Editing The Pen Addict 467/transcript (section)

== Paper Testing ==


'''Myke:'''  Especially products...

'''Brad:''' The most bang for your buck.

'''Myke:'''  Like the stuff that we make.

'''Brad:''' Like this. Yeah, yeah, like the things that we make, right? That seems to be the route.

'''Myke:'''  The reason I want to do Instagram ads is because Myke Hurley buys loads of stuff from Instagram ads. You know, like I buy more products or at least like click through on more ads on Instagram than I have with any other type of web advertising ever. Mm-hmm. Right? Like I just know this about myself and about my friends too, right? Like there's something about Instagram advertising that when it's done well, it's very compelling. And I'm really pleased with some of the treatments that we've got going right now. But we have some like logistical financial company set up things that need to be done before I can start the campaigns. But I'm hoping that will start soon. Yeah.

'''Myke:''' Yeah. The setup is... Oh my God.

'''Myke:'''  It's a frigging nightmare. Oh my God. So I'm trying to work through that stuff. But I'm purposefully not rushing it because there's no real need to rush it. But yeah, the subscriptions is where we are now and then kind of just running out the rest of the year. And yeah, we'll see. There is one other little thing that I think I wanted to talk about today with the journal because it's just something that's playing on my mind. And you notice we've spoken about this, which is like paper performance and how complicated that is to do. So like I've had, you know, I've had some people contact me and say that like, hey, you know, my 1.1 millimeter stub nib with Noodler's Black is feathering a little bit on the theme system journal or whatever. And I'm kind of like, yeah, it's going to do that. And it's really complicated. And like, you know, I was having a conversation with this person. They super understand it. And it was just kind of like, hey, do you know about this? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's because the journal, the paper I have chosen, I did extensive testing with myself. And I am happy with the result of it. And I think the result of the paper that we use in all of our products right now is good for all circumstances, but it is not perfect for any particular circumstance. Because if I was to make the perfect fountain pen paper, it's going to not be perfect for the majority of our customers. Right. Right. And so like, I'm having to kind of thread the needle a little bit to find the right product fit. It's very complicated to do.

'''Brad:''' Without question. Without question. Yeah. But for like a product like this, it can't be tied into like a specific use case, be it fountain pens or pencils or gel ink pens. It has to be more all encompassing, which means it may not be 100% perfect for everything, but hopefully it's like 90% perfect for most of what you use kind of thing. That's the way I always look at these things. Because like our paper that we use in our knock notebooks are the same thing with fountain pens, right? There's a lot of fountain pens and inks and nib combinations that work great, but there's some that just it's not going to be good. And but the decision is, well, we like this paper for what it offers for everything. And if it was a fountain pen only paper, we'd market it as such. And it's not.

'''Myke:'''  So, you know, it's always there's a whole other thing about just the science of paper, which I'm learning about. Oh, yeah. Where it's like you can have a notebook and five pages it might feather on, but the rest is totally fine because something got in the factory that day. And it's like, oh, my God, it's really complicated. But I'm basically this is therapy, this conversation for me right now. Like, I'm just I just wanted to talk about it where it's kind of like, hey, because I think of the people that would buy the journal that would maybe have these issues, I reckon I've got a pretty decent Venn diagram listening right now. You know, like of people that would buy the theme system or the subtle notebook and use the kinds of products where you might see these issues. They're probably listening to the show. So, I mean, look, I don't really it's like I think the paper is really good for most circumstances and there's going to be outlier situations. What I will say is if any listeners of this show do have really egregious issues throughout the notebook to just contact me. I want to see some images and I'll take care of you. Mm hmm.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. So just to put a bow on this from my experience, when I would use a different pen every day when I use my theme system journal and most of the time fountain pens. And I'd have maybe.

'''Brad:''' One out of every 10 or 12 or 15 pens and ink combinations, I was like, ah, that's not the best on this page.

'''Myke:''' Mm hmm.

'''Brad:''' That's pretty much how it went. Like, and then all the other ones would be just like perfectly fine. I've had this too. And then just want you someone again.

'''Myke:'''  My testing is like, all right, let me try it on the next page. Oh, it's OK. And it's like, what is happening? So that I'm still I'm new to this. Right. And I'm get I'm still trying to get my head around it. It's a frigging nightmare.

'''Brad:''' But that's all we can have these conversations out loud because we've got we've both gone through this and we will continue to go through this because this it's it's nothing is going to. Ever make this perfect.

'''Myke:'''  So but I will stand about these things out loud by the fact and we'll say it out loud because this is, again, part of my therapy. I believe I've made a very good product. Yeah, that's kind of. And so you can check it out for yourself. I recommend it. Cortexmerch.com. Let's talk about something. It's nothing to do with us.

'''Brad:''' Well, actually, I did this because I did this on purpose because you have another product called the subtle notebook. And I wanted to shout out 10 years of Patrick Ng's chronodex system, which I saw I put a post up that this latest like six month batch of, you know, calendar planner. I don't even know what you call this system. It's just this fascinating system. It's now with this release. It has reached the 10 year mark. And you can use this type of system in something like the subtle notebook, right, where you could get these printed out sheets and cut them out, paste them in there or transfer this type of sheet. But basically, I just wanted to give a shout out to Patrick for 10 years of chronodex, which is really, really fascinating. He does all this for free and puts this out there like every six months, puts out the next set of calendars because the little base that you use for the chronodex is complicated, right? People who like the system generally don't draw their own chronodex. They use the preprinted stuff that Patrick has done, and he's just done this forever. And I appreciated him for that, and I wanted to give him a shout out.

'''Myke:'''  Yeah, definitely. This is a super cool project to not only have started, but to have continued for so long and for free. And I think there's a lot. I mean, he could have turned this into a product a long time ago and sold it.

'''Brad:''' Yep, absolutely.

'''Myke:'''  I think it's super cool that he continues to offer this. It's really great.

'''Brad:''' Yep. Myke. Yes, Brad. Can I tell you how excited I am about the sponsors this week before you get into our next sponsor? This is like the most on-point set of sponsorships for me today. Despite the fact that I didn't bring my microphone, I'm never going to hear the end of it. Never. I am all in on these sponsors. So let's talk about our next good friend.

'''Myke:'''  Is this how you make it up to me? Yes. Okay, great. This episode is brought to you by Hullo. They make incredibly comfortable buckwheat pillows. You may have never tried a buckwheat pillow and you may have, you know, you might not remember me talking about it, spouting so effusively about it. These are so different and so fantastic. It isn't a fluffy pillow full of feathers or foam. These are called buckwheat holes. It's kind of like a cross between like a shell and like a bean bag kind of bean thing. It's a totally different type of experience. But what it gives you is a much more comfortable experience, much more support because the pillow doesn't kind of like smush under the weight of your head like a regular pillow. Plus, it stays cool. It stays dry because air will flow through the buckwheat pillows more easily. They breathe better. They don't get warm and humid. You're not flipping to the cool side of the pillow and you're not constantly adjusting the pillow either to just, you know, to be the right kind of fit for you. It just stays as it is, which is fantastic. You can add and remove the filling to suit your needs, kind of to make the pillow the exact kind of size that you need it to be. It's really, really awesome. I have been sleeping on a hollow pillow for years and I adore it. If I am ever in a situation, you know, like maybe staying over a family member's house or I'm in a hotel or something and I have a kind of more regular, smushy, terrible pillow, I miss my hollow pillow all the time. Super fantastic. Hollow pillows are made in the USA with quality construction and materials. The certified organic cotton case is cut and sewn for durability and the buckwheat is grown and milled in the US. You may be curious to try one of these out and you should. You can sleep on it for 60 nights and if it isn't right for you, you can just send it back and hollow will give you a full refund. Go to hollow pillow dot com slash pen addict right now to get your very own buckwheat pillow. That's H-U-L-L-O-P-I-L-L-O-W dot com slash pen addict. And if you buy more than one, they have a special discount of up to $20 off depending on the size that you opt for. They have fast free shipping of every order and 1% of all profits are donated to the Nature Conservancy. So give it a try. If you love it, keep it. If you don't, send it back. That's hollow pillow dot com slash pen addict. Our thanks to hollow for the support of this show and relay FM.

'''Brad:''' I'm going to become one of those people that travels with their pillow after the current experience that I'm having right now.

'''Myke:'''  It's going well, huh?

'''Brad:''' At an Airbnb and using this foam pillow, my head was literally on fire for hours and all I wanted was my hollow pillow that I had at home. And I couldn't sleep because every time I'd turn over, like the flames would start and then I'd flip the pillow and I had to do it so much. It would still be warm on the on the other side. It was not as cool as the other side of the pillow. It was still warm on the other side and all I wanted, Myke, was my stinking hollow pillow that I had at home. So, yes, they've got me. They have sunk their teeth in me and I am now one of those people. I need my pillow. It's that good.

'''Myke:'''  You're a big hollow boy.

'''Brad:''' Oh, man. All right. You were talking about the difficulties of quarterly additions and how impressed we are with someone like Field Notes. Blackwing is right there with them in the quarterly subscription game and continuing to execute good products every three months, every few months, three or four months, depending on how delays go. So, and this latest version, Blackwing 64, it's great. It's a cool comic theme based on the 64 colors you see in the – what's the phrase? What's the word I'm looking for? The halftone.

'''Myke:'''  Oh, yeah.

'''Brad:''' Halftone. 64 color palette. Halftone. So, you know, the – I look at this pencil. The first thing that came to mind was not comics. Like, I, you know, like I get it. Like, I get where they're going. You see the close-ups and you're like, oh, okay, I can see some of the kind of –

'''Myke:'''  I saw art. You know, like it told me there was something artistic, but I didn't necessarily see – I mean, when I zoom in, seeing the, like, stipple pattern on the blue part tells me comics, but the lines don't tell me so much until I know, you know?

'''Brad:''' Right. Like, I didn't know this was a comic series until I clicked through. Like, I think they could have leaned into, like, the comic art on the pencil a little bit more than the halftone. I totally get it. Like, I love what this looks like. Like, I'm not going to rush out and buy them despite having the – they have the 602 core, the firm core, which I very much enjoy. This is a great set. It's going to do very, very well. I do wish they would have leaned into, like, really more the comic panel type of situation to tell the story a little bit better. But they've also – in telling the story, they have done some cool things. Like, they work with a friend of the Pen community, Myke Hawthorne, who has been a long-time comic artist. He did a sketch, which I'll put the link in the show notes. I watched this morning on Twitter. I don't know if you've had a chance to watch it. It's, like, a five-minute time lapse. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Watching him work –