Editing The Pen Addict 464/transcript (section)

== Mr. Cypress Pens ==


'''Myke:''' Weird and wonderful things in this website.

'''Brad:''' Like I couldn't go through them all. That's how much stuff is on there. But I knew exactly what I was going for with the G10. And then I browsed around a little bit and picked up something else was how they got me. I'm going to treat to see what you think about these. I am too. I am too. So we'll see if the build quality is good, if it feels good. You know, I've got a Yovo nib coming in one. I got a Bach nib coming in another. So like, you know, good stuff you're used to getting and things like that. So I just kind of mixed it up and tried to figure it out. So we'll do a full recap when I get the pens in and see what I think.

'''Myke:''' Mr. Cypress. Mr. Cypress. All right. This episode is brought to you in part by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform to build your online presence and run your business. From websites and online stores to marketing tools and analytics, Squarespace have got you covered. They combine cutting-edge design and world-class engineering, making it easier than ever to establish your home online and make your ideas a reality. Squarespace has everything that you need to create a beautiful and modern website. You start with a professionally designed template and you use drag-and-drop tools to make it your own. You can customize the look and feel of your Squarespace site, the settings of it, the products that you have on sale, and so much more with just a few clicks. It really is that simple. All Squarespace websites are automatically optimized for all sizes of screens. So from desktop to tablet to mobile, your content is going to automatically adjust to look great on every device. With Squarespace, you will also get free unlimited hosting, top-of-the-line security, and dependable resources to help you succeed. There's nothing to patch or install or upgrade. They have 24-7 customer support, which is award-winning. They will let you quickly and easily grab a unique domain name if you need it, and also help you with SEO, email marketing, and so much more to help you get your ideas out there and realize your project. You can use the Squarespace website for so many different things. Whether you want to turn your next big idea into a business and you need a website, whether you want to showcase your work with portfolio designs, publish a blog post, promote your business, and it's an upcoming event, or anything else in between. Squarespace has the options and tools that you're going to need. And I have used Squarespace for pretty much every single one of these things at this point. I've been a happy, happy customer for over 10 years. Head to squarespace.com slash penaddict for a free trial today with no credit card required. And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code penaddict and you'll get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com slash penaddict. And when you decide to sign up, use that offer code. It's penaddict and you'll get 10% off your first purchase. Thanks to Squarespace for their support of this show and all of RelayFM.

'''Brad:''' All right, Myke, I wanted to dig into our popular paper topic a little bit more. It's not going away and nor do I want it to go away because I like talking about these things. Paper is one of those things where I think we even have more options popping up than we see pens, right? Because it's a little, you know, it's a little, you know, instead of buying a $200 pen, you can buy a $20 notebook and kind of get your stationary fix that way. So the topic came up and I think I kind of took and tweet, asked TPA question that I didn't really know the answer to and took it to the Twitch stream and try to figure out the answer to the question. And the question is generally, what are my notebook options for a large notebook, 365 plus pages, that's not Tomoe River, right? But it's actually good for fountain pens or all types of pens, right? Because Tomoe River paper really has cornered the market on the large paper count, large page count, I should say. Notebook, right? Those big 400 page notebooks that appear to be about the size of a standard 200 page notebook. So what other options are out there? The only one that I had come to mind and, you know, the chat also mentioned and is very good, as well as the Stiology, which we've talked about before and I've shared before. And they actually have a product called the 365 days notebook. And it's not designed to be a planner, but you can make it one. They have this subtle top header, right? Where you can pick the day and the date, right? And kind of circle the day and the date and use it as like a planner. But that's also hidden away. If you never want to use that, I think you wouldn't even notice that stuff hardly at the top. It's so small. So it's also a thin paper. So you get those 365 pages in a reasonably sized notebook, right? It's maybe like a little bit bigger than you'd think. Everyone thinks of like the traditional A5 Leuchtturm size, like 198 pages. That's like this classic size that somehow just kind of hits the sweet spot for everyone. And this notebook, even not quite twice the number of pages, it's nowhere near twice as thick as like what you'd consider just like a traditional A5 notebook. So that was the thing we were trying to figure out. It's like what other paper options are there for this? And there were two new ones that came up to me that I wanted to point out, which I both found is very interesting. I think this is a newish product from Midori. So they have a one-day, one-page journal, which is 365 pages. It's reasonably thick. You know, I think it's thicker than the Stiology one. But it's a Midori. So it's a Midori MD line. So you know it's good. They have a nice perf there in the corner, Myke. I know you would appreciate that. I don't know if you've seen the pictures of those, but that is the cleanest perf. No offense. I have ever seen in my life. It's kind of wild looking. But yeah, this is an option. It's a very cream color paper, though. So if you don't like the cream color paper of Midori, I happen to like it okay. It's not my favorite, but the paper itself is awesome for like all kinds of pens. And it's 368 pages. And it's got kind of an exposed stitch binding to help it lay flat, which is kind of always key when you have a notebook of that size. How big is your note? Is the subtle notebook? How many pages is the subtle notebook?

'''Myke:''' Oh, my God. A hundred and something. Don't put me on the spot like this.

'''Brad:''' It's more standard traditional A5 size, though, right? Like it's not some big 300 page behemoth.

'''Myke:''' We have 120. That was right. Okay.

'''Brad:''' So there you go. So not too thick at all. So this is like three times as big like page count wise. So if someone's looking for like a month, I prefer like the 120, like less than 200 pages is my jam. Like I have two that's I have commitment issues with a 365 page notebook, but a lot of people love these. So these Midori ones are new. And when we found those on stream, a lot of people were liking those.

'''Myke:''' Then. Corner perforation is interesting. They're using the same style that I am. Definitely.

'''Myke:''' Smart to just do the straight line. I do because I like rounded corners on the notebook. We have rounded corner edge on the perforation and that can be tricky to get just right. It's just one of those things. It's a straight doing a rounded corner things. A strange thing. I was. They tried to talk me out of it, but I wasn't having it.

'''Brad:''' But it aesthetically matches.

'''Myke:''' Exactly. And I wouldn't be surprised, Brad, if that is why another route like this is very simple. Like, are we going to do straight corners, you know, on this.

'''Brad:''' Yes, exactly right. For so we can have this straight line punch. So, yeah, it's pretty wild. So I hadn't I hadn't noticed that before. Last one. And this is somewhere where I don't shop for stationery, but I know a lot of people do. And there's a lot of cool Etsy shops out there. So if you have cool Etsy shops, I'm about to talk about one. If you have cool Etsy shops, you want to email me or tweet at me. I'd be happy to take a look at them. But this is from a shop called Danica 58. And we'll put a link in the in the show notes to make it easier for you to find. But this is someone who basically bulk binds Cosmo Air light paper. And they have 384 page notebooks in A5, A6, B6, B6, Slim, B5. So like all these wild sizes in a paper that a lot of people love. Like I wouldn't want that much Cosmo Air light paper because I don't enjoy it that much. Like it's strictly a fountain pen paper for me. And I need more variety than that. Same goes for Tomoe River. That's why I don't necessarily use those for my main journals. But if you're interested, like that's a huge bulk assembly of these notebooks. And a lot of people like this. The interesting thing was there is another notebook that this seller makes. The paper is called Torah Next. And that's one I need to check out. They say it's fountain pen friendly and has some interesting features. But I don't know much about it. But the two papers they bind are Cosmo Air light and Torah Next. And I thought that was interesting. So Etsy is another place when you're looking for these highly specific layouts. And I consider like 400 page, you know, 350 plus page notebooks. That's a highly specific thing. I mean, with Tomoe River paper, we were spoiled that. They all came that way or else they'd look like a thin notebook. Right? So now that we don't have that option as frequently, finding these other options out there is going to take a little bit of work, a little bit of research. So that's why I took to the wisdom of the crowds. And those are the things we came up with. And that might help some other people figure out some of their things. Yeah. They're looking for in a notebook.

'''Myke:''' And these are the things that just exist right now. Well, it's not taking into account the possibilities of things that may try and move into the space now that Tomoe River is on the way out.

'''Brad:''' I think we're going to see a lot more from Midori, more from Kukuyo, more from...

'''Myke:''' It's Hobonichi I have my eye on, man.

'''Brad:''' Yeah, Hobonichi. Like, there's going to be... We're not going to be lacking for options in paper. We never are. And it's going to continue to escalate. Like I say...

'''Myke:''' Hobonichi are big enough that they might... You know, I could imagine them either doing something themselves, but what I think might be more likely is that they partner with another manufacturer to create something that will be good for them that this other manufacturer could maybe also sell.

'''Brad:''' Yeah, totally. Like, it's a lot... I don't want to say it's a lot easier. Not for someone like Hobonichi. That's a large capital A-out. But you can try and fail with paper a lot more inexpensively than you can with pens necessarily, right? So that's why you see a lot of innovation sometimes. Paper is also more universal. In the paper world.

'''Myke:''' Yeah. And typically as well, you know, because you can make a good paper, but it might not work with all pens, but...

'''Brad:''' Plus it's also like it's more of a commodity that you're going to use and use up and then have to replace where a pen you can continue to use the same pen, but you're always going to use a notebook and fill it and replace it. Yes.

'''Myke:''' It is a... If you create a product good enough that people want to have around in their lives, you have repeat purchase and that's kind of the best kind of business you can be in. If you can make something good enough that people want to buy it over and over and over again. Yeah. That's a real... Something you know about. Well, yeah. I mean, well, that's the point, isn't it, really? Like you create something good enough that people want to keep buying and that's the best kind of business to have because you've put the work in once or, you know, you might revise it, but the majority of the work is done once and then you can continue to make money on that product long into the future. Yeah. Yeah.

'''Brad:''' Yeah. And that's why I enjoy talking about paper a lot because the variables are immense and we like those nitty gritty details. Whereas the next Blackwing volumes release is going to be a paint job and a story. Like that's cool too. Right? I like that aesthetic, but I have the internals. Right? I'm covered on how it works. Right? I may not be covered on what it looks like, but there's always this variance in paper and paper manufacturers that's different from a, say, like a pencil. You know, like a Blackwing volumes edition. Right? So, you know, I think it's, I find it to be fascinating and difficult to get right. It's a challenge. I'm not saying this to say that it's easy. None of that means this is easy. I'm just saying that there is an ability to experiment more in the paper world, in my opinion. And I like what I see in that world.

'''Myke:''' This episode of The Pen Addict is also brought to you by ExpressVPN. There are so many VPN providers out there. You may have heard of a few of them. Some of you may have even used a VPN before. But there's a reason that I use ExpressVPN and it's why we have them as a sponsor on the show. It's because they're really good. Here's why. ExpressVPN doesn't log your data. Other VPNs can make money by selling your data to ag companies. You don't want that. And ExpressVPN developed a technology called Trusted Server, which makes it impossible for their servers to log any of your information. Because that information is just stored in RAM. So it just gets erased. Nice and easy. Second, speed. Many VPNs can slow your connection down or make your device feel sluggish. Whenever I use ExpressVPN, I find my internet speeds remain blazing fast multiple times. A lot of the time, actually, one of the things that I use ExpressVPN for is watching video. And you can stream HD quality video with zero lag, even if you're connected to servers thousands of miles away. The last thing that really sets ExpressVPN apart from other VPNs is how easy it is to use. Unlike others, you don't have to input or program anything. You just fire up the app, click one button to connect. It's so easy. Your grandparents could use it. And it's not just me saying this. Wired, The Verge, CNET, and many others, many other tech experts, tech websites, they write ExpressVPN, the number one VPN service in the world. For all of these reasons, it's why I use it. I have it installed on all my devices. Whenever I need it, I can just turn it on. It's super simple. It's there when I need it. It doesn't take up space. It's nice and easy. I love to be having access to it whenever I want to either protect myself or whenever I want to say, hey, I'm somewhere else, you know, and trick the computer into thinking that I'm in another location so I can get around sometimes silly geo-restrictions. So protect yourself with the VPN that I use and trust. Go to expressvpn.com slash penaddict, and you'll get an extra three months free on a one-year package. That's expressvpn.com slash penaddict. Go there right now and check it out. One last time, expressvpn.com slash penaddict. Go there and learn more. Thanks to ExpressVPN for the support of the show and RelayFM.