Author: Derek

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The Evolution of the DWRDNET Stationery Feed

Posted on by Derek

I recently wrapped up season 1 of the new video podcast that I started back in March, and in that final episode I took a little bit of a chance to look back at the show and I wanted to expand on that some here in addition to what I spoke about in the episode.

In the past, I was a photographer for many events and I was very good at not being in photos, and that is a hard mentality to break out of. So how does one go from that to hosting a weekly video podcast, well to be honest I am not really sure, but here is roughly how it happened for me. As a consumer of some stationery audio podcasts like The Pen Addict or the Well Appointed Desk Patron member podcast, I realized that for me, I like having the visuals to go along with some of what is being talked about. I would love to see the pen being held up or the facial expressions during discussions, so that kind of planted the idea in the back of my head to begin with.

Having discovered that I am very fortunate to have local stores and local makers, I thought it would be great if I could use the Youtube channel to help spread the word about these members of the community who are helping to make the community grow and prosper. This lead me down the path to start doing research on what would I need to do in addition to what I had been doing for Youtube videos and to try to plan out the entire process. If I was going to take on this venture, I wanted it to be repeatable and easy for any guest who I might be fortunate to interview. I tired out different software, settings in the software, advice on scripts, times to record and pretty much every aspect that I could think of. All of this started probably two months before the first episode was ever recorded.

By the time March rolled around, I was ready to do a tech test with a future guest Lisa of OliveOctopus Ink. With her already being someone who does a Twitch stream, I figured she would be great to help do a proof of concept on the setup and the process. We were able to do a test shortly before the Arkansas Pen Show, so then it came down to me to find guests and get them scheduled. I wasn’t sure how to really approach guests to be on a new show, so I needed to make a pilot episode. Luckily, I was able to reach out to one of my best friends who was a new fountain pen user, but understands the tech side to do a pilot episode 1 of the show. I got stuff scheduled, sent the FAQ document and questions that I had prepared and I didn’t realize at the time where exactly this would go.

After recording that episode, I had to figure out how to edit the show, which needs a different approach than a normal video. There isn’t really an option to do retakes or anything like that, so after a few days, I got a version uploaded, got some feedback, changed some things and then uploaded the video for real. During this editing time, I was already reaching out to potential guests to try to schedule the next episodes, and luckily things just started falling into place to get people scheduled to record.

Scheduling guests, while a very daunting task, ended up not being as bad as I thought that it might. I was able to get some help making introductions to people via past guests, and that honestly was a huge help. Many people in the stationery world use things like Instagram as their main method of sharing their work, and due to all of the spam prevention tools necessary in the world today, sending a message normally would go into the abyss and never be received. Once I actually found a way to get in contact with people, I was very encouraged that people were glad to record an episode. Being new to the creator space of a hobby can be daunting, but luckily the stationery hobby is one where people are supportive of other members and creators, which I am sure is not the case in other hobby communities. I was even able to get a couple of guests at the last minute, as someone had to reschedule for a later date, so I was able to maintain that 19 week stretch. Somehow I did manage to take a week long vacation during this time and not miss an episode, but I knew that was really luck when looking back at things.

One thing that never even crossed my mind with starting a new show, is that eventually I would need to be able to take time off, as going on every week forever as a host, editor, producer was not very sustainable. I wasn’t really sure how to do this, in mid stream, so happenstance of a guest who needed to cancel to help a family member with a medical issue happened at such a time as to ned season 1 on Episode 20. I took this as a bit of a sign that this was the perfect time to look back at the show and take. a little time to regroup and prepare to make season 2 and beyond even better.

Overall, I think this entire venture has been a great success. I have been able to talk to a variety of people in the stationery hobby and community and help to share some of their stories to audiences that might not have ever had that exposure otherwise. If you came to watching the show later on in its season 1 run, I would encourage you to go back and watch some of the earlier episodes. They might be a tad less polished from a technology standpoint, but the great conversations are the part to not be missed.

While I don’t have a set date to start season 2 yet, I do plan to spruce up the show production some and try to do a better and more consistent presentation of what guests will be coming up later on the season, so be sure to make sure you are subscribed to the Youtube channel, or if you are doing audio only, follow the show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts so you won’t miss out on the next season of exciting guests.

A Tale of Two Nib Holders

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When I first got into pens over a decade ago, I never really got into ink swatching, so now that I have come back into the hobby in a different way, exploring inks and trying to incorporate more colors into my writing as a whole. Part of this exploration is obtaining and swatching both the new inks, and all of the bottles that are on my shelf.

Like most people, when I first started swatching with the 2024 inkvent calendars, I was using Q-Tips and a dip nib that I inherited from an old speedball set that my mom had that ended up in my supplies. I got my first ever Col-O-Ring cards and I was off to the races. This was what I thought swatching was, and while it worked, as time has progressed I have learned there are better ways.

When I did my interview with Lisa (Link Found Here) , who can be found online at OliveOctopus.ink, she shared her knowledge of using non porous objects when swatching, as they won’t absorb any of the ink that could affect the colors on the page. I have switched to using glass stirring rods, but there is still a need to write the name of the inks, and that is where the nib holders are going to come into play. I have a travel glass dip pen, but I wanted to continue to add to my toolset.

I knew that eventually I wanted to get both the kakimori and colorverse shuttle nibs, but in order for that to happen, I needed some nib holders. When I noticed that Amarillo Stationery got some more kakimori nibs in stock, I placed an order and originally was just getting one of the basic wooden handles. After I placed my order, I got a message from Erick asking if I wanted to upgrade to one of the Amarillo nib holders that he was going to be releasing soon, and of course I said yes.

While waiting for the delivery, The Pen Addict Brad released the Pen Addict Ink Thrower, and he had a slim model which caught my eye, as it might be a good option to have for ink bottles with a smaller neck, so I ordered one of those as well. They arrived so close to each other, I was able to make the combined video. This also works well, as both of these were turned by River City Pen Company out of materials made by Nic Pasquale for the Amarillo holder and Turnt Pen Co. for the Pen Addict offering.

The first impression was great for both of these, and I look forward to using them as I get more into my inks and swatching them on the variety of papers in addition to my Col-O-Ring and Col-O-Dex cards.

A Titanium Fountain Pen Got Me Again: Gravitas Sentry

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If you know me in real life, or you have followed my videos for a while, it is well known that when it comes to items made out of titanium, I have a weakness. I love titanium, and whenever I come across something made from it in one of my hobbies, something inside my head says, you need to get that asap.

I was on Youtube the other day, and I saw a video from Drew Brown on the Fahrney’s Channel, and it was all about how Fahrney’s is now the US distributor for Gravitas pens, and that peeked my interest. I have seen other videos about the Gravitas pens, especially the one made from titanium, but I didn’t want to go through the international ordering and shipping hassle, so I had been holding out. While watching this video, I of course went to the website to look, and low and behold before I knew it, I had a Sentry in my cart and the order was placed.

Gravitas makes some other models in titanium like the Dinkey, Quark and Pocket, but there was just something about the Sentry that drew me in. I carried my Namisu Orion for a few years as I never had to worry about the pen being in my pocket, but I didn’t really have any other fountain pens that I really enjoy writing with that also don’t make me worry if just throwing it in a pocket with a knife or keys, and now the Sentry will be able to allow me to vary what pens I carry with me.

First page of real writing that was not random work notes related.

As I was making the video, I had to decide what ink that I wanted to use, and this can be challenging when not trying to match a material, so I wanted to select something that I had not used in a while, so I went with the Montblanc William Shakespeare Velvet Red. I think this was a great choice, as I forgot how much I enjoy this color, and in my experience, Montblanc ink always performs well.

I ordered the EF nib for this pen, and for being a Jowo #6 compatible housing, the Gravitas nib that I received writes wonderful. The addition of the laser etched logo on the nib adds a nice touch as well. I don’t have an immediate plan to swap this nib out anytime soon, but being able to add a ground nib to this in the future is very appealing.

The fit and finish of this pen I second to none, and while I understand that Gravitas might have had some customer service issues for some people in the past, I think that handing that off to Fahrney’s to handle is a way of them hearing that there were issues and trying to make it a better experience for customers. This was my first order from Fahrney’s, and it definitely won’t be my last.