The Pen Addict 347/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	347
Title:	It's Only Pens
Release Date:	February 20th, 2019
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 347
Audio File:	Audio Episode 347
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 347
Length:	6464 min <br />1.067 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 347. Today's show is brought to you by FreshBooks and Harry's. My name is Myke Hurley and I'm joined by Big Money Brad Dowdy.

Brad Dowdy: Big Money Brad Dowdy, I'm not sure about that. Big Busy Business Boy Brad Dowdy, which we've talked about before. However, we've got big money rolling in for the Pen Addict Kickstarter, but that doesn't go to me or you. But it helps us get to places, Myke, so we should talk about this. Finally, we can talk about this publicly. So what do we have for our listeners this year and our backers of our project?

Myke Hurley: So as teased, we spoke about going to two pen shows this year, which we are doing. And so now we can announce that as well as Atlanta in April, we will be appearing together for the first time in August at the San Francisco Pen Show, which is referred to as the Fun Pen Show. And also for the first time in the history of our projects, we're going to be doing two live shows at pen shows with audiences. You know, we've done multiple shows and stuff like that in the past. We've had multiple videos, but we've never been able to do a open to everyone at a pen show live show in two different locations. We've yet to find another pen show that was going to be accommodating or easy to work with for us to get something like that set up. But the San Francisco folk have been really amazing. They've been really accommodating for us and they're going to help us get that all set up. So we're going to be doing April and August Atlanta and San Francisco. So we're going to have videos available of both. We're going to have a little vlog video of San Francisco because I've got some stuff going on there that I can't talk about just yet, but that's going to make an extra fun video for everyone. And also we have a wonderful backer award from NotCo, which is if you remember some time ago, there was a project that Brad and Jeff had called the Lanier, which is a bag. But inside the bag was an A5 pouch. And my understanding is many people would ask for an A5 pouch product. That was just a separate thing. And so here we have a product called the Burton, which is making its debut as part of this campaign. So we're looking at an A5 kind of wallet pouch thing made out of wax canvas, black wax canvas on the outside, a lime green interior with dedicated pen slots, which the A5 pouch from the Lanier did not have, as well as a pocket notebook sleeve, an A5 sleeve, and then just kind of a big open gap in the middle for you to stuff everything you want in there. Oh, and also as well, if you get the Burton A5 case video reward tier, we have three tiers as we always do. We're going to be throwing in some Anna Reiner design stickers this time. We did pins last time. We're going to have stickers this time. Just as like an extra little thank you to everybody that goes to that big top level. So you can get videos and vlog for $15. You can get the case only for $40. Or for $50, which I think is a great deal, you can get everything. So that's the case, the sticker set, and the videos. Because obviously we're coming up real fast on Atlanta. We're like five weeks away.

Funding Update

Brad Dowdy: Oh, what is today? Five or six weeks away. Yeah, about six weeks away, I think. So yeah, it's getting close. And I think I looked at the published dates. I think we're two weeks behind this year. Two, two and a half weeks behind where we launched last year. But it's just like such a busy time of year for me and all of us really. I know Anna and Lisa are listening right now on their way back from the LA Pin Show, which we'll talk about. So hey, y'all. So Anna and we've thrown out ideas for the stickers. Those are going to be cool. So we'll publish that when we get the artwork done. We've all just been a little bit busy. And the case sample, the actual physical sample, is in the queue at our manufacturing facility. So they were just waiting on fabric. And I hope they get it this week so I can get the real pictures in. But this is from the moment we launched the Lanier. People just wanted the A5 case. And we sold them as a set. It was never a separate product. So we always said we would make a separate A5 case one day for NOC. And we figured, well, if we're going to do it, let's make it a bit of an upgrade from the standard A5 case that comes with the Lanier. So we chose this wax canvas material, which we've done one show special wax canvas Sinclair a couple of years ago that a few people are lucky enough to have their hands on. I do not have one anymore. But it's this microfiber wax canvas. It's really thin. It's not a heavy, bulky wax canvas. It feels really, really neat to the touch. It's going to do really well as a standalone case material. And we had to, of course, add some pin slots and a little extra pocket in there if this is going to be its own standalone product. So, yeah, I think we did really good with the design and the color choices and material choices. This is something a lot of people have been asking for. And we always like to introduce new things with the Kickstarter. So it's fun. I think everyone is going to dig it. And if you are interested in something like this, you should absolutely consider getting this case now, whether you want to support us or not on this campaign. If you want this case, it's going to be much more expensive after the fact. This is a much more expensive case for us to manufacture for materials purposes mainly. So it's very cool and very legal. So we're going to have this ready for everyone soon.

Myke Hurley: So we're currently 75% of our funding goal, which is incredible. So thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody who was ready and willing and able to be able to back the project so far. You know, this is just people that have been following us on social media or have been looking out for the project. But there is information in our show notes, which are relay.fm slash pen addict slash 347. Or you could just go to Kickstarter and search for the pen addict and it will come up. So, yeah, we're really, really, really excited. And we're looking forward to touching it again on this next week. We're hoping, I think it's fingers crossed, it's looking likely that we'll fund here within the next couple of days. And then we'll be able to, like, say yes, 100% we're doing both of these things. So thank you so much to everyone who continues to do this. This is going to be our fifth year. Yeah, that's crazy. Which is a wonderful thing to think about. It makes me really excited. When I was putting together the video, I got to kind of go through all of the years and pick out some clips to put in. And that was a lot of fun to see. Just the changes in us, like, from production and, like, confidence and even just the way we all look. It's changed a lot over the last five years. Plus, all of our lives have changed over the last five years in some really cool, fun ways. And the three of us, me, you, and Anna are getting to do more of the things that we love to do. And that is definitely in part because of the support that the pen addict audience show us. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. And if you do back the project, thank you so much. If you can't, it's totally fine. We understand.

Myke Hurley: We set it up so we don't need everybody. So, it's not an issue if you can't do it. But if you're in a position to be able to, you know, you can ask anyone. We really, really try our absolute hardest to make these things better every year, especially the videos. And the Haggert brothers do a wonderful job with that. So, we're really, really excited. And thanks to everybody who helps us put these things together.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. And a final stamp I want to put on this. And you've already mentioned it. Just thanks again to the San Francisco pen show promoters who are going above and beyond in what they're doing for us. It's a big deal and a difficult thing for show promoters to do anything kind of different. And if anyone could pull it off, I knew it could be San Francisco. And, you know, Ricky, Todd, and Sid, I really appreciate what they've done for us this time. And we look forward to a really, really awesome event in San Francisco. Yep.

Myke Hurley: Kind of late.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So, let's talk about LA real quick. Okay. But not for much since I wasn't there. But we'll talk about LA and Baltimore pen shows coming up since we're on the pen show train here. I just wanted to give a quick recap of what I'm hearing about LA. And I don't want to dig into it too much because I was not there. So, I do not have the personal direct information from being there. But I have talked to a lot of people even up until this morning via text about the LA pen show just trying to get their feedback because we thought it was going to be interesting. LA always manages to be interesting. And that's usually not in the positive sense of the word. And this year was going to be the most interesting, I think, in a while because construction was actually complete on the hotel and the show was in a completely new physical location in the hotel. And the reports I'm getting are pretty rough. Like, there is a huge crowd and space size issue, it seemed to be, in LA. So, you know, I'd love to hear from more people at LA. Just, you know, I'm trying to get some feedback for the show and putting it together for people. And, you know, I've talked to vendors and I've talked to attendees and things like that. Just saying how they just kind of had a tough time this year at the show. I know Joe from the Gentleman Stationer was there and Anna, of course, was there. So, I'm sure they will have recaps up. Joe already has his Friday, Saturday recap up. But I think what the public really wants to know is how Sunday was. And that's where, you know, it kind of hit the fan with a combination of smaller space and big crowd. So, it looked rough from the pictures. If I was there, I'd probably be having some kind of anxiety panic attack or something just from the crowd. It looked really overwhelming. So, yeah, I'm interested to hear a little bit more. So, keep those recaps coming. Keep your eyes peeled if you want to read about LA. And, yeah, it sounded interesting. So, we'll leave it at that. But Baltimore is going to be the palate cleanser. I hope we all get in all need after LA. And I'm going to be in Baltimore for my first pen show. So, I'm, of course, super hyped about Baltimore. I'm bringing Nock there. This is, what, a week and a half from this recording. I will be in Baltimore. And, you know, I guess we can talk about it a little bit more next week. But this is going to be a really cool show if it's anything like it was last year. Last year was kind of my, let's take a chance on a different show, show Baltimore was. And it blew me out the water. Like, they did such a good job. The crowds were great. The promoters were great. You know, Bert Ozer puts on a great show. You can't meet a nicer guy in this community than Bert. And they've ramped it up this year. It's moving back to the previous hotel that it was at, which I've never been to. So, this will be a new hotel for me. But they've already been there before. So, I expect it to go well. They have all kinds of classes and seminars. If you're going to make a weekend out of it, they're definitely, it has a pen camp feel, which I know my friend Corinne, who's helped working with Bert on putting this show together. She's calling it a pen camp for everyone. They have all kinds of different classes and things that they're trying this year. You know, I'm on a maker's, I'm hosting a maker's panel for them. I get to interview some people that, you know, make pens. There's like a forensic, like a handwriting forensics class. There's all kinds of different like art and making type of classes. So, it seems just like you're going to want to make, you know, at least two days out of it, if not all three in Baltimore. And I just look forward to getting out there and having a fun time at the Baltimore Pen Show. And I hope a lot of y'all come out and see me and come by and say hi. I know there's going to be a lot of listeners out there. So, a lot that I met in Baltimore last year who made it such a hit. And I can't wait. It's right around the corner. So, hopefully if any vendors that were in LA, they can recuperate in time to get all the way across country to Baltimore in a quick turnaround for them. So, yeah, that'll be fun. I'm looking forward to it.

Myke Hurley: Man, we're ramping up. Brad's first show of the year.

Show Logistics

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, so they're, I'm ready. Yeah, I think I'm ready. I mean, I say I'm ready. I'm, you know, give me like two days ahead of time. I'll be panicked and not knowing what I'm doing. Like, I don't have knock packed at all, you know, for that. I haven't started like prepping that. So, I'll be ready. Yeah, we'll go with that. I'll be ready.

Myke Hurley: Should actually just circling back a little bit on the shows that we'll be going to. Do you have like, do you know what your arrangements are? Like, it's not going to be at each, either of them. Obviously Atlanta.

Brad Dowdy: Funny you should say that. Yeah, so we'll have our standard two tables at knock. I'll have the one table at Baltimore. We do two tables at Atlanta. Two knock tables. Just because we can drive stuff there. It's easier for us to carry more paper goods, which are hard to fly with. And there's three of us. It's hard to stand behind one table. Yep. Yeah, exactly. And we're always, I guess, I don't know if Vito's coming this year. I'm hoping he is. I didn't talk to him. But we're always neighbors with Vito from Story Supply, Vito and Gabe. So we have a good time there. When I asked the show promoters about doing the show in San Francisco, I forgot to ask them for a table for knock. So like a week ago, it hit me as like, I didn't ask for a knock table there. So I now have an email in their inbox. So Ricky, if you're done with spending all your money in LA now, shoot me an email. Let me know if I can get a table there. So this is the call out for all of our San Francisco friends to put the screws to Ricky and Todd and Sid to make sure that Knott gets a table there. Please. Very pretty please.

Myke Hurley: Oh, Brad, daddy.

Brad Dowdy: Can you believe that? Oh, I guess you can. That's a Brad move right there.

Myke Hurley: Now I can call you Big Business Blunder Brad.

Brad Dowdy: Well, I mean, I was so excited to like be able to ask for us to do this thing. Like they're doing us, you know, like a solid already. I completely forgot that. Oh, yeah, I should probably try to run a business at the same time.

Myke Hurley: It's a good idea.

Brad Dowdy: That's just how I roll these days. You know, I was putting the people first, Myke. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I know. That's what you're all about. Today's show is brought to you by our friends over at Harry's. Harry's founders, they were fed up, Brad. They were absolutely fed up of having to pay for razors that were overpriced and overdesigned with a bunch of features that they didn't need. Harry's founders, the folk over at Harry's, they know that a great shave doesn't come from gimmicks like vibrating razor heads or handles that look like spaceships. These are just things that leading brands do to raise prices and maybe come up with like unnecessary features, that kind of stuff. So Harry's decided to put their focus on what actually matters by creating durable blades that are lovely, cleanly designed, made with great quality standards. They combine all of this together and sell it to you at a fair price. Harry's bought a world-class blade factory in Germany that has over 95 years of quality blade making experience. This allows them to sell their cartridges at just $2 each, which is half the price of bigger brands. And all of Harry's blades come with 100% satisfaction guarantees. If you don't love your shave, let them know and they'll give you a refund. So Brad, why don't you tell Pan Addict listeners something you love about Harry's?

Brad Dowdy: Well, I love the fact that it's not only time for the Pan Addict World Tour to start, it's also time for the Harry's Dopp Kit World Tour to start. This will be my first trip of the year with my Harry's kit in tow. So I'm going to have a roommate in Baltimore, Michael, a new roommate who's going to be helping me with the table. We'll keep that a surprise for all the Baltimore people. They will be amazed at the talent and skill of my roommate. But he will be initiated into the Harry's Dopp Kit World Tour at Baltimore. So I hope there's enough room for his stuff because my Harry's products will be taking over because I can't leave home without them.

Myke Hurley: So I'm sure these are just some of the many reasons why people love Harry's so much that they've received over 20,000 five-star reviews at Trustpilot and Google. You can get yourself a $13 value trial set that comes with everything you need for a close, comfortable shave, including a weighted ergonomic handle, five blade razors of a lubricating strip and trimmer blade, rich lathering shave gel, and a travel blade cover too. So listeners of this show can redeem their trial set at harrys.com slash penaddict. So make sure that you go to harrys.com slash penaddict right now to redeem your offer and let them know that we sent you there to help support the show. Our thanks to Harry's for their support of this show and RelayFM.

Brad Dowdy: So you put this in the show notes and I'm going to say some really strange things about yet another Bung Box Sailor Special Edition. But first, why don't you tell me what you think about this?

Myke Hurley: It's red with a white cap. They haven't actually put it on their website yet. They just have teaser images on their Instagram.

Myke Hurley: They're calling, I don't remember the name of it right now, and Instagram on the web doesn't let me do a translation. Magnolia. It's called the Magnolia. It looks really nice, but I don't know if these are colors that I want, but it does look really good.

Sailor Special Editions

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, and it looks great. And like, I want it, but I'm also kind of over it. Like, what we're going to talk about next, like after this topic, is going to like blow anything I've just said about this out of the water. But I'm kind of tired of the Special Editions just because of the pacing of them. It's so much. Like, I don't have to do anything with them. I can just look at them and enjoy them. And this is a very pretty pen. But like, you know, last year, the Tequila Sunrise came out, and I don't know a Special Edition that spoke to me more than that one. And I passed on it. Well, if I passed on that, why? These just aren't going to do it for me. Like, I love them. I love seeing them all. I'm going to keep buying Sailor pins, but I don't know. I'm a little bit not over it. It's just like I think I've got pins that I really, really like. So it's got to be a point for me to do this. And I think I also have my mindset that that point this year is going to be a Rialo because I don't have one of those, right? And you're starting to see more limited editions. So the Sailor limited editions, while I will, I'm sure, keep buying at some point, and if I run across a good deal on one, I'm sure I'll snap it up just because that's the way I operate. It's like I almost want to opt out of that news cycle a little bit just because it's a lot, right? Like, it feels like a lot to me because it's coming from all sides. So, you know, I'm going to go against everything I just said, like as soon as we start talking about these next two topics, though. So it's hard to explain, right? But it doesn't move the needle for me as much as it did years ago. And I think it's because I'm really happy with the things that I already have. And that's always very important to focus on, to not get caught up in the hot fresh now and FOMO type of cycle.

Brad Dowdy: So it looks great. And my Sailor special edition purchase this year will be a Rialo. I don't know which one. Like, I'm waiting for that one. But, like, I feel if I can, if I'm at the point where I can look at the tequila sunrise, knowing what I like in a pen and say pass, I'm in a good place. Like, so, yeah, keep the pictures coming. And, you know, I'll keep looking at them. And I just, yeah, I don't need it.

Myke Hurley: Every now and then there's going to be one that will pop up that will be your kind of thing, right? 100%. Maybe these next ones.

Brad Dowdy: So, I love this. So, this is actually a huge Sailor segment, like, kind of inadvertently. You know, I mean, it's not a surprise coming from us, but it wasn't necessarily planned this way. But when you get news of Sailor mosaic materials being reintroduced into the product cycle, it's very interesting because the mosaic was one of the most popular king of pen models they ever created. It had this really interesting acrylic designs. They came in four colors. They were very limited. And the story goes that Sailor found old rod stock of these mosaic colors. Three of the colors, Myke. Not four. Do you want to know what color number four is? It's green, isn't it? It's green and it's the best. Yeah, there's a video.

Myke Hurley: These were sent in to us by listener Patrick, who was wondering, like, is this kind of more of what you're looking for from Sailor, right? Like, more kind of interesting variety, especially in 1911. And these are on Anderson pens. And Anderson pens had a video go up where Brian is, like, showing these all off. And it's a really good video. It's really nicely done. But he says that the green was the most popular at the time. And they don't have any of those rods left.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So, Myke in the chat rooms reminded me they did do these materials in the regular 1911, which is what they've brought back for this. I actually hadn't seen the red mosaic before. It's really pretty. And I know Brian Anderson is a huge fan of the brown. He talks about that a bunch in the video, which, like you said, that was a really good video. I thoroughly enjoyed that. Brian just knows so much about Sailors. And I'll never forget, that was the one king of pen he had been hunting for a while. And when he acquired it at a pen show, he, like, called me over and, like, you know, stealthily, like, pulled it out of his pocket and, you know, gives me that little grin. Because he knows I know what it is and would appreciate it. He was pretty happy about that. So, I know he's happy about these. And you see in the video that his own personal one is the brown mosaic. I know that's his favorite. So, I like this more than, like, the Bung Box Limited Sailor. I don't know why. Like I said, it's like I'm going to go back on everything I just said. But, you know, it's like I like this. Like, I'm not going to buy one. If they did this in the large size, I would really consider it. Right? But, like, Patrick asks, can we justify or how do you justify paying twice the price for the regular 1911 standard size? Which I have the Royal Tangerine 1911 and that pen kind of changed my thoughts on the 1911 standard as a whole. But if I'm going to pay twice as much as that, I want the bigger size pen and these don't come in that. So, it's a little bit of a stretch for me. But these are super limited. The rhodium trim is great. But you're pushing $400.

Brad Dowdy: You know, that's actually probably a fair price. But it's a little bit hard to swallow when, you know, you can get, like, a Royal Tangerine type of limited edition. But these are so different and so unique. These are going to sell completely out. Yeah, I like the red one. They're going to sell out immediately.

Myke Hurley: The red one is my favorite. I will say that, like, I understand that these are more expensive, like, twice the price. But I feel like when you know the reason, it's like a justification of why it is this price. Because it's like they're not just making these fresh. Like, they have very limited stock of the rods that they use from the original ones. So, there's kind of a bit of history there. And there's, like, something more kind of more inherently limited about them. So, I feel like I get why they're the price that they are. Like, these are more luxurious 1911s than usual. I mean, even just in the materials itself. So, I really, really like the red one a lot. Like, yeah, I'm very tempted by it.

Brad Dowdy: These will sell out immediately. Mm-hmm. There's no doubt in my mind. Of course. So, Patrick, you know, we're talking about justifying the price. The market's going to say that it's worth it. I guarantee these will be gone before you blink if you really want one. So, you know, it's almost irrelevant what we think. And, like, we don't, we can only determine value for ourselves, right? Like, I'm talking about the bung box one way and saying something kind of different about the mosaic, right? But these will be gone immediately. There's no doubt in my mind that these will be gone immediately. But, like, I kind of want to see the red one in person. I don't think I would buy it. I have the King of Pen Green Mosaic, which is one of my favorite pens. That was kind of like the grail pen for a while. And I'm super happy with that. You know, I'll allocate the money. This will, I'll skip this one and still go down the Rialo path when I come across a Rialo. I won. And then finally, Myke, I reviewed the Progear Ocean this week. So, that was another limited sailor. And it's a pen I love. And the reason I reviewed it was because I have this really bad habit, and I started off the blog article like this, of not reviewing my most favorite pens.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, this is a quote from the article. I have reviewed exactly one standard Progear fountain pen back in 2015 that is unacceptable for a pen I use and recommend so much.

Brad Dowdy: It's true. It's the strangest thing. You know, I don't know why. But the biggest example I have is the Y Studio fountain pen that I rave about, the portable fountain pen. I don't have a review up on it. Like, and this sailor is another one. And like, when I was pulling these out and had some old pictures, like the orange sailor Progear, I never reviewed that one. I use that pen all the time. It's just, I don't know what it is. It's like, I'm using these pens. I can't ever stop and write my thoughts. You know, I'll have other pens come in and out for review that, you know, I just don't even consider using one of these other pens. You know, one of my, say, favorite, quote, favorite pens like the Progear, because I need to review these other ones. But then I'm still using this other one, like the Progear, on and on and on. I like this pen so much, number one, because of the color. And it wasn't like a huge premium price, if any. It was a limited edition, but I think they're still available. It's barely translucent green. Obviously, it has rhodium trim. And I bought mine from Dan the Nibsmith. And what I enjoy most about this pen is that I got a medium fine nib ground into a stub. So, my handwriting with a pen like this is exceptional. And that makes me want to use it more. And that's also another reason, if we rewind a little bit, and you're talking about the Mosaic and talking about the Bung Box Sailor, I'm at the point now where I almost can't do a stock nib and love the pen as much as a modified nib pen. And so, that's also a thing that holds me back from just like, well, let me buy this, let me buy that. It's because I have to get them modified to where I want to use them. Because when you look at something like the line that I created with the Progear Ocean and the way I write, that's it. Like, we're done. It's perfect for me. You know, I can write small and I can write blocky and it makes my handwriting look good. You know, stock nibs don't offer that. So, I have to include that into the cost of when I buy another pen. So, you know, I'm definitely spoiled in that manner. But that also makes me want to like sell some other pens and things like that. So, you know, because I don't have the nibs that match my adoration for the pen and, you know, things like that. So, I hope that makes sense. But it was a couple of things on that Progear Ocean. But one was really, hey, let's put this down on the permanent record because I forget to do my favorite pen reviews so much. Like, I don't have a lot of Franklin Kristoff reviews on there because I'm just always using those pens. But if you go back the amount of Franklin Kristoff reviews that I've done, I'd have to go look. I'm not sure if I've done any. And they're some of my favorite pens ever. So, it's just this weird thing. And Dries from the Pencil Case blog reached out to me. He's like, I didn't realize it, but I'm the exact same way. It's like, you know, how do you not do these things? But I don't know. It's just like this weird habit thing that I have. You know, I'm using the product. So, it's almost like it's the review's been done because I've talked about it so much, right? Like, we talk about Sailor all the time. I mean, clearly in this show, we talk about Sailor all the time. So, I have this mentality. Well, I've said everything I can say about this. So, I must have reviewed it at some point, but I never have. So, there you have it. Brad being weird again.

Myke Hurley: I wouldn't have it any other way.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. I mean, don't buy Sailor, buy Sailor. This is my favorite. This one I don't like. You know, what is it? Which way is it, Brad?

Wancho Dream Pen

Myke Hurley: Well, let's get another buy, don't buy. Oh, my goodness. You, today, received your Wancho Dream Pen. For those of you new around here, or if you need a reminder, the Wancho Dream Pen was a Kickstarter campaign over a year or two ago, which was about a year ago, actually. Just over a year ago. Yeah. Which was to create a line of pens, a range of pens in different finishes from ebonite to urushi with makee work. These are like beautifully made, really complex, like painstaking labor to make these pens in Japan where they're all handmade. And every layer of the lacquer, which is used to build up the body of the pen, is all hand painted. And, you know, these pens, if you want to buy pens in urushi especially, and ebonite is very great, but the urushi stuff especially, it's very expensive. But you can get them from a variety of Japanese vendors. But it is an expensive, long process. This Kickstarter campaign popped up from a company called Wancho, who were a company that existed before. They have other product lines that they produce. And it was met with some skepticism, some excitement. Brad was more excited. I was more skeptical. I was really skeptical of their timelines, which... Yeah. Yeah, the timelines are about eight months old at this point. Like, they're about eight months late, which was kind of what I expected. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: That was a given.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. It felt like an obvious thing. But, like, I was also just, like, the prices that they were offering seemed way too low and that kind of stuff. So, I was really skeptical of, like, what are these pens actually going to turn out like by the end. And now, Brad, you have yours in today. And you got an urushi model.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So, I ended up choosing... I actually had to go back. I knew what I had picked, but I wanted to go back and see what I paid for it. But I chose the basic red urushi model, clipless. The color is called Shoe, S-H-U. It's just a solid red color, which I didn't have any urushi pens in that color before. And chose a rhodium plated nib. So, it's like the red with a silver nib, but, like, no clip or accessories on the exterior. So, it's like a giant solid red cigar. This pen arrived last night. I knew it had shipped, but I wasn't following the tracking. So, it was kind of a surprise last night. I didn't really have time to ink it up. So, about 30 minutes before the show started today, I opened up the box and pulled out the pen and inked it up in time to just kind of give my first impressions about it. Before I get there, we're going to start off with something weird that they did. So, it comes in this really nice presentation box, Mount Fuji's, you know, on the top of the cover of the box. And, you know, it's the lightweight. I don't know if it's balsa wood, but it's that lightweight wood that you see in a lot of other manufacturers' products, urushi products. So, you open up the box, and it's kind of an extra wide box for a single pen. And it turns out they actually included an additional pen in here. And it was a fully metal hexagonal barrel generic ballpoint.

Myke Hurley: Wow.

Brad Dowdy: And I'm super confused about it. Because, number one, don't put a metal pen anywhere near my urushi pen. Now, the urushi pen was covered in its kimono. So, it was protected completely. But I've bought a very expensive urushi pen. And you've included what I essentially think is a trash promotional pen in the box. And I guess I missed the announcement. They're saying that they announced this before. It is... I did not like that at all. Like, it kind of ruined the majesty of me opening this box to my super long, awaited-for, very expensive pen. I was like, what? I'm literally going to throw it away. I'm disappointed in it that much. Like, I'm... It's going in the garbage can. Because I felt like it was... I don't know what the words I'm looking for. It's not inappropriate. But it just didn't add up. Like, it was super... I had this...

Myke Hurley: Was it maybe, like, lacking in taste?

Brad Dowdy: I guess. It was like, I don't need this. I've bought this... You know, you've presented me this pen made from this, you know, historical... Art style. You know, this Arushi lacquering that has hundreds, if not thousands of years of history behind it. And you have this kind of whack metal ballpoint pen in this box. And I was like, what is happening? Like, I didn't get it. So, anyway. That threw me off. I also did need the 10 generic black short international cartridges. But that's just kind of a thing that everyone does. You know, whatever. So, now the real star of the show is the dream pen. And I gotta say, the red finish on this is glistening. It's beautiful. It's really well done. It's like... I don't know. The pictures do it justice. Like, it's that color. It came out very bright and vibrant. I like this color. I like the size and feel and shape of the pen in my hand. It's a really good fit. It has a red ebonite feed on there. So, that kind of matches.

Arushi Pen Comparison

Brad Dowdy: If we're looking at it from... I'm not an artisan who makes pens. But I have enough Arushi pens to kind of compare the two. And it's inevitable that these are going to get compared to Nakaya's, right? I mean, you can't talk about Arushi pens without comparing them to Nakaya's. And I'd say the overall finish is close. But there's like a couple little hiccups around like my cap band. Which, you know, at arm's length you don't see. But up close I see, well, right around the edge of the cap is not really even. You know? And maybe that's an effect of how the lacquer is applied. Like, that's a connection spot, right? Or an end spot. So, you know, it may be... Right, but this is... There's some question there.

Myke Hurley: This is what happens when you're spending $500 on an Arushi pen compared to $1,500 on an Arushi pen, right?

Brad Dowdy: Right. So, that's where we're getting to. So, this is... I paid $350 for this. So, I went back and did the conversion. I couldn't remember. I knew it was around there somewhere. It's totally worth that. I don't... I wouldn't pay $500 for it, right? This is going to have to be a sub $500 pen to have a market. And I think that's kind of what they're going for. That was kind of the premise around it. Like, it's not going to be $350 that the Kickstarter was that was to get this launched. But if it's like in the $450 range, I can kind of see it. You know? It seems about right. I don't know. I think that's probably like the breaking point. Like, I'm barely comfortable at $350 on this pen based on what I have in my hand right now. Because you want it to feel super special. And you're getting... Once you start crossing over $500, you're getting into Nakaya range. And then you get those nibs on top of it, right? Which is a huge selling point from Nakaya. And you get the history of the company. And you get the technical skills of the artisans. Like, this is a good pen. And it's close. And I'm going to use it a lot because I like the shape and I like the color.

Brad Dowdy: But it's not a game changer, if you will. And I didn't think it was going to be, you know, when we first reviewed these pens and the Kickstarter launched, you know, a year ago. Like, I thought it was going to be a really good opportunity for people to try a nicer Rishi pen. And it's exactly that. Like, I think it's good. It's not great. You know, I think I would pay what I paid for this and feel comfortable doing so. If you ask me to pay another $100, $150, I don't know that I'm there on this. I think there's a lot of other options.

Myke Hurley: So they're selling them for $450. Okay.

Brad Dowdy: I mean, that's a borderline ask.

Myke Hurley: And that's with the Wancher nib. Yeah. And you can upgrade to the Jo-O nibs on their website. Upgrade. That's weird. Yeah, you pay $30 more for an 18-carat gold rhodium plated Jo-O or a two-tone Jo-O.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, that's interesting. Because they're swapping in the Wancher nibs on the rose gold nibs that people bought. That's the whole drama right now. Yeah, that's what I just thought. I find that interesting.

Myke Hurley: They come with the Wancher nibs, the 18-carat gold Wancher nibs. And you can pay more to have a Jo-O nib put in.

Brad Dowdy: Interesting. So I have the 14K Jo-O nib in mine. It's got the Wancher stamp on it, which is fine. But it's the Jo-O nib. Yep. Yep. So I like this pen. I love the color. And I love the shape. And I love the feel of it. And it writes really well, obviously. Like, the nib's great. But, you know, you're buying this for the artisans behind it and the artwork of the pen. And, like, I think I got what I paid for. I didn't get blown away. Like, I'm not, you know. I'll be interested to see how it goes post-Kickstarter for this product. And I'll be interested to see what some of the other colors, like some of the colors, like the yellow and the purple. I want to see how those turn out for people who back those colors. Because those colors look interesting. And green. Green was another one. So I wanted to go with the red.

Alternative Pen Recommendations

Myke Hurley: Let me ask you this. If somebody doesn't have an Arushi pen, should they consider one of these? Or should they wait and get something higher quality, more expensive, different brand? What do you think?

Brad Dowdy: They should pass. They should look at a Dana Trio or a Nakaya. Or then you're starting to move into other brands who make really interesting stuff in that price range. Like, Canalea is in that price range. You get something really special. Even though it's not Arushi, it's a completely different style pen. But that's in that price point. And I feel good. Like, I feel good about that price point for Canalea.

Myke Hurley: It's interesting that you'd recommend, like, I was thinking purely in the Arushi bracket, but that there are pens that are made of acrylics that are more satisfying for what they are compared to what this is satisfying for the money that it is.

Brad Dowdy: And I'd be looking at, like, I'd be looking at one of Jonathan Brooks' custom Arushis where you can get some really interesting finishes. Not just a standard lacquered finish. And it's going to cost you more. But that's where I'd be pointing people as opposed to this right now. Like, I've just started using it. But I've got a few Arushi pens that I've used for years. And you kind of, like, you can just kind of feel it. And you know what? It doesn't help that they've had a cloud overhead towards the end of the Kickstarter campaign, right? That skews perception, right? It's inevitable. Like, you know, I'd be lying to you if I said that, you know, the weirdness that's gone on hasn't skewed my perception of the product. It has. Like, the story matters, right? You want to feel, like, super great.

Myke Hurley: Especially when this is a pen which has been sold on its story. Like, they were so heavily focusing on the story, the craft, personship, you know, like, all that kind of stuff at the beginning. So, that should carry through for after purchase, right? Right. That you should continue to feel like you're buying a luxury product and that you're being kind of taken care of and all that kind of thing.

Brad Dowdy: So, yeah. So, you know, like, I'm happy with what I have and I'm happy with what I paid for it and I would not pay more for it. And that's kind of the best, the short version of how to put it.

Myke Hurley: Which you would have to now if you wanted to buy it now. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: So, yep. I'd be considering different pens.

Myke Hurley: This is probably about the way I thought it was going to go, best case scenario. Like, I'm not trying to be, like, a hashtag Myke was right moment here. No, no, no. But, like, it seemed like this was a not definite conclusion but a logical one. Like, it was going to be good but it wasn't going to beat the stuff that you pay $700 for. Like, that just was not going to happen because there's a reason that that stuff is as expensive as it is.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, yeah. And I totally agree with that. One thing, one last thing. The ebonite version, just the straight ebonite, the black, either polished or unpolished. I think those are actually a good deal. Those are really nice. Like, and I think they're still, like, in the $200 range. I'm not looking at it. But they're, I just like the shape and style and feel of this pen. And that's essentially the pen without the artwork, you know, without the lacquering. And I think that's a very nice pen. I think that's a good option for an ebonite pen.

Myke Hurley: I can tell you. So, the true ebonite, a $200.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, totally fair. In fact, that's probably a good deal.

Myke Hurley: Okay.

Fountain Pen Discussion

Myke Hurley: Again, well, actually, funnily enough, that comes with a stainless steel Joao. Yeah, that's fine. And then you can move up from there. But the Arushi ones come with the gold Wancher. And you can move on from there. Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So, I'll have more. I'll take some pictures of this. Like I said, it's fresh out the box. Freshly inked. You know, I've tried to inspect it as closely as I can, you know. And I do see a couple of little flaws that you wouldn't see from a Nakaya. And is it fair to compare them? I think it is. You know, any Arushi is going to get compared to Nakaya. Any Arushi is going to get compared to some of the best. And there's a reason why you pay the premium for the very best in this type of artwork.

Myke Hurley: All right. Let's take a break and thank FreshBooks for their support of this week's episode. Everybody loves to save time. I know that I surely do. Actually, just today, I was sending some invoices for FreshBooks. And once again, I just love being able to send out my invoices so simply and easily. You know, like when I go to send out an invoice for FreshBooks, most of the time, all I ever do is start typing two characters of whatever I want. And everything can be prefilled. Like type, just type in a couple of characters and pick the company I'm sending it to. Type in a couple of characters and just pick out the line items for the invoices. You can just fly through this system and really get what you need done fast. And then the time is saved on the other end as well. Because once you've sent that invoice out, it can all be tracked. You can see when it's been opened. You can see when it's been printed. You can even have, and I have this, like if people have questions about their invoices, they can just go and type them in on the FreshBooks page. And then I can see them. I can resolve their questions. Like maybe sometimes this has happened. You know, I'm not perfect. I enter something in wrong, put a wrong number in. Somebody can just ask me a question right on the FreshBooks page and I can deal with it. Like it's, and they even have stuff where you can share files and more message type stuff with clients, contractors, and employees. It's called their projects feature, which is just another of the many wonderful features that FreshBooks have. They simplify tasks like invoicing and expense tracking and getting paid online. And FreshBooks drastically have reduced the time it takes for over their 10 million people to do their paperwork. And I am happily one of them. If you're listening to FreshBooks and not yet using it, you haven't yet tried it out, now is the time. Because they are offering an unrestricted 30-day free trial for listeners of The Pen Addict with no credit card required to do so. All you have to do is go to freshbooks.com slash penaddict and enter The Pen Addict in the How Did You Hear About Us section. So that's freshbooks.com slash penaddict for that unrestricted 30-day free trial for listeners of this very show. Our thanks to FreshBooks for their support of this show and RelayFM.

Ink Experimentation Topic

Brad Dowdy: A little quick topic in a crowdsourcing venture I want to introduce before we get into the Ask TPA. I did a little ink experimentation this weekend in Refill where I mixed some standard inks, standard product lineup inks, if you will. Maybe not standard considering I use Ackerman and Orozuzuku. But pretty common inks in our realm. And what I wanted to know is like I know this isn't like a new thing, but it's new to me. So doing these little experiments to see if I could make a color that's even better than the ones I already like. You know, it's just kind of something a little fun thing I did. But what I want to know from listeners is one, if they do it, and two, if they have any really good recipes they would like to share. I just went with like a basic one-to-one ratio of these inks trying to see what I would like. And then, you know, you can always mix the different ratios and things like that. Like, I got a message that, you know, if you want to make a Lamy Dark Lilac imitator, you use Pilot Orozuzuku, Yamabudo, and Shinkai. You know, three-to-one ratio of Yamabudo to Shinkai makes Lamy Dark Lilac. Do people keep record of these and their recipes? And is there a source online where we can go and look at this? You know, I would like to know if you have more ink recipes for me to try them out. I don't have all the inks handy, and I don't know that I will always do it. But I think it's kind of a fun little thing to do. You know, we all have, you know, at least some of us do, like me, have lots of inks to play around with. So it's fun to just kind of, you know, dabble a little bit, get a little ink file, get your little pipettes, and measure out some ink and see what you come up with. There's, you know, an inherent risk in this, you know, not knowing how these inks are going to react, even if you're using similar product lines. So you're warned, you know, don't take what I say. This is the off-label usage that is not guaranteed to not destroy your pins. So, you know, I understand there could be some negative effects. But I definitely want to hear if people have tried some, you know, ink mixing like this and seeing what kind of recipes. Would you be interested in that, Myke? Or you're going to play it safe? I know you. You're going to play it safe, right? You know I'm not going to do that. Well, it took, how long did it take me to do it?

Myke Hurley: You know, six or seven years? It was like in reading in Refill, where you were like, oh, this is Refill is Brad's wonderful membership newsletter. Reading, like, you're like, oh, who knows whether it's going to mess up the nibs. I'm like, I'm like dying.

Brad Dowdy: I'm at that point, right? It's like, you know, I use this stuff, right? We're not building a museum here. Why not use it and have fun and play around with it and see?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, but I don't want to actively break stuff.

Brad Dowdy: I'm not active. I'm playing it as safe as humanly possible. Like, I did not mix brands and I did not mix product lineups within the brands, right? I didn't use, like, you know, if I'm using a pilot ink, I was using all of Roshizuku, not, you know, one of, like, the standard blue ink or anything like that. So, that doesn't mean it's going to work. But, so, I think it's fun. And, yeah, you know, don't do anything stupid. You know, don't put it in your most precious pen. But, I don't know. Sometimes I just go for it, Myke. And, you know, who cares? Like, it's only pens. I have another one.

Myke Hurley: Should we do some hashtag ask DPA to run out today's episode? Let's do it. First one comes from Kim Arosborn. How do you or did you use index cards? What kind of rule do you prefer on them? And does color play a factor in your organization? I just want to say, like, I'll just say this straight up. I've never really been an index card person. I always use post-it notes. I was a big, I don't really do this stuff anymore. Because I don't really work in those kind of environments now. Like, all of that type of stuff just goes digitally for me. Because whenever I'm working, I'm sitting in front of a computer of some kind. But post-it notes, big post-it note guy. That's where I would write stuff and stick it to anything. Stick it to my notebook. Stick it in my notebook. Put them on my computer. Put them on my desk. When I worked at the bank, the whole place was just covered. Post-it notes around me.

Brad Dowdy: So, like, I like post-it notes. But we've spoken many times about the flaws and the types of pens you can use with your standard post-it notes. And we've actually found some that work well with fountain pen inks and things like that. When I was working the jobby job, I used a little bit of post-it notes. But I'd more use scrap paper. Because at the time, I didn't have good index cards. But I would cut up various good papers into smaller index card sizes and use those. I didn't need the stickiness. I just needed the note aspect of it. Size, right? Size and portability as opposed to. Totally, totally. So, now that I'm able to make my own index cards, I made exactly what I like to use. And that's a graph note card that can use all kinds of inks on. And the way I use them, it's basically two things. One, it's scratch paper. And that can be just literal scratch. Like if I'm doing, you know, on a phone call and just doodling or something, you know, do that. Or it'll have a to-do or task list like just for that day or just for that, you know, morning that is disposable when I'm done with it. The second thing I use it for is I have a lot of product designs on cards that I keep in a stack. And for that one, we actually make a card which I wasn't sure I was going to use as much. But I've actually fallen in love with it. It's a line plus blank card. We make it knock. So, I'll use the blank card for a sketch and then flip it over. On the lines, I'll detail out like the product materials and colors and things like that. So, it's like a two-sided thing I use for product design. And actually, those cards I actually keep. What I don't have is a good place to store them. Like I don't have a little box. So, they're just actually in a stack in one of the holders on my desk. But there's like the cards I want to keep definitely just kind of go in a stack. And, you know, I mean, there's hardly a day that goes by where I don't use an index card for something. You know, Tyler was sick from school yesterday. So, I wrote his he missed school yesterday note on an index card this morning and sent it off to school with him. So, big, big index card fan, clearly. And, Kimber, give me an email. I know you're out in L.A. I want to know how it went. Feet on the ground. Boots on the ground. I know you were there. So, let me know your thoughts about the L.A. Pen Show.

Myke Hurley: Michael Cannavino asks, tell me everything that you know about refilling cartridges, please. I'm looking to branch out with the Pilot IC100s.

Brad Dowdy: I don't even know what that is. But refilling cartridges, you should absolutely do it. You know, save your existing cartridges that you have used up and buy a couple of syringes. Use any bottle, thank you.

Myke Hurley: The IC100 of the Namiki cartridges. Okay.

Brad Dowdy: So, yeah, it's the same pilot coupler, if you will. So, it's the same size. You know, it's fine to refill cartridges. At some point, if you're a very heavy user, you will wear down that seal just from constant, you know, constant pressure on it. And it's not going to seal as well. Well, hey, you're lucky. You probably got a bunch of cartridges. Just pitch that one. And, you know, get your syringe out. Throw it in the new cartridges that you want and go to town. I do that all the time with Kawecos. Now, there's a little bit more options in short international cartridges. But for a while there, I never really liked the stock Kaweco inks. And there weren't many interesting colors in short international style. I fill those up with syringe fill cartridges all the time. Very easy to do and very acceptable to do. Just, you know, if you've started using that cartridge, you know, 10 or 20 times, all of a sudden, you might want to swap it out just in case. Just kind of keep an eye on the connection getting loose from repeated use. But you should have plenty of cartridges to go through. Not a problem at all. Do it.

Myke Hurley: Chris J. Wilson, Mr. Chris J. Wilson asks, what is a good starter FlexNib fountain pen? I'd like to try a FlexNib, but I'm not sure where to begin.

Brad Dowdy: This is always one of the hardest questions that's never really, you know, it's been solved yet, if you will. You know, Noodlers makes the inexpensive steel nibs, but they're not the best pens themselves. The nibs are okay for Flex. You know, if you want to test, and actually if you like Flex, I always tell people to just get a nib holder and Zebra G-Nibs. But that's a dip pen. That's not a portable Flex pen. Because you really have to spend some money to get a good gold nib Flex pen. And then you're getting like in the Pilot Falcon soft nib. That's a really good Flex nib. But you're looking close to $200 for the pen models that carry that nib. And that's probably out of the price range. You know, there's a few options you can get from one-off nib stores that will, that you're starting to see some steel nibs in that, you know, $20 price range, $40 price range. But I don't know what's a good one these days. They're just, nothing's ever really taken over that space. So the best thing I can tell you in the beginning is don't spend too much until you know that you're going to like it. And you can get a few loose nibs. You can get, you know, Noodlers. And then you're going to probably, if you do like it, you're going to have to step up into gold Flex nibs pretty quickly unless you go the vintage route. But that's also not something easy to acquire unless you're going to a pen show or something like that. So I never have a good answer for this question because there's so much variance in the quality of steel Flex nib fountain pens. So I just dabble a little bit with some low-end ones and see what you like.

Myke Hurley: All right. Our next question comes from SirJerkFace. With catchers and pitchers reporting this week, I'm craving for more baseball and I need some good baseball podcasts. Brad, what have you got?

Brad Dowdy: Oh, man. It's baseball season, Myke. The first spring training games. I know you're so excited. I know you're excited for spring training games on TV or Friday. I'm just looking forward to the season. I am a hardcore, effectively wild podcast listener because, number one, they're super smart and do a really good job covering the game as a whole. From an advanced statistical perspective, you know, there's different types of podcasts that focus on different things. And they record three times a week, so the content's always fresh. You know, they're up in the thousands of somethings number of podcasts right now. And they have a really good, really good background to be able to pull in all kinds of interviews with all kinds of people. So effectively wild is my number one. If you want to get really, really nerdy, there's a podcast called the StatCast podcast that is done by two guys in the MLB office and their stats and information office. And then I also listen to the Fangraphs podcast a little bit. That one's kind of hit or miss depending on the topic and who they're talking to. But they do a real good job over at Fangraphs. And then if you're into particular teams, there's a billion different team-specific podcasts. Like I don't even, like I'm a Braves fan. And I don't even listen to, like, the Brave-specific podcasts. I can only take so much rumors and things like that. I'm not into those types of things. So start with Effectively Wild. If you like that, you're in. That's the one.

Myke Hurley: Man, there's a lot of stuff going into the show notes, which I don't understand right here. But such as it is, I knew that was going to come with this question. All right, we'll round out today with Jim's question. This is a long one. Do you have any suggestions for a portable letter writing kit? I ask because I'm trying to do IncoWriMo. When is that? Is that now? I feel like these things happen constantly now.

Brad Dowdy: I thought that was the February one, IncoRino. I think this is the current February one. Yeah, there's a lot. So I get confused.

Myke Hurley: And I say trying because I like to sometimes write letters during my lunch break. But it's hard to bring fountain pen-friendly stationery like a pack of tomorrow paper in a backpack without it getting smushed, grinkled, damaged, destroyed in my daily commute. So Jim would like to bring with him some pens, including a recommended envelope writer, a ballpoint so that the addresses don't smudge. Some nice paper and envelopes, some postcard stamps, and maybe some stickers or washi tape built into maybe something compact, something that will protect everything. We've got a budget of $60 or so for this. So what are you thinking?

Brad Dowdy: Not counting the pens. So I'm not making any pen recommendations other than if you want a ballpoint, use a Jetstream. Or if you want Pilot does the envelope writing rollerball, which is kind of a permanent ink rollerball. So those are your two additional pen choices other than what you're going to choose to write the letters with. But I actually do have an answer to this question because I've seen it in person so many times that the Lihit Lab Teffa bag-in-bag, they make two sizes, A4 or A5. I've seen the A4. I guess I've seen both of them. They're used very specifically as leather writing kit bags because of the way they're laid out. They're thin. They allow you to fit your pads in the main compartment and then all your accessories in the front compartment like stamps, washi tape, pens, envelopes, things of that nature. And they're only about $15 and they're really high quality. I've always loved the bag-in-a-bag. I've loved the bag-in-a-bag so much we made a case with a general idea called the Lanier, which we talked about earlier. That was generally kind of the same size and shape that could actually carry electronics. I wanted the Lihit Lab bag-in-bag to carry my laptop in and I felt it wasn't quite safe enough for that. So we made that bag at Nock. But that's how much I love these bags. I see them at pen shows all the time. They specifically hold letter writing kits. For letter writing, we've talked about life products a bunch. I've kind of latched on to the Clairefontaine Triumph recently again, even though I've had it for a while. That paper is so nice and they come with specific envelopes and you can get them in the A5 pads and envelope sets. And yeah, that's kind of the way to go. So I think you've got the pens covered. You're on your own on postcards and stamps. I love washi tape, so there's a million different choices there. But for something to carry it in and something to write on, the Bag & Bag by Lihit Lab and Clairefontaine Triumph paper, between those two items, that's about $25. So now you have another $35 to spend on all the extra accessories that you want, including postage. So that's the way I'd go.

Myke Hurley: Nice work. Nice work indeed. All right, so that wraps it up for this episode. Once again, don't forget to go and back our Kickstarter campaign. We would greatly, greatly, greatly appreciate that. Thank you so much if you do. And we will do, as I say, our level best to provide you with the very best in Kickstarter rewards as we attempt every single year. So you can find links to that and everything else over at Relay.fm slash PenAddict slash 347. Or you can find links in your podcast app of choice for all of that, too. You can find Brad online. He is at Dowdyism, D-O-W-D-Y-I-S-M on Twitter. PenAddict on Instagram. I am imike, I-M-Y-K-E on Twitter and Instagram as well. You go to PenAddict.com and knock.co for more of Brad's work. And you can go to Relay.fm slash shows where you'll find this show and many more. Maybe there's something else you might like the look of. Maybe Make Do, which is a wonderful Relay.fm show about making and art. And we really love Make Do and Julia and Tiff do a wonderful job. They actually had a new episode come out today. So you can go and check that out. I think that's a good and nice overlap for PenAddict listeners for sure. Thank you to our sponsors, Harry's, FreshBooks, for their support of this episode. But of course, most importantly, especially at this time of year, thank you for listening. And we'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad. Goodbye, Brad.