Store Contest Winner

I'm pleased to announce the winner of the store database contest from the July newsletter - Melissa K from WI.

I'm trying to build my database of stores so I asked for people to comment with their favorite stationery store.

Melissa listed her favorite store, As You Wish located in Fon du Lac, WI.

The prizes listed here include 5 postcards from my collection, 5 different .44 stamps, 1 gel pen, 1 notebook and a set of note cards from Tilia Press.

Enjoy your winning package, Mel K!

Name the Newsletter and Get a $50 Amazon Gift Card

Letters & Journals will have a weekly newsletter and I'd like it to have its own name. I will pay the person who submits the chosen name a $50 Amazon gift card OR a $50 Jet Pens gift card.  You decide. Here are a few ideas that are close, but not quite right.

Notebook News
Pen & Ink Newsletter
Weekly Inkling (already taken)

Since it's for both letters and journals, it's too limiting to have something like Letter Writers' Weekly or The Journal Keeper.

As a last resort, I will go with Letters & Journals Weekly or Letters & Journals Newsletter. But I would prefer to have a newsletter with its own brand.

You can email me Jackie or leave a comment. You can help by spreading the word too. Thanks!
(Image was obtained here.)

Pen and Ink Swap

I happened to comment on the Asda fountain pen that Sam reviewed in his blog at Future: Nostalgic that I wish we had that particular pen in the US. Lo and behold, we had worked out a trade and look at all of the goodies I got from the UK!

It's hard to pick a favorite. The Asda fountain pen (far left in the blue package) is a lightweight pen that comes with ink cartridges and has an excellent fine tip writing point, which I love. You can read Sam's review of this pen at his blog.

The Inoxcrom pen in the package on the right was a heftier fountain pen with a nicely weighted feel, but I found that the pen wrote a little hesitatingly. I like rich smooth flow of ink. Maybe I will experiment with different inks, like Sam did with his Parker 61 (which is on my wish list) to see if that will help.

The Pilot B2P is a new gel roller where the pen body is made from plastic bottles. It has a fine point (0.7) and a thick, easy flow of ink, which I prefer. It's a smooth writing retractable pen which is great for portability.

Probably my favorite is the Pentel Fine Style ballpoint pen. Although the flow is not thick or generous, it's a smooth writing fine point that's light weight and consistent. It has a slim design and a comfortable barrel.

As an added bonus, Sam included an Oxford notebook. This is a quality notebook with a hard cover and the smooth-lined pages. Naturally, I tested each of the pens on the paper and am very happy with the results. I should have added a picture, but it's pretty scribbly as I wasn't planning to take a photo when I was trying out the different pens. Next time I will know better!

Thanks, Sam, for adding to my collection/addiction!