Editing The Pen Addict 612/transcript (section)

== IA Writer notebook and its unique design ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. IA, the company's known as Information Architects. That's what IA stands for. They've been around for a really long time. They created a text editor for iOS at first called IA Writer. And their whole thing was, it was impeccably designed. They even created their own font, I think, for the, for the app. And they have since gone on to, you know, they're continuing to build out IA Writer into its, the best it can possibly be around a couple of times. It's like a perfect text editor. They also now have IA Presenter, which is a, for, like, what they did for text editing, now doing for a, like, Keno or PowerPoint-like app, too. And then last year, they were like, hey, we've just been working on this thing that we think is fun. And it's a notebook. And the notebook's whole thing, which we spoke about at the time, that I still remain skeptical of, is that it has lines, but the lines are debossed into the paper. Yeah. Very lightly. Yes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' What I didn't, I didn't realize, so I've used IA Writer, and it is, it's a beautiful piece of software. Like, yeah, like, if I had different needs for my digital writing, and I've bought IA in the past and used it and loved it, I actually use the fonts. They offer the fonts for free. You can download them using them in other applications. But I didn't realize that IA is based in Japan, I believe, if I'm not mistaken. Or, you know, I mean, they may have a global workforce, but I thought I was reading some of that. So they have taken that Japanese aesthetic and put it into this notebook, which we talked about before. So what Myke's describing is this letterpress type paper. Yeah, found it in Tokyo.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Didn't know that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I only knew that because how intense they were getting about this notebook. And I was like, okay, you're in. You are in the place you need to be to make this. So I have used, I'm going to do a, I keep saying I need to do a review of this. So Plotter offers some of this letterpress type paper where it's ostensibly a lined notebook, but the lines are, come from a deboss on the page as opposed to a printer, right? They're not a printed line on the page. In the Plotter pages I use, and they're called the same thing, letterpress pages. That's why I keep calling it that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They're, they're actually hard to see, right? So it's, to me, it's more of a blank page. The way they photograph this IA writer notebook, they seems like maybe the debossing is a little bit deeper, which could be interesting for non-Japanese characters, right? So if you're looking at their text writing, you know, the Japanese characters don't have a lot, and I may be speaking on a turn here, but I'm just looking at the, at the writing on the page, they don't have a lot of below the line markings, right? Where if I'm writing like a lowercase P or a G or something like that, I'm going below the line. So whether you feel that dip in the line, you know, to be determined, right? With the letterpress plotter paper, I don't, I don't. But I also have a tough time seeing it. So I don't know that I'm getting the benefits of the line. But I wanted this notebook when it first came out, and they just, they, they just did almost, almost like a, almost like an alpha release. They just did a very small pre-order, and I didn't get in on that, so I didn't look at them again. So they came back out this week saying, hey, we reopened pre-orders now, and I went and looked. And the notebook's $74. So I wanted to talk about that for a minute, because that took me aback a little bit, but maybe not for the reasons that you think. I definitely thought, okay, I'm going to stop throwing things in my cart now, because that feels pretty expensive, because I'm looking at it as strictly a review product, as opposed to, hey, I need a notebook today, and, or, like, I need a notebook. In the next week or two, I'm going to finish my notebook. Let me get another special notebook to use. I would have no qualms paying $74 for this notebook, to be perfectly honest. It's 142 pages, A5 size. You know, it's not the biggest, you know, page size. And it is, you know, without a doubt expensive, but, like, I've paid twice as much for notebooks before, but they usually come with different cover styles, cover embellishments. Like, I have no qualms paying Misubi for these hand-bound notebooks with, you know, indigo denim covers and paying $150 for that. Like, I didn't even think twice, right, the craftsmanship that goes in this one. This one gave me a little pause, because it seems like, you know, I grant a lot of things to get to this price, right? Smaller company, smaller print runs. Notebooks are expensive to make. Notebooks are expensive to ship.

'''Myke Hurley:''' They're doing a strange process. Like, the process of producing this book will be more expensive than a comparable book.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep, yep. So, like, in a vacuum, I don't have a problem with the price, but then, like, I also love Midori notebooks, that you're not getting something too far different from this for, like, $20 or $24, right? So, I'll still probably get one, but I don't know. I got to think about it, and I haven't looked at the shipping costs, because they'll ship from Japan as well.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I just loaded one, because I'm intrigued, and it was 60 pounds and 20 pounds shipping.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Okay, yeah. So, it's super expensive, right? Yeah. But, like, I don't, I just want to be clear, like, I don't think that's a bad thing, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I mean, I just believe this is what they cost, and then they added, like, on top of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, like... My biases are I make expensive notebooks. Sure, sure, sure. And so, like, basically, one of the things that I actually had a meeting with my manufacturer this morning, and we were talking about some stuff that we're working on for Cortex brand. Mm-hmm. And basically, where I have started, where I have landed on this kind of stuff is, if you make a good product, you can charge whatever you want for it, and either people will buy it. This is so simple. Either people will buy it, or they won't buy it, and they'll be happy about it, or they won't be. As long as you're happy that this product is worth it, then you can charge whatever you want, and people will either buy it or they won't, and then that's up to you. Right? You know what I mean? Right. You don't... If you think this is too expensive, like, you actually... You don't need to buy it, right? Yes. Like, it's pretty simple. But maybe people that do will be like, oh, man, like, this is pretty good, you know?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, I think a good comparison, which I just thought of while we're talking to this, is the difference between, say, a standard lacquered Retro 51 Tornado, which is about $25, or a Studio Neat Mark I, which they start about, like, $69, right? Like, they're the exact same writing experience, because they use the same refill, right? The writing experience you're going to get is the exact same, because the refill is the exact same. So, do you value the extra care and craftsmanship, or in, like, the Mark I, or do you prefer the fun, whimsical designs in the retro? And, like, both answers can be right. This is, like, what we talked about last week. Like, both of these things can be right for different people. And, like, seeing this notebook priced at $74, knowing, being a huge fan of Japanese notebooks, it took me back a little bit. But at the same time, I also understand it. So, I haven't ordered one yet. I do want to try it. Maybe I'll let you go first, but you're very curious about the lines. I've tried the lines. I just want to see, like, the craftsmanship and the paper quality.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm curious from a design standpoint, because I buy lots of notebooks now. Like, this is something I don't really talk about on the show, because I actually don't think it is relevant. I'm buying notebooks, Brad, like you would not believe. Like, the other day, I bought five journals from a company. Like, I'm just buying loads of stuff, because I want to see, I want inspiration. Like, I want to see what's out there. And I want to, like, I'm buying more stuff to look at to try and build my own expectations for how a product shouldn't work or how something shouldn't be laid out. And so, I bought one of these. I mean, it says it won't ship until at least June, so you'll be waiting for a while. Okay, I see that right now. First batch will ship mid-June, yeah. But I bought this, because I just want to see, like, what does this feel like? Like, I don't think that this is, like, necessary. I don't understand this, which is why I want to buy it. Like, I don't know what genuinely would make this notebook good, except the fact that it looks nice, which is also fine, but, like, I'm just not sure that I'm, like, down on the utility of, like, letterpress lines on a paper. Like, I'm not sure. I'm not sure what that provides.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, this is what makes such an interesting product for me, because there's so many unanswered questions. Which makes me want to order it, right? Because I look at things, I'm not looking at this as, like, oh, I need a new notebook to use to fit, like, a specific need. I'm looking, it's like, I mean, I want to see what they're doing here. Yeah. Kind of like you. It's like, hey, what's the deal here? So, yeah, it looks cool. I will probably get one, but I did kind of back out yesterday thinking about the price and just wanted to think about it a little bit more. So, on staying on the paper front, Myke, this one might interest you, too, because Bullet Journal and Leuchtturm have come out with a pocket journal. The Bullet Journal Pocket is what it's called. So, it's a three-pack of your pocket-sized notebooks, like, field note size. But what they're describing is funny. So, Leuchtturm uses international paper-sized standards, I believe, for most of their stuff. Like, their main journal is A5, right? The Leuchtturm we always see is A5.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They're calling this... This is marketing. One double page, Myke. So, if you open the notebook and you have it folded open, that's a double page, offers the space of an entire A5 page. So, wouldn't these just be A6 notebooks? Like, that's how this works. That's why international paper sizes are a thing.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, but Brad, it doesn't work if you need to market the product.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Right? Like, if we're... Look, what they're trying to do is they're trying to... sell it to you, right? Like, people know what an A5 notebook is, I'm expecting. People don't really know what A6 is, right? And so, they're like, hey, this is just an A5 notebook you can fold in half and put in your pocket, right? Like, this is just the marketing of the product, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I love this. I don't know why this is making me crack up, but instead of... Like, they could save so many words.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But it's just the marketing, right? Because, like, the bullet journal design mostly around these A5 notebooks or you can roll your own and most of the examples are done in A5 notebooks, but you can really roll it in anything you want.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'm having real trouble with this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'm not sure why this gets you so much. I don't get it. It's just so dumb. It's an A6 pocket notebook. It's like, that's cool. Like, that's cool to me, but they're just selling it to the people who have the A5 notebooks. Like, hey, it's the same. If you just open the notebook.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't think this is dumb. I think this is a smart way to talk about it because, like, who really knows what A6 is? Like, genuinely. Like, I'm in this world and I forget if A6 is smaller or bigger. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Aside from that silliness, it's a beautiful product, right? So, again, bullet journals. If you're a bullet journaler, you can use, like, literally any notebook, any paper style. Like, you don't have to have a specialized product. That's kind of the beauty of the system. But what this offers for the price, so it's 20 euros for a three-pack of the notebooks. They're 46 pages. So, like, as field notes, it's 48 pages. So, it's, like, the same size or same page count. But as with the other bullet journal-branded pockets products through Leuchterm, you get the extra accessories, like sticker sheets that help you with the planning days of the week, different, like, task stickers and things like that. So, it's cool. Like, I actually want to get a set of these just to see how they are because the last set, the last bullet journal-specific notebook, the A5, the big, thick one with the big, thick pages, was really, really popular. And they did a really good job with that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's a truly beautiful notebook. I am so jealous of how incredibly well-made that product is. Yes, at a price that sometimes I understand. It's a knockout. I don't understand how that product costs what it costs. Like, I can't wrap my head around it. Like, it's way too cheap for what it is. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, like, even if you don't bullet journal, like, that journal is mostly just normal plain pages for you to use. And it's just a stunner of a journal.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't understand how something can have so much foiling on it. It's so cheap. I mean, I guess this is what happens when, like, your branded product is essentially owned by Leuchtturm. You know what I mean? Yeah, exactly. It's something that me or you could not make because we just... No. Because, like, look, that product, like, will benefit from all of the cost efficiencies of just a regular Leuchtturm 1917. Like, they are running those out from a manufacturing perspective at the same time that they're doing the rest of their journals. And that is just, like, an efficiency you can't get unless you own your own machinery. Like, it just doesn't work.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, anyway, I'm going to get these. I think they look great. And every time I see the Leuchtturm stuff, I always forget that I need to order myself one of the Dre Grafell pens. Totally mispronouncing that. I understand. I reviewed the bullet journal one and I ended up giving it away. But it's such a good pen. They have a ballpoint version, a gel pen version, and a pencil version. I'm probably going to get, like, one of each and do some different colors. I think it's just this classic modernization of a design that they've had forever. And I think they executed it perfectly. So, I just... I have a review of the bullet journal model. We can link that in the show notes. And I loved it, but I had planned on giving it away. So, I did. So, I don't have my own. But I need to get that. Maybe I'll get an orange one and you can put, like, words on it. Like, you can get it... You know, I can put, like, the pen addict on it or something like that. So, I might do that. Order it directly from them. So, where else can I order pens from, Myke?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Wait, you can customize pens with them?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's kind of sick.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Well, I didn't see that. Click on the other link that I put in there.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yo, that's...

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, Brad, that is... Doesn't have it on there.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Awesome. No, using graving service? Yeah, it's the... The colors are so good.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. That's why I need to get one of these.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Huh. So, yeah. Damn. Bludge time. They're killing it out here, man.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Crushing it. Crushing it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This is a good-looking pen. I like this way more in all the colors than the bullet journal version.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think this is much nicer looking.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That was probably my idea when I was getting it. That lemon one. It's like... Woo! I'll wait and... You know, I like this one, but I'll wait and get... I'll review this one and then get my own specific one at some point.

'''Myke Hurley:''' What refills does this take?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I think they're, like, Parker style, but they had a gel refill model, which is interesting.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Man, I should have added this to the cart before I bought that bullet journal notebook. I'm fine. I sit on this podcast now and I'm quietly buying all the notebooks. You don't even know what I'm up to over here anymore. Exactly. I'm just sitting here and I'm just adding to cart.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Well, I have been there before and I might be about to be there again, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Uh-huh. Because we're talking about our friends over at Pen Chalet. Okay, this episode is brought to you by our friends at Pen Chalet. Ron told me, Brad, that he's got a bunch of... Let me find the exact wording because I thought it was exciting. Maybe you're going to enjoy this. So I email Ron every week and I'm like, hey, Ron, do you got anything special for us this week? What do you want us to talk about? And he said, I have discounted items that we have very limited selections on. So there are better deals than normal, but they're not going to last. So how about that? Yeah, I'm seeing a few. Go and dig into that and I'll tell everybody that Pen Chalet believe in fast and reliable customer service. They're adding new products every month. You're going to find new stuff and new deals as well. Pen Chalet have all of your favorite brands and the products that you're looking for. Whether you're looking for a new fountain pen, a new mechanical pencil, some ink, a pen carrying case, whatever it is, accessories, every type of pen you could ever wish for is over at Pen Chalet. They do free shipping on orders of over $75 in the United States and they sell internationally with very reasonable shipping rates. Pen Chalet has low prices on high quality pens and offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So head on over to, don't forget, our new URL at penchalet.com slash penaddict and you will get 10% off anything over at Pen Chalet and you will see this week's exclusive offers, the good ones, the real good ones for listeners of this show. What you got, Brad?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So they have a bunch of interesting Conklens that are kind of like in the beginner pen range. Well, they're priced as like you can afford to, like if you want to try some of these with like a stub nib or, you know, some really pretty materials. Like I'm looking at the Conklin Symmetric which is kind of this amber color and then it has a stub nib option. Like that's not something that a lot of first time fountain pen users are getting in a lot of pens, you know, outside of like a TWSBI or something like that. So that's a pretty cool option

'''Myke Hurley:''' to have the prices of these Viscontis. My word. I'm getting there. I was trying to ease our way into it. Chill.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Run. You spoil us.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'm already, I'm already silly today. So I'm having a hard time getting past this diplomat ballpoint pen which I've never seen. So it's the Elox rings which is not one that I have. So instead of like the, the fluted barrels that the diplomat diplomat arrows have, the rings obviously have rings around the barrel and this gray and orange one is just like crazy cool and I like the shape and I think it would probably work good in a standard pen. So this is a ballpoint. I don't even know what type of refills they have but I'm going to have to look at that afterwards. And then they have the Elox Matrix which is kind of like the line art version of it. It kind of looks like something that I would draw. That's a really good price. Then you get into the Viscontis. Oh no, this is the one I wanted to talk about. One of the, one of the Heinz pens that was an exclusive for, I think it was a fountain pen day. One from last year exclusive with pen chalet. Like you don't normally get that type of stuff at a sale price and there's a couple different models there. Two different materials and that's a really, really crazy good price. And then you get into these Viscontis. I don't know if I can, like you can't really say the price but there's some popular models like the Lotus Garden one was a really popular one. I can't imagine he has many of those in stock and that's just a knockout of a price. So there's a few other ones in there too but it's pretty great, pretty great stuff.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, as always there's loads of stuff going on there. You can go check it out for yourself over at penchalet.com slash penaddict. Our thanks to Penchalet for the support of this show and RelayFM.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Alright, we got a shout out of the week, Myke. Shout out of the week. Pretty sure I've given Tom at Sugar Turtle Studio some love before but I just wanted to get on him this time because he posted, he's been in Japan for like two weeks or something like that and his Instagram has been awesome. There's a picture of him smiling with like three bags from Atoya on there. So if you aren't already following Sugar Turtle Studio definitely go give them a follow. And this latest, his most recent picture was his hall picture. How many pens do you think are in this picture if you've pulled it up? I mean, we got to be in like the couple hundred.

'''Myke Hurley:''' One, I would probably say too many.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No, no.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, maybe too many for just one person, you know. Also no. Like that might be something that is impossible to handle. But yeah, there's some cool stuff here, man. Yeah,

'''Brad Dowdy:''' what I'm trying to figure out is the sticker in the middle of that image. I don't know what that is.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It looks like a dancing fountain pen nib.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Kind of. Also, it looks like a bottle topper but it looks like this nib design. Yeah. I don't know. I'll have to, maybe if Tom listens to this he'll have to tell me what that sticker indicates. So,

'''Myke Hurley:''' can't believe, so when I first opened this up I thought this was like a pen show table.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I didn't.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So Tom does pen shows.

'''Myke Hurley:''' No, but like I thought that this, so is Tom buying this stuff to sell at pen shows? No. Right, but that's what I'm saying, right? Like I saw this I was like, oh look, here's a pen show table. Oh no. No, it's just Tom's stuff.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yeah, totally. Totally. All right. So yeah, I'm still owed a couple of things from I think the Baltimore pen show. Kimberly picked me up some of the recent some of the recent stuff from Sugar Turtle Studio. So go check them out. Not only is Tom awesome people he makes cool stuff and then you can go check out the Japan pen Japan trip pick. So.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Wild.