The Pen Addict 658/transcript - Revision history

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	* And that actually turned out really nice. Nice.		* And that actually turned out really nice. Nice.
	* So I think kind of in line with what you're saying with like something kind of comes to you intuitively or naturally like doodling. For me, it's, you know, that sort of floral like sketch style. And it's like, it's not a perfect drawing style. It is very like sketchy. You know, I'm kind of thinking along the lines of like urban sketching where you're like drawing in the moment because you're trying to capture what you're seeing. And not necessarily worrying about getting the perfect lines and the perfect, you know, dimensions and point of view. But you're more so just like capturing that moment so that, you know, later when you look on it, look back on your piece. You're sort of taken back to that moment of where you were, what you saw. And it's, you know, it doesn't have to be perfect for you to still feel that joy. Yeah. Yeah. And one of the benefits of this style of drawing and any type of doodling in you, you kind of alluded to this and something you said, I actually wrote it down. And just kind of the meditative aspect of this. You said that you watch your hand. And I've never thought of like that concept. But when I think about like my doodling, like it's kind of the same way in that, not that I'm watching my hand per se, but I'm in a zone where I could do, like I could literally make the same doodle with my eyes closed. And I think that means that like I'm really appreciating the moment for what it is and like everything else is going away, which like I'm not heavily into meditation or anything on how that works. But when you can have this, even just a couple of minutes of escape and brain reset from doodling a line or like I do, or doodling flowers like you do, it's a valuable experience, even if it's only for a few minutes a day. And I thought that was a very interesting way that you put that, like watching my hand. And like I was thinking about that concept in what I do to, you know, give myself a break or give myself, you know, some peace in the afternoons when I do this a lot. And I thought that was a pretty neat way to put it.		* So I think kind of in line with what you're saying with like something kind of comes to you intuitively or naturally like doodling. For me, it's, you know, that sort of floral like sketch style. And it's like, it's not a perfect drawing style. It is very like sketchy. You know, I'm kind of thinking along the lines of like urban sketching where you're like drawing in the moment because you're trying to capture what you're seeing. And not necessarily worrying about getting the perfect lines and the perfect, you know, dimensions and point of view. But you're more so just like capturing that moment so that, you know, later when you look on it, look back on your piece. You're sort of taken back to that moment of where you were, what you saw. And it's, you know, it doesn't have to be perfect for you to still feel that joy. Yeah. Yeah. And one of the benefits of this style of drawing and any type of doodling in you, you kind of alluded to this and something you said, I actually wrote it down. And just kind of the meditative aspect of this. You said that you watch your hand. And I've never thought of like that concept. But when I think about like my doodling, like it's kind of the same way in that, not that I'm watching my hand per se, but I'm in a zone where I could do, like I could literally make the same doodle with my eyes closed. And I think that means that like I'm really appreciating the moment for what it is and like everything else is going away, which like I'm not heavily into meditation or anything on how that works. But when you can have this, even just a couple of minutes of escape and brain reset from doodling a line or like I do, or doodling flowers like you do, it's a valuable experience, even if it's only for a few minutes a day. And I thought that was a very interesting way that you put that, like watching my hand. And like I was thinking about that concept in what I do to, you know, give myself a break or give myself, you know, some peace in the afternoons when I do this a lot. And I thought that was a pretty neat way to put it.
	* Yeah. And I think you kind of touched on the mindset there. So it is a type of meditation. It's mindfulness, right? You're present in the moment of what you're doing and whether, you know, you're focusing on looking at your hand or you can have your eyes closed and you're doing it, you know, it's the movement of your hand. And I think it sort of puts you in this calm space. And yeah, I think it has a lot to do with mindset over what you're actually doing. Yeah. All right. Can we get technical on this a little bit for people who are listening who may not be familiar with your work or that you teach at pen shows? You teach these classes about drawing these flowers. And correct me if I'm wrong and I may, you know, be misspeaking. But like I feel like when I take your class, I'm not going to a drawing class, right? Like, I don't know. I feel like I'm just going to a creativity class. Like, you know, I'm not learning how to draw and like the super technical aspects of how to draw, but I'm learning how to express my creativity in a certain way. At least that's what I get from your class. So tell me a little bit about the class and like a couple of tips on like we'll share a bunch of your posts in the show notes. So if people aren't familiar with like the flower, the bouquet drawing, can you give us a couple of technical tips as well? Yeah. So, yeah, I'm not an art teacher. I don't have any technical, you know, education or anything like that. I think my class is more so about like you sort of hit the nail on the head. It's more about creativity than it is about technical art and drawing. So my class is for people who want to be creative and who may not necessarily think of themselves as an artist. Yeah. Right. And my only ask is that they keep an open mind about going with the flow and give themselves permission to not expect something in the end. So I'll give you a real example of this, of what I mean. So my workshop at the SF ~~Penn~~ show last year. So you took that class, right? I did. I did. A lot of people. Yeah. And a lot of people. And maybe you did too. Walked into that class thinking, okay, like I've seen, I've seen this abstract floral style.		* Yeah. And I think you kind of touched on the mindset there. So it is a type of meditation. It's mindfulness, right? You're present in the moment of what you're doing and whether, you know, you're focusing on looking at your hand or you can have your eyes closed and you're doing it, you know, it's the movement of your hand. And I think it sort of puts you in this calm space. And yeah, I think it has a lot to do with mindset over what you're actually doing. Yeah. All right. Can we get technical on this a little bit for people who are listening who may not be familiar with your work or that you teach at pen shows? You teach these classes about drawing these flowers. And correct me if I'm wrong and I may, you know, be misspeaking. But like I feel like when I take your class, I'm not going to a drawing class, right? Like, I don't know. I feel like I'm just going to a creativity class. Like, you know, I'm not learning how to draw and like the super technical aspects of how to draw, but I'm learning how to express my creativity in a certain way. At least that's what I get from your class. So tell me a little bit about the class and like a couple of tips on like we'll share a bunch of your posts in the show notes. So if people aren't familiar with like the flower, the bouquet drawing, can you give us a couple of technical tips as well? Yeah. So, yeah, I'm not an art teacher. I don't have any technical, you know, education or anything like that. I think my class is more so about like you sort of hit the nail on the head. It's more about creativity than it is about technical art and drawing. So my class is for people who want to be creative and who may not necessarily think of themselves as an artist. Yeah. Right. And my only ask is that they keep an open mind about going with the flow and give themselves permission to not expect something in the end. So I'll give you a real example of this, of what I mean. So my workshop at the SF Pen show last year. So you took that class, right? I did. I did. A lot of people. Yeah. And a lot of people. And maybe you did too. Walked into that class thinking, okay, like I've seen, I've seen this abstract floral style.
	* I don't think I can do this. But, you know, I just want to kind of have fun.		* I don't think I can do this. But, you know, I just want to kind of have fun.
	* Yeah. And so a lot of people sort of said that as they walked in, you know, I don't think I can do this. It's not going to look the same way it does, you know, that you do it. But I kind of want to have fun. So I think what they were sort of expecting was they're just going to have like, you know, a blob of ink on their page and, you know, some drawings on top. And after the workshop, as I walked around and I asked people, you know, what they thought of their art that they created, I saw genuine joy in their faces of like, I think a lot of people were surprised at how it sort of turned out. Because they came in with an expectation of what it would look like, and it did not turn out that way. And that's okay.		* Yeah. And so a lot of people sort of said that as they walked in, you know, I don't think I can do this. It's not going to look the same way it does, you know, that you do it. But I kind of want to have fun. So I think what they were sort of expecting was they're just going to have like, you know, a blob of ink on their page and, you know, some drawings on top. And after the workshop, as I walked around and I asked people, you know, what they thought of their art that they created, I saw genuine joy in their faces of like, I think a lot of people were surprised at how it sort of turned out. Because they came in with an expectation of what it would look like, and it did not turn out that way. And that's okay.

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2026-06-22T09:14:54Z

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	* So, um, so here's the thing. Um, I'm going to preface my, my, my choice with, um, I've used traveler's notebooks a lot longer than I have used plotter. Um, I am finding myself really enjoying the plotter. Um, and so my choice is going to be plotter only because I've been using it for planning. And so if you watch my YouTube video or you read my sub stack post on it, I kind of break out how I use them. Right. And I've naturally been drawn to TN's traveler's notebooks for creative purposes. Um, but I like using the plotter for planning. And the thing is, Brad, I don't use the plotter for journaling, but I feel like I could. And I think that possibility in itself is like really exciting for me. And so I, I want to explore, um, not only using plotter for, you know, keeping myself organized, but I want to try and make it a little bit more of a creative space as well. Yeah. I think that's the interesting thing about this comparison is because I see it as like a, a, a pretty defined line between the two, right? There's no wrong answer, right? For which one's better. It's depends on how you're going to use it because I think it's pretty clear that they're set up for generally different things, right? They can do some of the same things and you can, of course, like they're both paper products. You can do similar things, but one is a ring system where the pages are, you can add and remove pages where the travelers, the inserts are self-contained notebooks, um, that once you fill a notebook, you can remove it and add another full entire, another, another notebook in there. And so the creative aspect is something I haven't done in the plotter. Uh, but they, they posted an article last week about, uh, creative journaling in the plotter, um, which I'll, I'll put a link in the show notes to that, which gives you a good idea of how a lot of people would use a traveler's notebook, right? When you look at this post that they, that they, um, uh, released in, in this last week. And I was just thinking, it's like, I would never do that with my plotter. Like, and, but I don't want to be restrictive. I don't want to tell myself I can't do that, but like, it doesn't, it didn't seem like the right format for me, but like, it's fun to see people explore with these two systems because they're, they're both really good systems. Like I said, there is literally no wrong answer. Like I think travelers is probably for more people for, uh, like we can do a whole nother podcast on the reasons why. Um, but like I use my plotter like exclusively, right? Like, so it just depends on what you're looking for. So I would love to see the creative process play out a little bit more. Like I've only gone as far as like adding new papers into my plotter with like a whole punch. Like I've got a bank paper section in there because I like how my fountain pens look on that. Well, could I do more? You know, maybe that's, you know, a little bit more of an exploratory area area for me. Like, it sounds like you might be looking to do.		* So, um, so here's the thing. Um, I'm going to preface my, my, my choice with, um, I've used traveler's notebooks a lot longer than I have used plotter. Um, I am finding myself really enjoying the plotter. Um, and so my choice is going to be plotter only because I've been using it for planning. And so if you watch my YouTube video or you read my sub stack post on it, I kind of break out how I use them. Right. And I've naturally been drawn to TN's traveler's notebooks for creative purposes. Um, but I like using the plotter for planning. And the thing is, Brad, I don't use the plotter for journaling, but I feel like I could. And I think that possibility in itself is like really exciting for me. And so I, I want to explore, um, not only using plotter for, you know, keeping myself organized, but I want to try and make it a little bit more of a creative space as well. Yeah. I think that's the interesting thing about this comparison is because I see it as like a, a, a pretty defined line between the two, right? There's no wrong answer, right? For which one's better. It's depends on how you're going to use it because I think it's pretty clear that they're set up for generally different things, right? They can do some of the same things and you can, of course, like they're both paper products. You can do similar things, but one is a ring system where the pages are, you can add and remove pages where the travelers, the inserts are self-contained notebooks, um, that once you fill a notebook, you can remove it and add another full entire, another, another notebook in there. And so the creative aspect is something I haven't done in the plotter. Uh, but they, they posted an article last week about, uh, creative journaling in the plotter, um, which I'll, I'll put a link in the show notes to that, which gives you a good idea of how a lot of people would use a traveler's notebook, right? When you look at this post that they, that they, um, uh, released in, in this last week. And I was just thinking, it's like, I would never do that with my plotter. Like, and, but I don't want to be restrictive. I don't want to tell myself I can't do that, but like, it doesn't, it didn't seem like the right format for me, but like, it's fun to see people explore with these two systems because they're, they're both really good systems. Like I said, there is literally no wrong answer. Like I think travelers is probably for more people for, uh, like we can do a whole nother podcast on the reasons why. Um, but like I use my plotter like exclusively, right? Like, so it just depends on what you're looking for. So I would love to see the creative process play out a little bit more. Like I've only gone as far as like adding new papers into my plotter with like a whole punch. Like I've got a bank paper section in there because I like how my fountain pens look on that. Well, could I do more? You know, maybe that's, you know, a little bit more of an exploratory area area for me. Like, it sounds like you might be looking to do.
	* Yeah. Yeah. And, um, let's report back on this, Brad. Let's use our plotters a little bit more creatively. We might have to do just a whole, uh, versus, you know, plotter versus travelers, uh, episode because it, it, it's a, they're both like big systems. Uh, oddly enough for people who are not familiar with the system, they're, they're owned by the same parent company. Uh, so a lot of people may not realize that. So yeah, like we could, I could literally do an entire show on like pros, cons, usages. So, okay. So it sounds like you just challenged me to be more creative in my plotter, which I got to think about. Like I, I have to think, so I use a plotter narrow, which is kind of a tall, skinny, uh, format, which would work for my creativity too. Maybe I should put some watercolor paper in the back. What do you think about that? Yeah, I agree. And I will also say that the DP paper from plotter is, uh, great for light watercoloring. Okay. So you can do a little bit of experimenting and then throw some watercolor paper in the back and really throw some ink on there. Fine, Corolla. So I, I'm challenging you to a Twitch stream where you're painting on watercolor paper that goes into your plotter. Fair enough. I, yeah, this is, I think this is where I'm going to be a lot of work. To kind of wrap things up, um, you know, on today's episode, I think this is kind of where we're getting, especially after you've been in this hobby for a while, fountain pens, writing, ink, like there's infinite combinations and things you can do with pens and writing, um, and you know, paper types, ink colors, nib styles. But I've never added in this other layer of creativity with inks and paper that is just, it's still kind of new in my head, but I'm very interested in it because it's a way to use what we have. It's a way to be creative. Even if you're not a creative person, like you can make different ink colors on your page. That's awesome. Right. Just do something that simple. You don't have to, you know, necessarily draw or, you know, you're not going to be a Picasso in the Louvre or anything like that. But just like sling the ink around, let yourself go a little bit. And I see like our hobby as a whole, um, is experimenting more, right? Not that we're bored with what we have, but like, I can only have so many fountain pens. Like I am very lucky. I can get anything I want anytime I want. I don't need them. And I've learned that I don't need that stuff, but what I need are the creative aspects of the tools that I already have. And that's where someone like you comes in and helps me explore these things. And I just wanted to say, I appreciated that.		* Yeah. Yeah. And, um, let's report back on this, Brad. Let's use our plotters a little bit more creatively. We might have to do just a whole, uh, versus, you know, plotter versus travelers, uh, episode because it, it, it's a, they're both like big systems. Uh, oddly enough for people who are not familiar with the system, they're, they're owned by the same parent company. Uh, so a lot of people may not realize that. So yeah, like we could, I could literally do an entire show on like pros, cons, usages. So, okay. So it sounds like you just challenged me to be more creative in my plotter, which I got to think about. Like I, I have to think, so I use a plotter narrow, which is kind of a tall, skinny, uh, format, which would work for my creativity too. Maybe I should put some watercolor paper in the back. What do you think about that? Yeah, I agree. And I will also say that the DP paper from plotter is, uh, great for light watercoloring. Okay. So you can do a little bit of experimenting and then throw some watercolor paper in the back and really throw some ink on there. Fine, Corolla. So I, I'm challenging you to a Twitch stream where you're painting on watercolor paper that goes into your plotter. Fair enough. I, yeah, this is, I think this is where I'm going to be a lot of work. To kind of wrap things up, um, you know, on today's episode, I think this is kind of where we're getting, especially after you've been in this hobby for a while, fountain pens, writing, ink, like there's infinite combinations and things you can do with pens and writing, um, and you know, paper types, ink colors, nib styles. But I've never added in this other layer of creativity with inks and paper that is just, it's still kind of new in my head, but I'm very interested in it because it's a way to use what we have. It's a way to be creative. Even if you're not a creative person, like you can make different ink colors on your page. That's awesome. Right. Just do something that simple. You don't have to, you know, necessarily draw or, you know, you're not going to be a Picasso in the Louvre or anything like that. But just like sling the ink around, let yourself go a little bit. And I see like our hobby as a whole, um, is experimenting more, right? Not that we're bored with what we have, but like, I can only have so many fountain pens. Like I am very lucky. I can get anything I want anytime I want. I don't need them. And I've learned that I don't need that stuff, but what I need are the creative aspects of the tools that I already have. And that's where someone like you comes in and helps me explore these things. And I just wanted to say, I appreciated that.
	* Yeah. And, and that's kind of why I started the Twitch streams is because I love sharing, you know, how I'm using stationery so that other people can be, you know, can use your stationery in creative ways more for, you know, yeah, fountain pens are great for writing, but what else can you do with them? Right. And so I love, I love that part of let's do art on stream. Let's hang out, you know, have a chill space, but also an encouragement. Encouraging, inspiring, just a space to like geek out on our hobbies and have fun. Yep. Yep. And that's a great way to put it. And it's a great spot to end it this week. Thank you so much, Carola, for joining me on this episode. I'll have all the links in the show notes to everything that we talked about today. I want to give a shout out to ~~Penn~~ Chalet for sponsoring this week's episode. And y'all should go get inky and go make a mess and grab a notebook and make it all crinkly because you threw too much ink and water on the page. It's fun. You should do it. All right. We're going to wrap it up here until next week. Say goodbye, Carola. Goodbye, Carola. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.		* Yeah. And, and that's kind of why I started the Twitch streams is because I love sharing, you know, how I'm using stationery so that other people can be, you know, can use your stationery in creative ways more for, you know, yeah, fountain pens are great for writing, but what else can you do with them? Right. And so I love, I love that part of let's do art on stream. Let's hang out, you know, have a chill space, but also an encouragement. Encouraging, inspiring, just a space to like geek out on our hobbies and have fun. Yep. Yep. And that's a great way to put it. And it's a great spot to end it this week. Thank you so much, Carola, for joining me on this episode. I'll have all the links in the show notes to everything that we talked about today. I want to give a shout out to Pen Chalet for sponsoring this week's episode. And y'all should go get inky and go make a mess and grab a notebook and make it all crinkly because you threw too much ink and water on the page. It's fun. You should do it. All right. We're going to wrap it up here until next week. Say goodbye, Carola. Goodbye, Carola. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

	[[Category:Podcast Transcripts]]		[[Category:Podcast Transcripts]]
	[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]		[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]

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2026-06-09T06:53:29Z

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	* Why pens?		* Why pens?
	* Why do you like them? Um, so I, the honest thing is, Brad, I don't think I, I've ever not been into stationery. Like, I can't think of a time when I wasn't into notebooks and pens and just, like, enamored by paper and, you know, just, so growing up, I was always into writing. I loved writing. Um, and so I was naturally into, you know, the nicest notebooks and using really nice pens with, you know, the coolest gel in colors. Um, and so, yeah, for me, I feel like stationery has always been a part of my life in some way. Yeah. Did you have any, like, standout products, uh, like, when you were younger, either, like, really young or, like, high school, high school age that, that you use for particular things? Like, were you a note-taking person in school? Did you keep a diary in school? Did you have, like, any particular favorite things that you were using? All the things. Yeah. I had, I had a dear diary in school. Okay. Um, and so I wrote about, you know, crushes and things like that, as one does. Um, and in school, they also gave us a planner every year. Okay. Um, the paper was iffy, but, um, that kind of started me on the road of using planners and, um, organizing my time. And with that came, you know, having different, um, types of pens. And so I love the multi-use pens because then I can sort of attribute, like, blue to a certain category. Um, and then, like, red and black.		* Why do you like them? Um, so I, the honest thing is, Brad, I don't think I, I've ever not been into stationery. Like, I can't think of a time when I wasn't into notebooks and pens and just, like, enamored by paper and, you know, just, so growing up, I was always into writing. I loved writing. Um, and so I was naturally into, you know, the nicest notebooks and using really nice pens with, you know, the coolest gel in colors. Um, and so, yeah, for me, I feel like stationery has always been a part of my life in some way. Yeah. Did you have any, like, standout products, uh, like, when you were younger, either, like, really young or, like, high school, high school age that, that you use for particular things? Like, were you a note-taking person in school? Did you keep a diary in school? Did you have, like, any particular favorite things that you were using? All the things. Yeah. I had, I had a dear diary in school. Okay. Um, and so I wrote about, you know, crushes and things like that, as one does. Um, and in school, they also gave us a planner every year. Okay. Um, the paper was iffy, but, um, that kind of started me on the road of using planners and, um, organizing my time. And with that came, you know, having different, um, types of pens. And so I love the multi-use pens because then I can sort of attribute, like, blue to a certain category. Um, and then, like, red and black.
	* Um, and I was also really into stickers. Okay. So the aesthetic part of planning and journaling for me is sort of secondary because, um, I do just love the act of writing. Um, and adding aesthetics such as, you know, um, stickers and washi tape and stuff is kind of just like an additional, um, it just makes me enjoy, um, that page so much more. Yeah. I, I just call it like, I, when I finish a page and I add a sticker or some type of embellishment, that's not my writing, you know, a washi. Like, it just makes me smile and just, I like it that much better. Right. Like, yeah, it's a, it's a feeling, it's different. Um, it's something that, you know, people who listen to this podcast, like understand, but like, you know, if you said this out loud, you know, you might be, you know, people might be looking for an intervention or something. You know, about this, but like, this is our, this is our normal. And I was a lot like you growing up, you know, use just using all the things. And I got to thinking, I don't think I've ever really asked anyone this question, but I see it in my history of ~~stationary~~. Did you ever have a gap where you really didn't use the ~~stationary~~? Cause I was thinking probably like around like my college age, like my early twenties and, you know, late twenties. Like I, I didn't get away from it, but I use less stuff. Did you ever have a gap in, in like ~~stationary~~, like love and passion? Yeah. You know what? I think it was around my college days too. Yeah. Yeah. I think we just get so busy thinking about like, oh, I go into school, studying hard. I have no clue what I'm doing. I have no clue. Oh, I have to get a job after this. Like you start like, okay. Yeah. I had my good notebook and my favorite pen, but like I had stopped using stickers and, you know, maybe didn't use like the markers I was using before or the mechanical pencils, like all the little things. Certainly did not keep a journal during that time or do any kind of extracurricular writing. And I don't know why, like in all the years I've thought about this, I just kind of thought about this now and thinking about that and talking with you. So at some point it picks back up though, right? Like, you know, in the current version of your ~~stationary~~ love, when did it kind of, you know, pick back up? When did you get into fountain pens and things like that? So the funny thing is I think during like college, I did have a journal, but I used like a moleskine and just like a regular gel pen. And I feel like maybe it was just, you know, not boredom, but yeah, you kind of get into a routine of like other priorities, jobs, you know, studying and stuff. That ~~stationary~~ kind of like, even if you're using it in some way, maybe it's not at the forefront of, you know, your passions or something you're kind of focusing on. And I feel like for me, I probably picked it back up after I had kids. And I sort of had a little bit of time, like, you know, during naps and things like that, where I was kind of like, okay, well, what do I want to do with my time, right? Like this is precious time for me.		* Um, and I was also really into stickers. Okay. So the aesthetic part of planning and journaling for me is sort of secondary because, um, I do just love the act of writing. Um, and adding aesthetics such as, you know, um, stickers and washi tape and stuff is kind of just like an additional, um, it just makes me enjoy, um, that page so much more. Yeah. I, I just call it like, I, when I finish a page and I add a sticker or some type of embellishment, that's not my writing, you know, a washi. Like, it just makes me smile and just, I like it that much better. Right. Like, yeah, it's a, it's a feeling, it's different. Um, it's something that, you know, people who listen to this podcast, like understand, but like, you know, if you said this out loud, you know, you might be, you know, people might be looking for an intervention or something. You know, about this, but like, this is our, this is our normal. And I was a lot like you growing up, you know, use just using all the things. And I got to thinking, I don't think I've ever really asked anyone this question, but I see it in my history of stationery. Did you ever have a gap where you really didn't use the stationery? Cause I was thinking probably like around like my college age, like my early twenties and, you know, late twenties. Like I, I didn't get away from it, but I use less stuff. Did you ever have a gap in, in like stationery, like love and passion? Yeah. You know what? I think it was around my college days too. Yeah. Yeah. I think we just get so busy thinking about like, oh, I go into school, studying hard. I have no clue what I'm doing. I have no clue. Oh, I have to get a job after this. Like you start like, okay. Yeah. I had my good notebook and my favorite pen, but like I had stopped using stickers and, you know, maybe didn't use like the markers I was using before or the mechanical pencils, like all the little things. Certainly did not keep a journal during that time or do any kind of extracurricular writing. And I don't know why, like in all the years I've thought about this, I just kind of thought about this now and thinking about that and talking with you. So at some point it picks back up though, right? Like, you know, in the current version of your stationery love, when did it kind of, you know, pick back up? When did you get into fountain pens and things like that? So the funny thing is I think during like college, I did have a journal, but I used like a moleskine and just like a regular gel pen. And I feel like maybe it was just, you know, not boredom, but yeah, you kind of get into a routine of like other priorities, jobs, you know, studying and stuff. That stationery kind of like, even if you're using it in some way, maybe it's not at the forefront of, you know, your passions or something you're kind of focusing on. And I feel like for me, I probably picked it back up after I had kids. And I sort of had a little bit of time, like, you know, during naps and things like that, where I was kind of like, okay, well, what do I want to do with my time, right? Like this is precious time for me.
	* And so I think that's when I kind of turned back to art and ~~stationary~~ and just like spending that time creatively. Because I think sometimes we go through events or, you know, milestones in our lives where we need a creative outlet. And as creative people, we kind of look for, you know, that time to do something for ourselves. Yeah. So what were you, you've kind of answered this question, but I think I want to explore it a little bit more. So your creativity, like surge, kind of came about when you had a life change. But then, you know, like you're very, like obviously you're very committed to your kids and your family. And like a lot of us who are parents, you do feel like, oh, well, I need to scratch a creative itch sometime, even if I only have 30 minutes, you know, on Wednesday afternoon to do this. What can I do? And was that a little bit of the aspect of getting back into this creativity and just being like very direct and using like what limited time you had? Yeah, I think so. So going back in time a little bit, I first got into fountain pens in 2012 because that's when I got my first two fountain pens. So I got a Lamy Safari and I got a Parker, I think it's called a City Urban, like it's a smaller sort of Parker pen. Okay. And I started using them and I did that until probably around 2019, 2020. And so, you know, when the world shut down, I think a lot of us threw ourselves into hobbies, whether they were new hobbies or hobbies that we had, just because we had more time, we're at home, you know, exploring. And so I think it's 2020 when I really fell down the rabbit hole of like all the different types of fountain pens I can now own. And of course, you have to get bottles of ink and, you know, you have to get rainbow colors and then there's shimmers. And so that's kind of when I think that's also when I started listening to your podcast, Brad. Uh-oh. Yeah, yeah. And kind of listened to back episodes and caught up on, you know, what it is about fountain pens that people are really into, like what it is about the writing experience and all the different pieces to it. So like the pen, the paper, the ink, and then bringing them all together and really enjoying it. And so I think that it's kind of like that in those years where I explored more about using inks in more of a creative way than just like filling up pens, which, you know, I love doing because I love writing. But also, I'm never going to use up all my inks, right? So I kind of had to find a different way of exploring them. Um, so around the same time too, um, because I'm, you know, I love writing and hand lettering is a big part of my life. That was my next question. So yes, let's talk about this. Let's get into the hand lettering. So that's how I started my Instagram account is I was sharing hand lettering pieces that I was creating using Tombow dual brush pens. And basically just, you know, hand lettering quotes and things that really stood out for me. Um, and just sharing that on my Instagram.		* And so I think that's when I kind of turned back to art and stationery and just like spending that time creatively. Because I think sometimes we go through events or, you know, milestones in our lives where we need a creative outlet. And as creative people, we kind of look for, you know, that time to do something for ourselves. Yeah. So what were you, you've kind of answered this question, but I think I want to explore it a little bit more. So your creativity, like surge, kind of came about when you had a life change. But then, you know, like you're very, like obviously you're very committed to your kids and your family. And like a lot of us who are parents, you do feel like, oh, well, I need to scratch a creative itch sometime, even if I only have 30 minutes, you know, on Wednesday afternoon to do this. What can I do? And was that a little bit of the aspect of getting back into this creativity and just being like very direct and using like what limited time you had? Yeah, I think so. So going back in time a little bit, I first got into fountain pens in 2012 because that's when I got my first two fountain pens. So I got a Lamy Safari and I got a Parker, I think it's called a City Urban, like it's a smaller sort of Parker pen. Okay. And I started using them and I did that until probably around 2019, 2020. And so, you know, when the world shut down, I think a lot of us threw ourselves into hobbies, whether they were new hobbies or hobbies that we had, just because we had more time, we're at home, you know, exploring. And so I think it's 2020 when I really fell down the rabbit hole of like all the different types of fountain pens I can now own. And of course, you have to get bottles of ink and, you know, you have to get rainbow colors and then there's shimmers. And so that's kind of when I think that's also when I started listening to your podcast, Brad. Uh-oh. Yeah, yeah. And kind of listened to back episodes and caught up on, you know, what it is about fountain pens that people are really into, like what it is about the writing experience and all the different pieces to it. So like the pen, the paper, the ink, and then bringing them all together and really enjoying it. And so I think that it's kind of like that in those years where I explored more about using inks in more of a creative way than just like filling up pens, which, you know, I love doing because I love writing. But also, I'm never going to use up all my inks, right? So I kind of had to find a different way of exploring them. Um, so around the same time too, um, because I'm, you know, I love writing and hand lettering is a big part of my life. That was my next question. So yes, let's talk about this. Let's get into the hand lettering. So that's how I started my Instagram account is I was sharing hand lettering pieces that I was creating using Tombow dual brush pens. And basically just, you know, hand lettering quotes and things that really stood out for me. Um, and just sharing that on my Instagram.

	== Becoming a Tombow Ambassador and Creative Journey ==		== Becoming a Tombow Ambassador and Creative Journey ==

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			{{Infobox podcast transcript
			\| name = The Pen Addict
			\| number = 658
			\| title = What Number Of Ink Vial Are You On?
			\| date = March 26th, 2025
			\| hosts = [[Brad Dowdy]]<br>
			[[Myke Hurley]]
			\| guests = [[Carola Sallis]]
			\| link = [https://www.relay.fm/penaddict/658 Episode 658]
			\| audiolink = [https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/e/613/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thepenaddict/penaddict658.mp3 Audio Episode 658]
			\| length = 58
			}}

	* From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode number 658. Today's show is brought to you by Pen Chalet. My name is Brad Dowdy, and today I'm joined by Carola Salas, aka From Carola. How's it going, Carola? Good. Hi, Brad. I'm doing great. So, about a year ago, you gave me a shout-out of the week. Nice. And now I'm on the podcast, so it just feels so surreal. Thanks for having me. Hey, that's awesome. And also, you unknowingly just called me out, like, really aggressively, because while Myke has been gone, I have not done one shout-out of the week. I know, I've been kind of waiting for that little, you know, tune, but the mic's not here. Yeah, so the things I've gotten emails about are like, okay, well, you didn't say goodbye, you know, guest name. So, I got that email after I didn't do that for Aziza, which was the first guest, and I was like, okay, yes, I'll try to work that in. And then about three weeks, it took me about three weeks to realize I haven't done the shout-out of the week, and now I'm just not going to do it, right? Like, I feel like I'm set into it now, and it's like, oh, this would be a good shout-out of the week. And it's like, nope, I got to be consistent, right? I got to own my failures, and we're just going to own it this whole time. And then maybe when Myke comes back, I'll just do an entire episode. I'll do like eight shout-out of the weeks, or however long Myke has gone, and make him do the jingle eight times. How about that? Yeah. Well, I just added the jingle to the intro, so there you go. It was a part, yours was much, much better. So, thanks again for being here. Thanks for doing this.		* From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode number 658. Today's show is brought to you by Pen Chalet. My name is Brad Dowdy, and today I'm joined by Carola Salas, aka From Carola. How's it going, Carola? Good. Hi, Brad. I'm doing great. So, about a year ago, you gave me a shout-out of the week. Nice. And now I'm on the podcast, so it just feels so surreal. Thanks for having me. Hey, that's awesome. And also, you unknowingly just called me out, like, really aggressively, because while Myke has been gone, I have not done one shout-out of the week. I know, I've been kind of waiting for that little, you know, tune, but the mic's not here. Yeah, so the things I've gotten emails about are like, okay, well, you didn't say goodbye, you know, guest name. So, I got that email after I didn't do that for Aziza, which was the first guest, and I was like, okay, yes, I'll try to work that in. And then about three weeks, it took me about three weeks to realize I haven't done the shout-out of the week, and now I'm just not going to do it, right? Like, I feel like I'm set into it now, and it's like, oh, this would be a good shout-out of the week. And it's like, nope, I got to be consistent, right? I got to own my failures, and we're just going to own it this whole time. And then maybe when Myke comes back, I'll just do an entire episode. I'll do like eight shout-out of the weeks, or however long Myke has gone, and make him do the jingle eight times. How about that? Yeah. Well, I just added the jingle to the intro, so there you go. It was a part, yours was much, much better. So, thanks again for being here. Thanks for doing this.

PencilBot: Add The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript category to TPA transcripts

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			[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]

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