Atelier Winsonli

Wanted a vibrant ink and I’ve heard good things about the Montblanc violet. So I got it. I was too excited to know how it write that I dip tested it at Starbucks

Good properties, vibrant purple. Makes Visconti blue look pale when compared.

By the way, haven’t updated this blog for a long time. I’ll have quite a few posts to make as I haven’t reviewed the Lamy 2000 yet, nor have I talked about the Safari italic nibs. I also got a white Lamy Safari mechanical pencil.

I had to use this birthday coupon this month, so I paid MUJI a visit.

And I got a two drawer acrylic cabinet and a velour tray to hold my new pen. My stationery are much more organized now.

In the top drawer is my monthly planner and two Rhodia notepads. In the bottom one is a velour tray holding a Lamy 2000. In the pen case is my Lamy Safari collection.

I also took pictures of the Lamy 2000. When I was looking through the pictures I took, I noticed a lot of imperfections on the pen. I tried to calm myself, saying that the nib section is handmade so there must be some kind of flaws.

MUJI has a lot of new stuff for Christmas. A lot of wooden toys and stuff which makes a perfect gift. Took a few catalogs when leaving.

I have bought too much ink recently. This is the last one I’ll get in these three months I hope. Montblanc just called to let me know the 2008 seasonal greetings ink has arrived.

Anyway, I was looking for a blue which does not have traces of purple in it. After reading some posts on Fountain Pen Network, I decided to get this Visconti blue. I filled my Lamy 2000 with this ink and I was impressed when a pure blue line was laid onto paper.

From left to right: Lamy blue, Cartier blue, Visconti blue. Lamy blue is in cartridge. As you can see, the Visconti ink is much more vibrant.

I’ll post about my Lamy 2000 when I spend more time with it.

Cartier Blue ink for my about to come pen. I’ve ordered an extra fine nib Lamy 2000 and should get it tomorrow. That salesman said it is a good pen. Would talk more of it later plus update this post with scan of the ink in action.

Got a bit bored of the Lamy Turquoise so tried this Montblanc Bordeaux. I love the color, but sometimes it looks more like the color of grape juice than red wine. Anyway, there’s one problem with it. It looks a bit strange if I write a whole paragraph in this color. I’ll use it for writing notes on lecture materials.

Image from Lamy. After receiving my assignments which were marked with fountain pens, I wanted to get a better fountain pen. I have a several Lamy Safaris, but they have steel nibs and the line thickness won’t vary with writing pressure. This Lamy 2000 is their flagship product, having a platinum coated 14K gold nib. I think I’ll get one when I deserve a decent fountain pen.

I’ve always been using Rhodia notepads to keep my ideas organized. Lately, I’ve been working on a redesign of my personal homepage and have been using the notepads quite often. After using about 40 pages, I encountered a problem. The notepad won’t stay open for me to write on as the pages won’t fold back. I usually tear off pages to solve the problem, but this time I can’t as I need to frequently refer back to previous notes.

Then there is a second problem. Each time I need to write, I need to dig deep into my bag to look for a pen. I wanted a way to hold a pen together with a Rhodia notepad.

Yesterday, I found a solution. I bought this Midori clip on pen holder from Log On.

They come in two sizes and two colors, small and medium, in black or brown. I got the medium one, and it just fits my MUJI gel ink pen. The pen is a narrow one, about the thickness of a pencil. I wonder what pens could fit into the small sized one. (Update: For the small sized one, you insert the pen’s clip into the loop. I’ve read it from kobucha blog.)

The pen holder beautifully holds a pen besides the notepad, solving the pen problem. But then, there’s also the difficulty of keeping the notepad open.

By clipping the pen holder on the flipped open pages, it acts as a paperweight to keep the fold down. Now I can write comfortably.

If you look closely into the above picture, there is a yellow tag on the page. I use that as a bookmarking system to mark important notes. The tags are from MUJI and a set includes five colors. I have my own coloring scheme, indicating high priority stuff, to-dos, etc.

I keep the tags on the back of the notepads, so they are handy each time I need them.

A good solution to keep track of ideas should be simple, just as this one. It makes my work efficient and the planning process fun. I spend more time on paper, so when I sit at the computer I get my work done almost instantly.

Went to MUJI to get two pencil holders to hold my Lamy Collection.

They are made with MUJI signature material - acrylic. Looks perfect. Used the small one to hold Lamy ink cartridges and the big one to hold fountain pens.

Black Safari: Fine nib. Black ink.
Graphite AlStar: Extra fine nib. Blue ink.
White Safari: Fine nib. Turquoise ink.

Many thanks to my girlfriend for giving me this Lamy Safari pencil to compliment with my fountain pen. Decided to write a short review on both pens.

The Lamy Safari fountain pen is the most recommended entry level pen, selling for HKD 220 (~USD28). I’ve began my quest for the right fountain pen when I got my first Moleskine. I’ve googled for a few reviews and they all agreed that the Lamy Safari does not bleed nor feather on Moleskine paper.

The reports are indeed correct, no bleeding or feathering with Lamy ink cartridges. I’ve tried writing on Moleskines, Rhodias and even MUJI notebooks, all with good results.

However there is one thing I don’t like about the ink. It does not look as solid as my rollerball pens. I guess another brand of ink would have more solid blacks. Lamy also sells a converter which allows bottled inks to be used.

The converter did not come with any instructions. I’ve asked a sales representative and she taught me how to use it. Would post the instructions later.

I haven’t tried other fountain pens, but the Lamy Safari serves its purpose very well. It’s relatively cheap so you won’t worry about scratching it. The ABS construction is durable and won’t scratch as much as the aluminum variant, Al Star.

Whether you like the large clip is a matter of taste. I personally like. Considering the Safari is a design of the 1980s, it looks quite good.

The fountain pen is a reasonably priced pen, but is the pencil? Retailing for HKD150 (~USD19), the Lamy Safari is not just an overpriced pencil with good looks.

The grip is triangular shaped making it comfortable to hold. The large clip is functional. The weight is just about right. The pencil just feels different from ordinary pencils. It is smoother to write with. But don’t expect too much from the attached eraser.

When you think of the pencil as a German engineered pencil which is functional and matches its fountain pen counter part, it is not as expensive as you think.

Lamy Safari products are available in a lot of places in Hong Kong. Your local stationary store might carry a few. Also, Logon, Prints (Times Square and Harbor City) and Apita are selling it. The last time I checked, only the Harbor City Prints and Apita have extra fine nibs. The other retailers usually carry nibs ranged from fine to broad. Apita is doing a back to school promotion and there’ll be 10% off Lamy products.

It’s about time to stock up stationary. I’ve been using the Rhodia notepads and love the paper. Now CitySuper carried Rhodia Black notepads and they look wonderful.

Hayashi sent me some Moleskine notebooks and they are great. Minimal and functional. However my Parker Vector roller ball pen feathers and bleeds a lot on Moleskine paper. After a bit of research I got this Lamy Safari, voted by the Stylus Magazine as the 2007 best pen under USD100.

Industrial design. Form following function. The pen takes proprietary ink cartridges, available in every color found on a rainbow. A converter is available so you can use your own ink. I got the fine nib and light blue ink.

Haven’t used a fountain pen before so I don’t know how this one is performing. As a fountain pen novice, I find this one a pleasure to write with. Fountain pens have the wet feel just as roller balls, but they do not bleed or feather as much.

I’ve read that the Lamy nibs are a size bigger than that of other makes, with fine being what actually is medium and medium being what is broad. The fine nib I have writes lines of the width as ordinary ball pens on inkjet A4 paper. If you are writing on a Moleskine, I would recommend an extra fine nib. Not because they feather, but because Moleskines have narrow lines.

I got the Safari in hope of it not to bleed on Moleskine paper. I used Lamy ink cartridges and it does not bleed or feather at all.

The colored tags are from MUJI, they compliment so well with the black.

The Parker Vector roller ball is made of stainless steel and coated with matte black epoxy and is discontinued. Now Parker only makes these pen in plastic or stainless steel with a black plastic end. I’ve tried searching on eBay and other sites and this version is no where to be found. Theres a few at my local stationary store if you need it.