The Pen Addict 351/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	351
Title:	Hardest Question of all the Questions
Release Date:	March 21st, 2019
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 351
Audio File:	Audio Episode 351
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 351
Length:	6666 min <br />1.1 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict episode 351, and today's show is brought to you by FreshBooks and Squarespace. My name is Myke Hurley. I am joined by the feeling much better Mr. Brad Dowdy.

Brad Dowdy: Last week was a little bit rough by the end, wasn't it?

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm.

News Week Catch-Up

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, we're gaining on it this week. Feeling better, Myke. How are you feeling? You've had quite a busy news week. I don't even know if that's why we delayed yesterday's show to today.

Myke Hurley: No, we delayed yesterday's show to today. We're a day late because I was travelling home from Romania.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, wow. So how did you keep up with all this news? I'm just watching all the Apple news and all the gaming news and thinking, wow, Myke is going to be busy this week.

Myke Hurley: With grave difficulty, because a lot of it was a big surprise to all of us. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Apple's had a busy week so far, which no one was expecting.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Well, it's good at least that we don't have hot breaking pen news all the time that has to keep you up all hours of the day and night, right?

Myke Hurley: It doesn't keep me up, but there is always hot breaking pen news. There is. There is. Always constantly.

Brad Dowdy: There is, but it can always kind of wait a little bit.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Things move a little bit more slowly in the pen world, which is a nice change of pace for me.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. It's beautiful. That's why we're here, right? That's why we like it.

Kickstarter Topic Shift

Myke Hurley: Let's talk about something that hasn't moved slowly. Oh, boy. Good grief. Good grief. I'm going to say it in the way that Brad would. You're completely smashed it for the Pan Addict Kickstarter. We were talking last week about, oh, wouldn't it be nice if we could beat our 720 backers, our highest backer number? As we record right now, we're two hours away from the campaign ending. So if you're hearing this, it's too late to have backed. But we're sitting at 894 backers at $46,000, which is unbelievable. I was hoping we'd maybe get to like 725 people or something. But it was either, I think it's like a mix of like people really enjoyed the last episode because it was full of emotion. And then the Kickstarter reminder emails go out and then bang. And we're sitting up at nearly just like just a hair's breadth away from 900. We just went up to 895, Brad. I'm looking at the page right now.

Brad Dowdy: So these numbers aren't real. Like I don't get it.

Myke Hurley: They are real. And they might not feel real, but they are definitely real.

Brad Dowdy: Like I look at like the jumps and gains that it's had like over the past couple of weeks are not supposed to happen. Right. Like it's super abnormal. And I'm very, very happy about that. Right. It's kind of crazy. So, you know, but it's still hard. Like it's all the feelings. Right. It's like, oh, my gosh. Like look at all this support. It's amazing. And, you know, what can we do to, you know, make sure we do the best job that we can for everyone that's backed us. And I know they really don't care about us, Myke. They really probably just want the case. It's like forget those guys and gals doing the show. So, you know, like all the things.

Myke Hurley: So whatever the reason, I don't care.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So we did talk about doing one thing and I mentioned it before. Actually, two things. Just for the backers of the Kickstarter. So we have the sticker sheet. And as soon as we released that sticker sheet email, I started getting emails. How can we get more? Because I want to save one and I want to use one. And I got that message like a lot. So we're going to at least give everyone two sticker sheets. Yeah. And that sounds like a little thing, but it's actually quite expensive. Like I had $1,000 in our budget for stickers. The first quote that we got, like these are expensive, nice sticker sheets, is $2,500. So we're spending $2,500 at least on stickers, Myke. So just so, you know, we have the money. Everyone wants to, a lot of people wanted to keep a sheet or give a sheet to someone else. And then like use some of another sheet. So why not give them two sheets? So, you know, this is just little things that we can do like that, you know, for our backers. We're also getting the full Hackett video experience, which we're now able to afford to do. Like we always get the Brothers Hackett in Atlanta who do an amazing job with our video. And since we're doing the video and the live show in San Francisco, we're going to have Singular Hackett. But now we're going to have Brothers Hackett to help us ramp up our video quality for San Francisco. So we're able to do that.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, that means we're more likely to be able to get closer in video quality. You know, there is an issue with like gear, right? Because they are able to drive to Memphis where they can't drive to San Francisco. But it does mean we're likely to get a better video than we would have. So it goes into stuff like that. And, you know, there are various expenses. And we're hoping that we may be able to have some money left over that we can do some fun stuff with. But we're going to get Brow's got to put on his green accounting visor and sit down with a calculator. And then we can know. But just rest assured, like the money that everybody's raised, we're able to do all of this. We're not paying out of pocket for any of it. And we'll be able to provide a much better overall experience and product for the people that back the campaign. So thank you so much for doing it. And we're just a couple of weeks away from it all kicking off.

Brad Dowdy: So close. Yeah, like I'm glad Atlanta's not next week. I need like two more weeks, then I'll be good.

Myke Hurley: Well, that's exactly what you've got, my friend. Next episode, our next episode, we'll start the Anna Ryan at Double Bill that everybody looks forward to so much. So we're going to have Anna on the show next week to talk about whatever topics we have next week, but also to pregame the Atlanta Pen Show. And then the week after that, the episode will be coming out kind of over the weekend of that week, because that will be Pen Show week. So we'll be pushing the episode out to later in the week because we'll be recording our live show in Atlanta.

Brad Dowdy: So episode 352. I always try to buy you time till at least Sunday, and then you usually have it done before we go to dinner on Saturday. I'm not going to like totally schedule you for that, but you always surprise me how fast. It will be up Saturday night.

Myke Hurley: We're recording Saturday. It will be up Saturday night, like 100%. Like 100%. It's even easier to put those episodes together than it is this, our regular episodes.

Brad Dowdy: That's true, because we're all there, all one file, just clean it up a little bit however you need to. That makes sense. That makes sense. So you're the professional.

Myke Hurley: I've usually got the episode like posted by the time all the gear has been broken down. That's true. Before dinner, that's for sure.

Show Anniversary Discussion

Brad Dowdy: Awesome. So speaking of our 350th, we talked about it last week and just how important the show's been in our lives and how much we enjoy doing it every week and how much we enjoy all of our listeners. We asked people to reach out, you know, just out of curiosity who had been there since the beginning, you know, not have listened to every episode, but were actually there like listening when episode one dropped. And were you surprised at the number of people that reached out? Because I kind of was.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I was. We had a bunch of I had a bunch of tweets. I've been getting tweets all week, but it was really fun for me because honestly, like most of the people that were tweeting and saying, oh, I've been listening since the beginning. I would see their like their handles or whatever and be like, oh, yeah, like I remember you. Totally. Right. Totally agree. Like for years and years. Like I know that we've been talking for years and years and years. So but like it's it's you kind of lose track of that sometimes. But like most of the people that were tweeting at us, I was like, oh, yeah, of course. Right. Like we used to talk about, you know, you used to sending great feedback four or five years ago. Like, of course. So it was really nice.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. The names that kept popping up, I thought the exact same thing. I'm like, well, of course you are. Like, I remember we've talked since we've been talking forever online. You forget how fast like Internet time flies. Like you forget that we've been doing this for seven years or whatever it is. And, you know, the people there in the beginning were relaying those stories. And you're like, oh, my gosh. Yeah. Like, it's totally right. So I got a bunch of emails to Myke and I got one that I purposely didn't put in the show notes. OK. And I want to read it. And I asked for permission to read this because, you know, it's a little emotional, you know, as we do. And I felt it was just kind of like the epitome of everything that we believe in and want to do for the show. So I have redacted some information. They asked me to do that. So I thought I would read this. So are you ready, Myke Hurley?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, of course.

Brad Dowdy: Dear Brad and Myke, congratulations with 350 episodes. You have asked for feedback from those who listened to Pen Addict from the start. I am one of those people. I remember vividly walking along redacted. That was that was my redacted part. And listening to your very first episode. I was already familiar with Myke's work through the bro show with Terry Lucy. What a long way from that to connected. And I heard both of you on the episodes of enough. Back then, I had one unused fountain pen, one bottle of ink, and a small handful of gel pens. Now I am a proud owner of a custom Nakaya, 13 platinum 3776s. Sounds about right. Of Visconti London Fog and 36 other pens. And let's not count ink, shall we? Since then, I have moved three times, got married, and subsequently divorced. Was promoted twice. Bought my own flat. And during all that time, I never stopped listening to you and everything else made by Myke and Co. You both feel like good friends that I have never met. By the way, going to the Atlanta Pen Show is in the plans for 2020. This is not the first time reaching out to you. I've had my Ask TPA questions and got the answers. It's a really nice feeling to hear your own name on the favorite podcast. I even emailed Myke once about a podcast idea and still have Myke's very lovely and lengthy response. He didn't even know CGP grade back then. Brad, Myke, I made a mistake of writing this email while in a coffee shop and now I'm getting misty-eyed in public. Thank you both for being there for all of us, pen addicts. Thank you for giving me something else to think about when I suffered from depression and when my mom had surgery and when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. And thank you for being there for me now when my life is going through another change. Pen addict is one of the few constants in my life for the last seven years. Please don't ever stop talking about pens, paper, and all other analog tools. I really, really like both of you and wish you many years of happiness and inspiration. Warmest wishes.

Brad Dowdy: That's pretty good. That's it. That's it. That's pretty good. That's why we do it. Like, you don't think about, like, we don't go into creating something and go, hey, I hope this is the response we get, right? We're just who we are. We do what we do. And like I always say, we hope people like it, right? But I do feel that, like, we do have something special. Like, this is just what we've built by just being who we are and talking about fun stuff and having a good time and, you know, believing in a strong community and lifting everybody up and providing everyone a silly little bit of entertainment about pens and paper an hour a week. And we're pretty happy that people like it, right? It's pretty cool. So, yeah, that was, that would knock my socks off, Myke. So, it's very cool.

Myke Hurley: Thank you to that individual for that email. It's very kind. It's very kind, dude.

TWSBI Aurora Topic Shift

Brad Dowdy: Yes. Amazing. Amazing. All right. Hard segue. You ready? It's always, we go from emotional right into stuff. And I want to talk about the TWSBI Aurora stuff. Like, so we talked about it on last week's show. And I said I wanted to watch this and see what it was going to do and what the feedback was. So, what it is is a, if you missed last week's show, it's a limited edition swirly acrylic TWSBI piston filler that they're selling directly through TWSBI.com. No retail presence, nothing at all. And, you know, I wasn't interested in buying it. Like, it didn't speak to me on an I have to have it level. But I was very curious at, one, what the price was going to be and, two, how many they have. Well, we found out the price. The price is $100, which I thought was really good. Like, TWSBI has kind of their price points down that they feel like they can do things at. And I feel that's fair. Like, this is a small run, limited edition. They're trying some new materials, some new finishes, and, you know, getting this out there and getting some feedback. And I thought that was a completely fair price. So, the quantities, like I said, we don't know how many there are, but they're not sold out yet. There's extra fine nibs still available, which surprises me. Usually, extra fine is one of the first to go. And with bold and medium. It usually kind of goes fine first, then probably extra fine, then medium, then bold. But extra fine is still left. Maybe they had more extra fine nibs. Who knows? But there's still some available.

Brad Dowdy: And people have already started to get them. Like, I put a link in the show notes. This was, like, two days ago. Someone already had pictures of it. So, at Saitu on Instagram, who I've followed for a long time. Like, this image came up in my feed. I was like, how do you have this already? So, I don't know. Maybe they live closer to where they're shipping from. But it looks cool. So, have you had any more thoughts on this? Not just specifically the product itself, but as Twisby doing this as a whole?

Myke Hurley: So, one, I think it looks great. I think for $100, that is an incredible price. I actually didn't know the price. Like, I saw the pen. I was like, all right, that's $200, $300. Like, I'm not interested. Right? Like, it's limited edition. They've got, like, an ink window in it. Right? Like, it looks like a fancy material. It looks like it's got nice furniture. Right? Like, it just, you know, looked like a pretty good pen. And we've seen Twisby do some stuff before. Like, they did the micarta pen, which was a little bit more expensive in the past. Stuff like that. And I was like, looks great. Please, they're doing it. I don't want to put money down for it. $100, I would be tempted if I probably saw it in person and liked it. Then I would pick it up. Right? Like, if I saw one of these and liked the look of it, I would get it for $100, I think. Yeah. Because Twisby make quality products more now than ever. And their nibs are good. Right? You know, they make good stuff. And this looks like a fun pen. Green is maybe not so much in my wheelhouse. Right? Like, maybe if they'd done a different color, I would have been quicker to maybe jump on it myself. More than anything, though, I'm pleased that they are selling stuff that's different as opposed to just posting images of things that are different, which is their typical way. Right? Like, oh, here's a thing we made. You can't buy it. But, like, we just made it. It reminds me of, like, car companies with their, like, what are they called? Like, the prototype cars? They've got, like, a specific name that can't, it's not jumping to my mind right now. Yes. No. Concept car. Concept car. Twisby make a lot of concept pens that they never sell. But this is one that they have. I think it's cool. I would like to see them make more stuff like this now. Because, let's be real, I know why they've done this. Right? Like, it's obvious why they've done this. Because they're trying to capitalize on the trend of the small maker. And the small maker trend is focused almost entirely on swirly colored acrylics. In fountain pens, at least. So, they're trying to make something that's like that, that kind of evokes that feeling. This is not a criticism. It's just, like, this is why they're doing it.

Brad Dowdy: I mean, this is what we talk about more than, like, the mainstream releases, right?

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm. So, I think that they've done a good job here. I think that the price point is wild. And, yeah. You know, I think if Aurora is a new line, right? Like, or a new net product. Like, it doesn't exist.

Brad Dowdy: I mean, yeah. Unless it's just, like, the specific name of this color and material. Yeah. Right.

Pen Discussion

Myke Hurley: But it looks like a classic or like a 580, like in what they, you know, what it actually is, right? Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: It looks like a 5. It's really built shape and size-wise around the 580, which is a pretty large-ish pen.

Myke Hurley: Because I was just wondering, like, what is the guts of the pen? And they're not saying. Yeah. Yeah. But it's probably, like, a 580. So, it's twice the price of a 580, but it's limited edition and it's got cool colors. Like, I think it's a decent deal. I would like to see them push more into this range.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And I think, like, you kind of hit on why I'm interested in this. It's not this singular pen per se, but it's what is TWSBI trying to do with this pen for the future. And we've always kind of fawned over some of the crazy pictures and prototypes and things that they've posted and saying, I want that. I want that. I want that. Well, maybe now they're getting comfortable and able to produce some of the smaller batch stuff. So, I wanted to get this into the record so in the future we have, like, a starting point. It's like, hey, TWSBI tried something here and look what's come out of it. That's what I'm most interested about and what they're doing this. Like, that's how I look at this pen. It's like, is this the start of something or is this, like, a one-off? And so, I want to kind of, I'm going to definitely kind of pay attention to this because I find it to be, like, very interesting from a brand like TWSBI who can, who is big enough to have wide exposure but small enough to be able to move faster than, say, a Lamy or a Pelican or any of these type of companies, right, to be able to do something like this. Mm-hmm. So, it's super interesting to me.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. And again, as I said, like, I hope to see more, right? Like, I want to see them do more of this stuff, especially at those price points.

Brad Dowdy: Right, right. Yeah. It's kind of perfect. Like, it's right where it needs to be as far as price and quality and interest. So, like you, I'm interested to get one in hand. Maybe someone in Atlanta will have one.

Sponsor Break

Myke Hurley: All right. Today's show is brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is incredibly important if you are a freelancer, if you're someone who sends invoices, tracks their time, needs to file or expenses, which is, I expect, quite a lot of people. If you work for yourself in any regard, you should be using FreshBooks. They can save you time. They can save you aggravation. They can save you hassle because they simplify all of these tasks. They make it easier for you to send your invoices, to track your expenses, and maybe most importantly, to get paid online as well. So, FreshBooks has drastically reduced the amount of time it takes for over 10 million customers to deal with their paperwork. I actually had to sit down in FreshBooks this morning and send out some invoices. I'd love how easy it is to do. The things that were taking me time during this whole process was just my own accounting entry. Like, it wasn't having to deal with FreshBooks. Like, if I would type in a couple of characters and it would pre-fill what I needed, right? So, I'd type in the first two characters of the company I'm sending the invoice to. Done. Send a couple of characters for the line items on the invoice. Done. And it's all pre-filled for me because they just save all of that information so I don't have to keep entering it over and over again. And then when I've sent that email out, I can track the whole thing. So, I can see when it's been received, when it's been opened, and then every time somebody goes back to that invoice. So, I can understand where it's sitting in the kind of the payment flow with my clients that I'm working with. Like, I really, really, really love FreshBooks because it's simplified some just very important parts of our business. Because if I was having to track this in any other way, it would be basically untenable for me to be able to just track these invoices and understand when they've been, try and, like, track down when they've been received and then, like, oh, and then I can't even fathom the amount of mistakes that I would make if FreshBooks wasn't saving all of this information for me and just helping me pre-fill it. So, I absolutely love it. We've used it for five years and you should try it. If you ever send invoices to anyone, go try it out. They're offering a 30-day free trial for listeners of this show with no credit card required. Just go to freshbooks.com slash penaddict and enter the penaddict. When they say, how did you hear about us, they say the penaddict podcast. So, it's freshbooks.com slash penaddict. Our thanks to FreshBooks for their support of this show and RelayFM.

Brad Dowdy: So, throughout the years, we've covered or discussed all of the digital, analog to digital conversion methods that have been attempted, right? So, you have a pen with built-in mechanisms to track your writing and then that writing gets saved to whatever software or app, you know, gets that it's part of. And we've always been fascinated with it just because, at least I have, just because I want to know if it works well. You know, that's what people who listen to this podcast are more worried about the analog side. Do the pen and paper work well? And can I have some type of variety? And is the software piece, you know, good enough to do what I need to do? And I think generally, over the years, we found out that no. Like, pretty much all of it is terrible, right? We found the Moleskine notebook a couple years ago at the Atlanta Pen Show. We felt that one did a good job.

Myke Hurley: It was the first one that I'd seen that actually did anything compelling and also did what you were expecting.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Like, it was not fussy. Most of these things are really fussy and annoying, at least the ones that I've experienced.

Myke Hurley: And it was called the Smart Writing Set then, right? If I'm remembering correctly.

Brad Dowdy: That's correct. Correct. So, and then I've talked about recently, like, that Remarkable tablet that's come out in the past year or two and it gets a lot of press in the tech press. But it looks like a genuinely terrible device and it's really expensive. And so, like, I made a statement in Refill, I don't know, sometime this year that I think we're, like, five to ten years out from this actually being a viable concept. Like, to where we feel comfortable using this type of input in analog to digital tools. And then I saw yesterday Moleskine and Adobe came out with an announcement saying that this new Moleskine product will go directly into your Adobe Cloud account, right? The input into this notebook and this pen will go directly into the Adobe Creative Cloud, which for Adobe professionals, that's kind of their home, right? Like, you know, you open up Adobe Illustrator, all your files are there and having this notebook handy and able to just dump your ideas in there and then work with them digitally, I thought was pretty cool. So then, it still makes me think, right? If you're a graphic designer, let's just say you're a graphic designer and you're in the Adobe ecosystem and you have a creative account and you're an Illustrator most of the day, aren't you using, like, a Wacom tablet or Wacom? Which, I don't know how to pronounce that.

Myke Hurley: I think it's Wacom.

Brad Dowdy: Aren't you using a Wacom tablet already? And is this the same thing, you know, at your desk? I don't think so.

Myke Hurley: No, see, because, okay, so when I see something like this from a creative field, there's a couple of things going on. One, there are some people that prefer to use pen and ink and then they will scan, you know, into... Yes. Like, and then go from there, right? So, like, the guy... I'd say that's pretty normal. Yeah, Chris, who I've used for the poster stuff that I've done for PodCon in the past, he uses pen and then will bring it into digital form. But I'm thinking, so a product like this for a creative person is, this is a notebook that you have in your bag and when you have that idea, you pull it out and you sketch it in, right? Like, you sketch the little thing that you got, you're in a coffee shop and maybe you're not by the computer. Maybe you don't want to be at the computer, right? But then you can sketch it in and then later on, you can put it into wherever it needs to go, right? Like, so... Because you can still get it in digital form without the requirement to scan it. But again, how much of an issue is it to scan it? I don't know.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Like, I'm just... The thing, I'm just not totally in this, you know, world of using these tools. So I don't know, like, what I'm actually getting... Like, is this worth it? Like, am I getting enough extra or, you know, in either efficiency or productivity or creativity to be able to have this notebook and then using the pen, be able to upload into the creative cloud? Am I getting something that I've never been able to get before? And I'm kind of not seeing that. But I still, at the same time, I kind of like it and I find it interesting, right? Like, I talk about these things because I kind of want to learn more about them. Even like, it's clear about the words I'm saying. I don't know a lot about them. And I want this... I kind of want this to be a thing. And that's why I always find this stuff interesting. But I've never been compelled enough to commit to anything like this for any kind of use. So it seems highly specific. It seems pretty cool. I like... Moleskine seems to be the only one that has the money to be able to continue to invest in something like this, right? And getting partnerships with Adobe. You know, maybe we continue working on those tools and partnership. That's like... That's a partnership I can get behind, right? That's two big companies that have clout. And maybe they can deliver something perfect that we're all looking for in an analog to digital combination tool. So I don't know. I find it positive. I find it hopeful. I don't know if it's useful. So I'm always interested in hearing from anyone if they use these types of tools. So please reach out to me. I just find it super interesting. Mostly because I can't wrap my head around it. It's a big head, Myke.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I'm a little bit confused as to like, what is the difference between... Their naming, their branding on this is starting to get really confusing. Yes. To me. So there's like, you can get the smart writing set ellipse, or you can get the pen plus ellipse. And then their notebooks that they use are called paper tablets, which is a bad name because it makes me think I need a piece of plastic under the paper to get it to work. So their branding on this, I think, is letting them down a little bit. I don't think that they have clear names for these products. Smart writing set was a better name, like is a better overall name. But you still get the pen. The pen's still called the ellipse. Like it's... I don't think that they have the greatest branding on this, which is really peculiar for Moleskine because they're a branding company ultimately. Right. But I will say, right, like I think it is incredibly smart for them to be investing the money that they're investing in this because they need to be prepared in case this is the future of their business and they're not ready for it. Now for me, like, okay, it's great that they're doing this thing with Adobe and like creative, creative is amazing. But this is great for... I mean, this thing is made for meat and nuts. That's what this thing is made for, in my opinion. Like you sit down, you write your notes in your Moleskine and then you can have them in a PDF afterwards.

Brad Dowdy: But that's the previous product. That's the previous iteration.

Myke Hurley: No, but this new product hasn't changed that for me though.

Brad Dowdy: Yes, right. Like there's nothing... Like that's what's so confusing about this is I want this to be like a real super viable thing that a lot of people use and find worthwhile and I just can't figure it out like from A to Z. Like I get parts of it.

Myke Hurley: Well, they have actually refined the product though, right? Like the Pen Plus Ellipse is a new version of their smart pen, which is like less bulky, significantly less bulky. Um, and it's great that they're doing this collaboration with Adobe, but I just don't know like if this is what will... I don't necessarily think it's going to push them significantly further, but these are the types of things that they should be doing because really this kind of division of Moleskine feels like what they should be doing is just throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks because it's incredibly experimental. And I think that it's best that they try and keep it that way for now, even if some stuff doesn't necessarily make sense.

Future of Smart Pens

Brad Dowdy: I think that's a good way to look at it. I like that. Yeah. Like I said, we're five to 10 years away from... Yeah. I think we would have either had something now or what... But what we've seen is no one's even close.

Myke Hurley: And I bet that this product sells more than well enough for them just for people wanting the coolness factor of their pen going onto their phone, right? Like I would have bought this if I was still at the bank, like 100% I would have bought this. Yeah. Oh, one last thing. Talk about lock-in. Talk about lock-in. That's another reason for this, by the way. Yeah. Because you get in on this system, all you can use is the Moleskine pens and the Moleskine notebooks. That's all you can use.

Brad Dowdy: Well, and the Adobe Creative Cloud, which when they moved to subscription service a few years ago, I mean, that was just a great move by them, honestly.

Myke Hurley: That saved their business. But yeah, if you remember, they did this, they had a partnership like this with Evernote before.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. But it was more scannables, wasn't it? Like, I think it was... No, it was a smart notebook. Did it? That's right. It had the theoretical tap the corner type of system. Yeah. All right. Let's talk about real notebooks, can we? Yeah, sure. I got some cool new ones I wanted to talk about. So I've, as always, the pen addict mailbox overfloweth. And I like talking about new and neat products that I haven't seen before or haven't had a chance to test out before and shine a little light on some of these small makers that are doing cool things. And the first one is these North of Rosemont notebooks. So I teased it out on Twitter last night, took a couple pictures. And this is a brand I had never heard of. They're based in Montreal, Canada. And they reached out to me, said, hey, this is what we're doing. Here's a link to all our stuff. We'd love to send you some notebooks if you're interested. So I dug around, dug around the site. I was like, oh man, these look nice and neat and clean. And I was like, yeah, send me some to check out. So when I first opened them up, I'm holding this in my hand. And if you keep hearing me flipping in the background, it's because these covers on this, on these notebooks that they sent me, they're a hundred pound cover stock, which is a thick stock. But the way they finished them, it's almost like they're coated. It's almost like vinyl-y. Like, I like it. Like, this is a strong and durable notebook. And I can't stop futzing with it. It's just like kind of a cool feeling. So the aesthetic is what you'd expect, I guess. Like, I don't know how to put it. It's pretty normal. Like, it's just straight up, straightforward. Their branding is North of Rosemont. Like, that's the location in Montreal. It's right there. You know, the entire front of the notebook is North of Rosemont notebook, 48 pages, Montreal. Like, I'm down with that. Like, I'm good with that. But I was really impressed with the covers. And then you open them up. And they did one thing that most small pocket notebook manufacturers don't do is they have endpapers. And if you recall back to the Field Notes Endpapers Edition, Myke, do you know what I'm talking about? No. I mean, they basically have a single page. Oh, the color one? Of non-writing paper that's your front and back page of the notebook. So it, like, surrounds the paper. So the Field Notes had an endpapers edition. They had green and blue ones. And they did, like, a bunch of painting and swirling on those pages.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, they did, like, the wild colors in those. That was one of my least favorite editions of all time.

Brad Dowdy: Right. See, and I really enjoyed that edition.

Myke Hurley: Yeah.

Sizing Discussion Begins

Brad Dowdy: And I understand that, though. That was a whole different thing with the sizing and whatever. And we're going to talk about sizing.

Myke Hurley: Still available to buy that edition. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: That's not a surprise whatsoever. But anyway, they do an endpapers type of thing. Like, it's a singular, different stock, different material, different look sheet. It's, you know, it's not special painted or anything like that. But I like that aesthetic on the notebook. The interior page is a 70-pound page. And right now, for what I've thrown at it, it handles pretty much everything, like, really well. From fountain pens, gel, ballpoint, rollerball, pencil feels great. Like, I'm super happy with it. I just inked up some wider nib pens. I wanted to test with it later today. So I'm going to do that and see how it handles them. But I don't see any issue why it can't handle everything. The one thing that I'm okay with, but I don't know if I love it, is they went with the smart sizing aspect of the notebook. What does that mean? And it means whatever you want it to mean, which is what I always get to hang up on in paper goods where I want standards, right? I want A5s and B6s and normal standards. So their notebook is four inches wide by five and three quarters inches tall. Like, it's perfectly fine. Like, on its own, it's a great size. Like, it's a really good size. It gives you more space than, like, a standard field notes or any standard pocket notebook. But you're pushing the limit of actually being a pocket notebook. We're getting close to it's almost a desk notebook. It's not there. Like, it's still pocketable. It's still small. But, you know, it's, it kind of, making up your own size thing always feels weird to me in a pocket notebook because then you're going to commit to that size and, like, other things that have to fit that size. And I don't know. But regardless, it feels good. It feels right. It's not too big, which is what I was worried about. So, but it's on the edge. Like, another quarter inch anywhere, we're probably not fitting it in a man's pocket. Women have no shot of fitting this in their pocket. The pricing is really good. Like, it's $11, about $11 US for a two-pack. All the prices on the site are in Canadian dollars. So, the conversion, just to give you, like, a ballpark. So, it's a two-pack. So, they're premium. I mean, that's a premium price. It's expensive. I feel like I would pay this easily for the quality of these notebooks. I think you would actually really enjoy these notebooks, Myke. So, they have the standard notebooks are $11.25 for a two-pack. Then they do limited editions. Like, the one I'm using today, what's it called? It is, like, Obsidian Obelisk. So, they sent me, like, one of each. Like, a single of each. So, I could feel the different colors. So, like, this, if you go to their website, like, the Cavadon is this cool metallic-looking paper finish on the cover. And I'm using the Obelisk, which is, like, a textured cover. They still look really nice. Those are more expensive. Those are, like, $15 for a two-pack. Yeah. I still say, like, that's worth it. Technically, they need a little bit of work on their corner rounders. So, they need to just clean up the edges. Like, you can see where their corner rounder is probably done manually. And it's a little bit off. Like, that's not a deal-breaker for me. Then that's an easily fixable thing. And I didn't even notice it at first until I started using this notebook more. Like, I'm starting a little side project that I'm going to use this as a project notebook for. And I happened to notice that, like, the bottom right corner rounder didn't quite do its job correctly. So, just something they need to pay attention to as they move forward. Really high quality. Really awesome stuff. Like, this isn't, like, some kind of sales pitch. They didn't pay me to say any of this stuff. I just like talking about stuff. And when I get new stuff that's good quality, I'm going to praise it. Like, you know, it's just kind of the way I am. I like these notebooks. I'm going to use them. And I think they're worth people checking out. You know, very impressed so far with what North of Rosemont has done.

Myke Hurley: I like that name.

Brad Dowdy: I do, too. Like, I, okay, let's talk about this. I wasn't sure at first having such a highly specific name. And I'd say, like, the whole branding thing is, like, really freaking hard, right? Like, it's impossible to, like, sleep at night when you make that decision, the final decision on, hey, this is what we're going to call the company. So, they've committed to it. Like, it means something to them. Like, it's meaningful to them, right? And if you're a company that builds a product around something that's, like, even just a name that's meaningful to you because of where you were raised or where you're located, like, I like that. Like, that's really cool. Like, that's why at Knock we use, like, local, you know, natural areas for product names. Like, it means something to us. So, yeah, having that North of Rosemont name, it obviously means something to the people behind it. And, you know, they're going to do their best to, like, live up to that name. I think it's kind of cool.

Myke Hurley: I think it – I don't know if this is what they're going for, but I think that it really gives a high-end feel. Like, it's a very high-end, like, high-end quality brand name feels to me.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. They use the word premium a lot for the site. Yeah. So, that is exactly what they're going for.

Myke Hurley: Like, it sounds premium to me. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: But the pricing is, like, relatively premium priced, but I think it's correctly priced. Like, it feels, like, accurate. Like, this notebook feels like it's worth what they're charging for it.

Myke Hurley: Correct pricing is the best pricing.

Brad Dowdy: The next product, Myke, I'm not sure if it has correct pricing because it actually seems maybe a little bit on the low end. So, Yoseka – and I don't know if I – I apologize if I'm saying that wrong – Yoseka Notebook. So, there's a store in Queens called Yoseka Stationery, which I had not heard of. Yeah. Yeah, in New York, outside the city. So, their notebook was shown to me at the Baltimore Pen Show by a friend. And he walked up to me and he said, I want to show you this from a stationery store that I frequent because I think you would like it. And it is, like, a full-size A5 notebook. And it's really just called the Yoseka Notebook. And how many pages enter in it? I don't know what you would think it was a typical – 224 pages. 224 blank pages. And it's very simple aesthetic. Like, it's super minimal. It's a completely sharp-edged notebook. Like, the cover is just your basic, like, super thick, hardcore – I don't even know what you would call this – cardboard, like, thick, thick stock. But it's trimmed, so that's the edge of the paper as well. So, it's, like, completely smooth all the way around. There's no cover overhang or no inset paper. And then the binding on the top is – on the side is right on the edge too. And it's kind of, like – it's very raw looking, but at the same time, it's a completely clean and finished product. So, the style impressed me. Just, like, looking at it, the look and feel of how it was built impressed me. So, I said, yeah, get me their information. Let me get in touch with them. And he happened to reach out to them and got them to get in touch with me and said, hey, let us send you a notebook. So, they did. And something about this paper is really awesome for fountain pens. So, the paper, they call it KBU. It's by a company called Conifer out of Taiwan. And they've gone through a couple of iterations of paper. And the paper that they're using right now is extremely fountain pen friendly insofar as it shows off shading and sheen without having, you know, feathering or bleeding. You know, I think there's, like, one spot where I put down a lot of ink that kind of maybe a little bit went through the back of the page but not onto the next page but barely at all. And I'll take some more pictures of this as I review these. But I thought this was worth mentioning, like, before I've even done the review, like, the North of Rosemont. Like, this is a surprise. Like, this is a new product. I love talking about new products. And it's really good. Like, there's so many good notebooks out there these days. This one, the only pen that did not work well with it was the Schmidt P8126 rollerball. That one actually had a tiny bit of feathering. Everything else was kind of perfect. But for fountain pens, this is, like, a faster drying Tomoe River. Like, you can see sheen. You can see shading. I was very impressed with how it handled fountain pens. So, and even for, like, the most fountain pen friendly paper, they're not normally good with pencils. This was exceptional with pencils. Like, you can feel, like, the texture of the page, which those two things usually don't go hand in hand. So, this is a $20 notebook. And that's kind of in the no-brainer territory if you like this style. Like, this style is different, right? It's, I would call it raw. Like, it just seems like they've glued together some pages in between cardboard. But it's actually really refined and really clean and really high quality, really well made. I'm extraordinarily impressed with this notebook so far. So, I'm going to keep using it, keep testing with it. I did get some wider nibs and wider inks. I didn't have everything. I just cleaned all my fountain pens. So, I only had some, like, extra fine stuff inked up. And I always want to see how, you know, these papers work with wide, wet nibs. And, man, it held up really well. So, I just like the style. This is right up my alley of the type of product that I like. And Yoseka is like a brick-and-mortar store. You can go there, you know, if you're in New York City. It's another place to add to the stationary tour, Myke, whenever we go back there again, right?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I'm excited to see more interesting-looking stationary stores in a place that I like to visit for stationary reasons.

Notebook Preferences

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, exactly. So, you're in New York enough that you'll have to figure out how to hit this one up. So, these two notebooks got me thinking, Myke. Like, I like notebooks of all shapes, sizes, types, paper styles. I use all different types of pens and pencils and ink. So, I'll use any type of notebook, anytime, anywhere. And then I got to thinking, what does Myke use for notebooks? Like, I kind of know, but I don't really know. Like, I know you use field notes a lot for a lot of things. But in a large, well, I was going to say, but I don't know about, like, a larger format notebook. I don't know a darn thing that you like in a notebook. Like, I could go to a pen show tomorrow and come up with a Myke pen, right? I could find the Myke pen. I don't know what the Myke paper is. Is that such a thing?

Myke Hurley: I think it's because I am less particular about paper than I am about pens. So, I have three, there are three principles for a notebook that I enjoy. And they are functional, beautiful, and exquisite paper. But I don't need any notebook to have more than one of these. It can just have any of them. Any of these three, more than one of them is brilliant. But all of the notebooks that I use frequently fall into one of these categories. So, functional would be field notes, would be the Studio Neat panel book, which is the notebook that I actually use the most. Because it's on my desk, right? Which is where I'm mostly using my pen and paper. I would say that, you know, field notes and the panel book also fall into beautiful. But it's a different kind of beauty, right? Where, like, sometimes I will get a notebook just because I think that it's stunning. I actually have a notebook that I received today from a company that's going to be sponsoring us soon. Which I find beautiful. Which I'll talk about it later. I don't want to necessarily talk about it today because they're not paying us to talk about it now. They're paying us to talk about it later. So, I'll talk about it later. But it's very beautiful.

Myke Hurley: And then the exquisite paper for me, that is the Nanami Crossfield. That is my Hobonichi Techo, right? Like, they are just, you know, I use those notebooks for various reasons. But, like, the Crossfield, the Crossfield's not a particularly good-looking notebook. It's just a red cover that I don't really like. But the paper inside is incredible. So, they're kind of, I think that those notebooks that I've named, they're the ones that I use most frequently. And they kind of fall into those principles. I am not particular about paper, really. And I think a lot of that comes from just the various issues that I have with finding paper to work for me because of my left-handedness. Because it can change the way the pen feels. It can change the way the ink dries. All that kind of stuff. So, that's kind of a thing for me when it comes to using this, to using different types of paper. But I'm pretty set on what I use and don't really feel the requirement to branch out very much in that regard.

Brad Dowdy: I think that makes sense the way, you know, you have the three things. And I think for me, I guess it's not three things. It's one thing. And the one thing is that it's different. Like, whatever it is, what is the one thing that makes this different, that makes me think that, oh, I'm using Brand X paper, right? That I can latch on to as this is their thing. Like, whatever that thing is, you know, what is different about it that makes me want to use it? Like, as much as I praise Moleskine for, like, all of their marketing and creativeness and style and design, their paper is not different. The notebook is not different, right? It just, there's nothing that compels me to use it. Whereas, you know, a Rodeo web notebook, you know, well, I can say, well, that paper is really good for fountain pens. Because, you know, because of the way the paper is made, you know, even though it's the same theory as, you know, like the Moleskine black notebook. Well, I can get that with a better paper. Like, there's nothing special in the Moleskine that makes me want to use it where, you know, like a pocket notebook, you know, does it have graph paper? Like, that's the one thing. Like, if it has graph paper, I'm probably going to use it because I find that thing to be interesting. So, yeah, I think it's pretty cool that I, all these years of talking to you, I don't know that I could pin down your paper. I actually forgot that you use the Crossfield pretty regularly. And that makes a lot of sense with that type of paper that it is. So, the Crossfield actually made me think, before we take this next break and get onto our Ask TPA, the North of Rosemont notebook has, like, a micro reticle grid. So, it's not a dot grid. So, that's another thing, like the Crossfield. I know you like the reticle grids. So, this has a really, it looks like a dot, but it's so small, but up close it's a reticle. And it looks sharp.

Myke Hurley: I was looking at their pages and it looks like a dot grid.

Brad Dowdy: It's a reticle.

Myke Hurley: Oh, boy. Bring one of these to Atlanta. Let me take a look.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, yeah. For sure. For sure. I've already started this one up. Oh, I see. I see the Cross. I'm trying to, yeah. I'm trying to carry it around. Like, with these small notebooks, I want to carry them, like, in my pocket and stuff to see how they hold up. So, yeah. I'll be carrying this one around a bunch. And I'm fully convinced it's going to hold up completely well.

Sponsor Segment

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Brad Dowdy: All right. This first Ask TPA isn't as much of a question as a topic I wanted to approach and one we're going to approach more with Anna on next week's episode about pen shows. But it's from Chris. He was the gentleman, which he enjoyed me calling him that, at the Baltimore Pen Show who bought the red Sailor Mosaic in Baltimore. He said, I was tickled to hear you mention the story of my buying the pen and thought it was great that my pen got a couple minutes of fame in the show notes. Then I noticed that I got even more time in the spotlight as your post picture over on the penaddict. So thank you again for the tip of where to find it. If Myke misses out and regrets it, he should contact me in case I do decide to sell. It's a lot less contrasty in person than in your picture. Yeah, my picture is actually terrible, but it contrasted out so brightly I just did it anyway. So it's not that bright in person. The way you relayed my suddenly leaving the track down the pen was funny. The experience pointed out a lesson that may be worthwhile passing on to people going to pen shows. Have at least part of a plan. So that's what I want to explore a little bit more. So let me finish this out. Then we'll explore that. I had a short list of things to see in prioritized order for how and where to seek them out. For example, at Baltimore, I was there Saturday only. So I needed to get to the Franklin Kristoff table for the 9 a.m. color prototypes. Then the plan was to go directly to Anderson's, who weren't there, to look at the red 1911 in person. I had already seen the video online, and I knew that my business with Jonathan Brooks did not have time pressure. A plan reduces the stress, sets expectations, and lends a little more control and realism for the budget. So I think there's a couple ways to take this. And I think it's important because over the years of me going to more and more pen shows, my idea of the plan or the list has changed, right? In the beginning, I thought it was super important to have a very specific list of things you wanted to make sure you saw, whether or not you bought them or not. But, you know, make sure you got to see the things you wanted to see and see if they worked for you. And over the years, my list has gone to non-existent because I continually, like, read and educate myself over the days and weeks and months between pen shows. So I have in my head so I know when the time comes, if I see something, that I'm mentally prepared. So that's, like, part of the plan too, right? It's the work I put in in between shows to learn more about products so when I see them that I understand them more. So that's kind of, like, the two sides of the plan. The one is, like, the hard, fast, written-out list, which I think for beginners and people who are going to their first pen show or even, like, their first, you know, 10 pen shows, it's great to have a list. At some point, I transitioned over to learning about as much as possible and maybe having less of a specific list but more of a general list to know when I see something that fits my style and aesthetic and needs and wants and uses that I'm able to make a good decision whether I want to purchase that item or not. So that's just kind of the point I wanted to bring up. And I definitely want to talk about this more with Anna next week on the show because between her and I, even though I've only been to one pen show this year, we've been to a lot of pen shows this year, mostly her. So, yeah, it was a good email and I thought that was a good point for Chris to bring up. Did you have anything to add to that?

Myke Hurley: I think that it is wise. I think that it's wise to also plan for parts that are surprises.

Myke Hurley: You know, build that into your budget. Like, there's going to be stuff that you would not have expected to see and things that might excite you. So, yeah, I think it's worth, like, just planning it out a little bit that you're going to see some stuff you maybe have never seen before.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. Yep. So, this next Ask TPA is via Seth and I pretty much died when I read the first sentence. My question is actually for Myke. So, don't get too proud about that because he does correct things later on. But, your question, Myke, is I love my fountain pens but don't use them very often. And it's not unusual for a pen to sit idle for several weeks. I'm glad he related this to you. He knows who he's talking to. Or months before I pick it up.

Brad Dowdy: Most pens seem to fail this test miserably, failing to write and leaving me with a cleanup job. But my Twisby pens seem to always work perfectly even after months of sitting on my desk. Are there any other pens that could be counted on in this way or should I just plan to buy all the Twisbys? I love so much that he asked you this question.

Myke Hurley: Well, I am a good person to ask. Sailor pens. Sailor pens, pro gears. I can pick them up after not using them for a while and they have absolutely no problem for me. They work perfectly fine. I have no issue at all.

Brad Dowdy: So, the only other one I'd add is the Platinum. Any pen that they make with their slip and seal mechanism, most often found in the 3776, its job is to allow you to let your pen sit there for two months and then pick it up and start writing. That's what that cap is made for. So, they do a real good job with that too. So, I did get a question, Myke. And this is actually a really good question from Seth. And I do have a question for Brad. Why are Visconti Homo Sapiens pens so expensive? I just saw the Midnight in Florence limited edition and thought it looked fantastic, but then I saw the price. I can't wrap my head around that. Keep up the good work and know that your podcast makes me look forward to my Wednesday commute. Sorry we're a day late this week, Seth. I love this question because I just had this thought process at the Baltimore pen show. So, Kohl's of London is the U.S. Visconti distributor, so they go to all the pen shows and I'm friendly with them. And so, I went over to talk to them and we were going through some of their new products and the Midnight in Florence was on the table. So, it is stunning. It is such a good looking pen. And it's so expensive. Like, I don't know how to, like, I don't know how to justify that, Seth. Like, it's, I don't know what the MSRP is or the retail, but it's...

Myke Hurley: So, for Goulet pens have it, the MSRP is $11.50 and they've got it available for $9.20.

Brad Dowdy: Okay. So, the London Fog a few years ago, I think, was around $800. And it's the same idea of this series and it keeps going up. I don't know why. That's an... I know why.

Myke Hurley: People are buying them.

Pen Prices Discussed

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean, it's a stunning pen and it's just a crazy, crazy expensive price. I don't know how to justify that, Seth. Such a shame about my club. I don't know. Like, I like the club. Like, I love this pen. It's like, you know, even if I could get a deal on this pen, it would still be an outrageous amount of money. And it's... I mean, for Visconti fans and people who like it, it's worth it, right? You're buying into a brand and you're buying into a style and you're buying into an aesthetic. It's, you know, it's a premium brand. And they charge premium prices by where they've decided to place themselves in there. If you're asking me for the technical details of why it's so expensive, I can't answer that because it's a palladium nib. I don't know what that even means. You know, it's not a gold nib. You know, it's a fancy material nib. And the mechanism is fantastic. You know, their filling system is great. Like, the engineering of Visconti's pens are top tier. You know, the threading system is great. Like, everything about it is great. But if you asked me, like, okay, why isn't this pen X price instead? I was like, I don't know. It's just the brand. It's the way the brand's set up. Just like Mont Blanc. You know, you're buying... It's a luxury brand. It's not even a premium band. This is a luxury brand. So, I think the standard Homo Sapiens pens, the Lava ones, are reasonably priced. You know, they're like in the four... That's reasonably. That's maybe a stretch. But in the four or five hundred dollar range, you're getting a similar experience without the swirly limited edition. You know, maybe that's the thing a little bit too is the Midnight in Florence material is not as common as their Lava. Materials, which they make more of as a regular edition. So, you know, it's just all those little things add up. And when you're dealing with a luxury brand, like, their price point is just what it is. And you have to decide, you know, is that something I'm willing to buy into? So, you know, I'm sorry I don't have, like, a real, like, clear answer to that. But it's just kind of a, it is what it is type of things. Especially when you're dealing with luxury brands. That's the premium you pay.

Myke Hurley: Market forces. That's the thing.

Brad Dowdy: Market forces. They will sell every one of those Midnight in Florence pens. Right.

Myke Hurley: And that's why they cost that much. Yep.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So, last few quick hitters. Nick Piddick says, Not really an ass TPA, but do you think you'll be able to talk about the Pen Addict Kickstarter without being super emotional? Just remember that the people want to help you because you're doing a terrific job and give so much. It's our way to thank you for what you give us. So, I put this at the end on purpose.

Myke Hurley: But if you say that, it makes it worse.

Brad Dowdy: That's making it worse.

Brad Dowdy: Like, if you want us to cry, Nick, that's how you get us to cry. Yeah. So, I put this at the bottom just to see how the top of the show would go. And we didn't cry on that. But, I mean, genuinely, like, you know, words like that, like, choke me up. Like, it was hard for me to read that email. You know, it's like, we really care about the community and the community support back. To us is overwhelming. And it's amazing. And, you know, we just, I mean, we appreciate, like, all these kind words and, like, the thank yous. Like, a single thank you goes so far, like, in, like, you know, the emotional spectrum. Like, that someone, like, enjoys your work. It's like, man, cool. Thank you. I really appreciate that. So, thank you, Nick. And I'm sorry we didn't cry hard for you this episode. It was in our thoughts, though. Paper Moore. Brad, are you going to the Chicago Pen Show this year? I am not. And it's, again, my biggest regret on the calendar. Like, Chicago is a really excellent show. And it's a show I want to go to every year. And it's hard for me to work that one out. So, that's a no for me this year, unfortunately. So, we'll have to make a concerted effort to make that happen. Again, because that'll be two years in a row I've missed, I think. So, that stinks. An Atomicrop asks probably the hardest question of all the questions. What are your favorite red inks? Hashtag AskTPA. I'm a well-known not-red ink person, but I found one that's pretty killer. So, the Robert Oster Red Candy, which I just got in Baltimore from Vanus Pens. I'm super digging that ink. The other red ink that I've used in the past that I have enjoyed, and it's, again, on the darker side of the spectrum, is the Sailor Grenade. That's a really interesting red ink with a little bit of sheen in there. So, the Red Candy is a little bit brighter, but still has some darkness. And the grenade is even darker and more burgundy than that. So, those are kind of my reds. But I am far from a red ink guru.

Ink Recommendation Begins

Myke Hurley: I might have to get that Robert Oster ink. I've been looking for a good red ink for a while.

Brad Dowdy: I would recommend this one to you. I'll bring some inked up and let you use it. It's enjoyable to use, which I usually don't say about red inks.

Myke Hurley: Hmm. All right. Cool. I want to try that one. Because I've been looking for a good red. I have been unhappy. I'm using a red at the moment. I don't remember what it is, but I'm not that happy with it. That's why I don't mention it. It's the right amount. I think it's like Dragon Blood or something in the name.

Brad Dowdy: I don't remember what it's called exactly. Dragon Blood. Dragon Blood. It's something like that. It's a pretty common red ink name in the convention.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. It's along those lines. It doesn't really do it to me. Mm-hmm. All right. If you want to support the show, you can do that in a bunch of ways, as always. You can. I mean, if you're listening to this show within like the first 10 minutes of it going up, you can probably still back the Kickstarter campaign. We're going to have 895 people now with 111 minutes to go. Again, thanks so much for everybody that has done that. This is not me being emotional. This is just a thank you. And that is the end of this transaction. Thanks to our sponsors, FreshBooks and Squarespace. You can go follow us online. Brad is at Dowdyism on Twitter. PenAddict on Instagram. Twitch.tv slash PenAddict. I know Brad wants to do some Twitch streams this week. Today. Today. Today. Which could be yesterday or another day. But there you go watch the video on demand.

Brad Dowdy: A month from now.

Myke Hurley: You can go watch the video on demand. That'll be there. You can follow me online. I'm iMike. I-M-Y-K-E. And you can get show notes for this episode at Relay.fm slash PenAddict slash 351. Remember, next week we have the wonderful Anna Reiner joining us as we pregame the Atlanta Pen Show, which is just over two weeks away. We'll be back next time. Until then, say goodbye, Brad.

Brad Dowdy: Goodbye, Brad.