, so hopefully the pen cleanup won’t be too bad…
Col-o-ring (no 2025 inks are swabbed here yet)
Have a great Inkvent to all who celebrate! I can’t wait to dig into this year’s calendar and see what Diamine came up with.
Yesterday was the 2025 Pelikan Hubs event. Pelikan is so wonderful to organize these events, so generous and thoughtful with their gifts, and I love the company and their pens so much that I’m really heartbroken that this isn’t just a glowingly happy post.
This isn’t Pelikan’s fault. Their organization was as usual, impeccable. Their gift was tremendous – a beautiful box, with the Edelstein’s ink of the year Apricot Achat, a postcard and a notepad. Everything was so well designed it was breathtaking to open the box and see it all laid out perfectly.
The box
Here’s the open box and the postcard:
The open box and the postcard
Here’s the notepad. You can see the design on the cover better in the next photo, but the paper is smooth, thick and perfectly fountain pen friendly.
Small notepad
I love the design of the cover of the box, the postcard and the cover of the notepad. It’s playful but elegant, and it works well together and ties in well with the typography and the design of the Edelstein box. That’s a 10/10 for design and quality.
Everything that was in the box: postcard, Edelstein Apricot Achat ink, and notepad
The that we received is the Edelstein Apricot Achat, which is the ink of the year 2025. The bottle is gorgeous, and the ink is non-shimmer this year, so it should be easy to clean out of pens.
Edelstein Apricot Achat
The ink itself is indeed an apricot ink, with a hint of shading. It’s bright but light – a tad too light for me if I’m honest. I think that this exact ink just slightly more saturated would have been the perfect orange for people who like their orange right in the middle of the orange spectrum – not too yellow or too red.
Swab on Col-o-Ring
I filled a Pelikan M215 Rechteck (rectangle) with this ink, but I chose poorly, forgetting that it has an EF nib. Pelikan EF are on the wide side, but this ink would fare better in a medium or even a broad nib. I will still enjoy it as it works well with the other inks I currently have in rotation, but if you are looking to use this ink I’d suggest wide and generous nibs for it.
Writing sample on Kokuyo paper.
I tried it on the Postcard. The paper isn’t coated but is still rather sleek:
The postcard with an ink swab and writing sample
So thank you very much Pelikan for organizing this worldwide event and for your wonderful gift! I am actually considering buying the matching M200 because I like the look of the ink.
Now for the sad and ugly part:
Pen collection has a misogyny problem. I have experienced it during the previous Pelikan Hubs, I have experienced it when I tried to buy pens in brick and mortar shops, in flea markets, from pen makers. I experienced it during this year’s Pelikan Hubs and I’m tired of it, and kind of tired of all the talk about how wonderful and welcoming the pen community is. It’s wonderful and welcoming if you’re a guy, and time and again I have seen it close ranks and snarl if you’re a gal.
Just during yesterday’s event, where I stayed on for less than an hour (and even that was just to be at the edge of the group photo), I was told several times that:
Women don’t collect pens.
Only men collect pens.
I am not a real pen collector.
I can’t possibly be a pen collector.
I can’t possibly have enrolled to the Pelikan hub.
I am there as someone’s plus one.
Women don’t understand pen collecting.
I am a rare bird, the exception to the rule.
They had facts to back it up, they said. Their closed pen collectors group only had three women in it. That proved the point. I eye-rolled so hard. I had met and talked to one of the other female collectors at last year’s event and I fully understand why she didn’t brave this treatment to collect her gift this year. It’s because nobody wants to go out of their way to spend their precious free time with a bunch of *holes.
There are women collectors, they have every right to enjoy this hobby, and if you’re a guy and you don’t see women in your group, it’s not because they don’t collect pens. It’s because you’ve created a group that women don’t want to join.
Do better.
End of rant – and to end on a more positive note, I did manage to do a few 2-3 minute sketches while I was waiting for the group photo:
Sketched with Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl F nib and Montblanc Maya Blue on a Pith Kabosu SketchbookSketched with Pelikan M605 Stresemann M nib and Sailor Ink Studio 123 on a Pith Kabosu Sketchbook
Thank you again Pelikan for the wonderful event. I intend to return next year even if the menfolk find my presence abhorrent. There were a few nice fellows that were willing to talk to me, and I will not let the trolls dissuade me from participating in a hobby that I have been enjoying for close to 20 years.
In September I traveled to Paris and London.See part 1 of my travelogue here, part 2 here and part 3 here.
Another visit to the Phoenix garden resulted in this sketch in my Etchr lab sketchbook. I love the paper so much – even a super quick sketch pops on it.
Phoenix garden sketch
I had a coffee at the Monmouth Coffee Company. I love their coffee, but the place was both packed and super hot and stuffy so I made this quick sketch in my Pith Kabosu sketchbook and didn’t bother to add watercolour to it. It’s the first time I tried a POV sketch, and you can see the weird way I oftentimes hold my pen. I got to talk to a super nice young South Korean woman, as I shared the table with her and a young Japanese father and his 4 year old son.
POV sketch of the Monmouth Coffee Company table
Lunch was at Wagamama again. I tried their pho for first time (it’s new on the menu) and really liked it.
In the evening we went to see My Neighbour Totoro. It’s a lovely play, very well considered and beautifully acted and puppeteered.
On Sunday my family went to Greenwich and I went to the Saucony Run Shoreditch 10k race. It was bright and cold, perfect running weather, and the route was pretty flat – but chock full of speed bumps, which really hampered the race flow and caused a few nasty spills.
Here’s the route:
And the starting line:
And some of the entertainment on the way:
We ran a lot of loops, mostly through pretty dull residential streets. Only in the final kilometre or so did we get to see a bit of Shoreditch high street etc.
Overall the race was fairly well organized, and not overly crowded (about 6,000 runners), but I didn’t enjoy the route mostly due to the speed bumps. They seem to have taken the worst out of the local runners, as people pushed, jostled and shoved to avoid running over them (I just started running over them from around the 3rd kilometre or so).
Here’s the medal:
After the race I went for a celebratory meal at Wagamama. I hadn’t had breakfast and I was parched so I had a ton to drink and tried one of their new curries. Jesna, my server, was really curious about the sketches and we got to talk a bit.
Another Wagamama meal.
On Monday my dad and I went to Tate Modern to see a Picasso and the Theatre exhibition. We arrived early so we sat at Paul’s and sketched.
Coffee and pastry at Paul’s
I also sketched the statue and part of the modern building across the street.
The “Theatre Picasso” exhibition was hands down one of the biggest disappointments of the trip. Never have I felt my intelligence or interest in art more insulted than in this exhibition, and I left after about 20 minutes.
Here’s a Picasso dove to relax for a bit:
I was in a bad mood when I left and I didn’t know what to do with myself so I made my way to Green Park and sat and sketched there for a while:
Pencil and pen
The final sketch:
Thankfully the best exhibition was still ahead of me – Marie Antoinette Style at Victoria and Alberts. The thought, curation, staging, flow, items – everything about this exhibition was perfection. You saw Marie Antoinette as a style icon, as a woman trapped in a role, as a doomed queen, as a harried and slandered victim, and as a larger than life figure. Her foibles, her eye for fashion, her courage, her very flawed life and her terrible death made her immortal in a way she likely could never have imagined.
Marie Antoinette Style
We don’t have robins here, so it was nice to get to see a few of them at Hyde park during my morning runs and at the Phoenix garden.
Robin
There were surprisingly few Halloween decorations out but the Christmas shops were on full blast in all the big stores. Of course I had to buy this red fountain pen ornament from Liberty:
Pencils, pink pearl erasers, fountain pens and palette ornaments at Liberty London.
We then got to see Penn and Teller’s 50th anniversary show (and first West End tour). They were funny, surprising, and wonderful, and it was an overall delightful and very memorable evening. I even got a signed poster of their show!
Penn and Teller
On one of the last days of the trip I went to see the new Victoria and Albert East Storehouse museum. It’s a unique experience, and it’s worth the visit – but I recommend planning to go there well ahead of time and ordering items to interact with. It’s not a standard museum by any stretch of the imagination – it’s more of a museum about museums and how they handle their collections.
While I found many of the explanations to be overly politicized, it nevertheless is a place that I’d return to – provided I manage to book a “meeting” with an item (Order and Object at the study centre). It’s also interesting to see what other people ordered and how they interact with their chosen objects.
Victoria and Albert East Storehouse
I had lunch at the nearby Wagamama for the last time, and sketched my lunch for the last time:
Final lunch and sketch
And then went for my last coffee at Monmouth Coffee Company:
Another POV sketch
In the evening we went to see “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Stephen Fry was excellent as Lady Bracknell, but I didn’t like the director’s interpretation of the play (Algernon is gay, Jack is gay, Cecily is gay, Gwendolen is gay), and the two main actors weren’t very good. For the life of me I don’t understand the director’s need to try and outsmart Oscar Wilde. Wilde’s work is polished to a mirror finish – there really is no need to be clever with it. It packs enough punch as it is.
Stephen Fry and the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest
On the last day of the trip I went to the Phoenix garden for a last sketch:
Pen sketch
I got to talk to a lady that works in the garden, and it was nice showing her all of my various sketches of the place.
Final watercolour
And we went to The Parlour at Fortnum and Mason for celebratory Sundaes before the flight.
Tres Leches sundae – Coffee, Bickfield Milk and Fior de Leche & Chocolate Biscuit Ice Cream and Pumpkin Seed Praline
Overall it was a great trip even though I was sick during its first leg. I’ve never sketched so much during a trip before, largely thanks to some recently acquired sketchbooks and watercolour palettes, and some skills I learned during USK Poznan. I got a ton of watercolours, pens, pencils, inks and art supplies that I can’t wait to try out, and I got a nice stack of books to peruse over the coming months. Hopefully this was fun to read, and perhaps you got some inspiration for your next trip to Paris or London.
In September I traveled to Paris and London.See part 1 of my travelogue here and part 2 here.
I met up with a dear friend for a pre-theatre tasting meal at Chotto-Matte, a trendy restaurant that combines Mexican and Japanese cuisines. I am not a foodie, and I will now confess that this was the first time that I’ve had sushi (I hate the smell and taste of fish and seaweed and everything that comes from the sea and so I’ve avoided it), and I really enjoyed it. It was the best meal that I had in London, and the company, the weird design and the very attentive service added to it.
I had the vegetarian pre-theatre menu, which meant that mine had no fish, seafood, meat or chicken in it. It was phenomenal.
On the right is the Edamame, which we shared and was good, and in the centre is Truffled Avocado Roll – Cucumber, sesame seeds, yuzu truffle soy. It was light and refreshing.Lychee Ceviche – Leche de tigre, chive oil, sweet potato, Peruvian corn, coriander. One of the biggest surprises of the meal. Delicious, zingy and the textures were phenomenal. Yasai Miso Crispy Sushi – Picante miso vegetables, takuan, shiso cress. Sticky but very good.Nasu Miso – Aubergine miso, apricot, puffed soba, sesame seeds. Aubergine like I’ve never tasted it before. Again, a lot of great textures here and a ton of deep flavours.King Oyster Mushroom Tostada – Pulled mushroom, smoked aji panca chilli, guacamole, lime, coriander. I’m not normally a mushroom fan, but this was smoky, “meaty” and satisfying. Truffled Mushroom Rice – Sweet corn & queso fresco dip, jalapeño, coriander, corn tostadas. This was a rice heavy meal, and at this point I could eat no longer. I had about three spoonfuls and no more. It was a good dish, but it lacked the depth of flavour and the uniqueness of the rest of the dishes.Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream with toasted almonds, chocolate sauce. It’s ice cream, it was good, but we had to rush to the theatre so we didn’t get to finish it. It wasn’t a particularly interesting desert though.
This is definitely a place that I’d return to for a special occasion.
We then went to see the classic musical, “The Producers”, and it was excellent. The cast was brilliant, and it’s a very good musical with some great (if disturbing) songs. Mel Brooks is a comedy genius, and this musical still packs a punch.
The Producers
We also went to Spitalfields market, which meant that I could sketch this guy:
Sketch of a statue of a goat in Spitalfields market.
This was my very first sketch in the new Pith Kabosu sketchbook that I purchased at Cass Art. I debated whether to buy this sketchbook or not, as it had smooth, 200gsm paper and it opened flat, but I wasn’t sure it would work with watercolours. The great sellers at Cass Art told me it would, as they use it themselves, and they were right. It’s now my “daily driver” having replaced the Stillman and Birn pocket beta. The beta has thicker and more textured paper but the Pith Kabosu is slightly larger, has a more durable cover, and opens flat much better than the Stillman and Birn does. I later returned and purchased two more of these sketchbooks, they were so good.
I later sketched this seller in his stall, after purchasing an old set of folding rulers from his stall. I decided to paint him and the flag but left the rest of the stall as line drawings.
Spitalfields market
The Pith Kabosu is also cheaper than the Stillman and Birn and as it has smoother paper, works better for ink sketches and dry medium (pencils of various kinds, for example). It means that I’m more inclined to bring it out and make quick sketches in it, even if I don’t get to adding watercolour to them.
We then went to the second play at The Globe – Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. We arrived early so I sat in the Starbucks across the entrance and sketched the place:
I originally didn’t have time to add colour to this. I just bashed out this 5 minute sketch and then added watercolour later, from reference photos.
I later added colour to the sketch. In hindsight I would have gone for a looser sketch, but I was still unsure what this paper could and couldn’t do. The answer is – practically everything. Only very heavy washes make the page buckle.
This was a regular Shakespeare play, and so there was some set design. this is the stage:
And in the yard where the groundlings are you can see another bit of the stage that isn’t normally there, but was used to represent the beach and other locales in the play.
I enjoyed the play a lot, and would recommend seeing plays at the Globe if you can tolerate the extremely uncomfortable seats (yes, even with the cushions).
We went to the Cartier exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum. The exhibition is sold out, and it’s well considered, but we found it a bit dull compared to the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the same museum.
This is the Patiala necklace that was part of the exhibition. It was made by Jacques Cartier for the Maharaja of Nawanagar in 1928. He also made the Maharaja of Nawanagar’s necklace, later named the Jeanne Toussaint in the “Ocean’s 8” movie (it was a recreation made by Cartier for the movie).
My favourite parts were the film where they showed how a Cartier leopard is made, and the famous mystery clocks. There was a whole room dedicated to them, and it was fabulous.
Next post will be the last in the series. You can read it here.
Writing at Large 