Disqus - Latest Comments for sugaroni

Re: State of the Art: Blog Readers

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 11 May 2022 09:07:38 -0000

I use Feedly. There is a premium option but the FREE version has worked just fine for me for several years. I agree with you that I miss the old Google Reader though.

Re: Maker: Demise of Small Companies

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 15:14:37 -0000

The current Cricut Design Space does allow you to upload your own designs in SVG format without forcing you to pay extra to use it or require you to use their pre-designed formats.

Re: Nelson-Atkins Museum Allowed Police to Station on Premises, Sparking Outcry

WellAppointedDesk — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 16:59:56 -0000

The Nelson-Atkins posted a reply on Twitter:

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art joins in solidarity in the pain and outrage over the murder of George Floyd. The museum stands solidly behind Kansas City’s pursuit of social justice and champions human expression. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/lx9KMZAIGR
— Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (@nelson_atkins) June 1, 2020

Re: Gourmet Pens: Ogami Stone Paper Notebooks @Massdrop

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 12:40:49 -0000

A lot of other people who've used/reviewed the stone paper have had some issues with it. Some find that the stone can wear down the nibs of their fountain pens and the paper is not as recyclable as it claims. This article from Wired has some information.

Re: Gourmet Pens: Review: @Caran_dAche 849 Popline Ballpoint Pen @couronneducomte

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 30 May 2018 10:40:52 -0000

There's a hack for the Goliath refill on Three Staples that just requires trimming off the fins on a Parker-style refill or you can use a Tofty adapter from Shapeways. Either way, there are easy workarounds for the Goliath refill limitations.

Re: Review: Piccadilly Essential Notebook Medium Ruled

WellAppointedDesk — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 22:29:45 -0000

Where I live, Piccadilly notebooks are most often available at Half-Price Books for about $6-$8 and for a long time they were better quality than Moleskines.

Re: Review: Palomino Blackwing Volumes Number 1

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 13:16:43 -0000

So far, the only tribute I've truly appreciated was Dorothea Lange but I (1) worked in a darkroom through college, (2) know a good deal about her, (3) give two bits about phhotography and (4) thought "hey, Blackwing might actually recognize women's contributions to the arts every know and again!". However, instead of picking from some of the obvious choices of men and women who have contributed to arts and culture, they have decided to do weird obscura. Ok? Suit yo'self.

Re: Review Round: Bicolor and Checking Pencils Part 1

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 08:52:50 -0000

You know how much I love red/blue pencils and checking pencils and that I'm updating my own reviews of these? Great minds??? So happy to see your views on these too.

Re: Is Wing Sung 698 any good?

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 08:44:31 -0000

There's a theory that the nib is actually a Pilot Metropolitan nib knock-off rather than a TWSBI-style nib and I tend to agree. Complete with the "Super quality" engraving on it. It would also explain why it is as fine and smooth as it is. I agree with you, I actually like the Wing Sun 698 better than my TWSBI. Shhh, don't tell.

Re: Review: Jane Davenport Travel Watercolor Tin- Brights

WellAppointedDesk — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 22:35:56 -0000

Of the online workshops and classes, I prefer the Sketchbook Skool style of offering a variety of instructors with different styles of artwork. i think it gives people a wider scope of creativity.

Re: Review: Jane Davenport Travel Watercolor Tin- Brights

WellAppointedDesk — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 10:38:50 -0000

There's a ton of hullaballoo right now because her second wave of products is coming out in October and there's a new set of watercolors in more sophisticated tones and a crap ton of those brush pens. She also has fountain pens coming out so I give her credit for introducing a whole new wave of people to fountain pens. I just hope they are good enough to genuinely inspire people to want to use more pens and not discourage them.

Re: Lamy Oblique and Left-Handed Nibs, What’s Their Deal??

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 20:13:14 -0000

As a lefty and an advocate for fountain pens for left-handers, I really recommend trying other nibs first. I writer overhand, side writing and under writing styles and can use many fountain pens without a special nib or nib grind. Often lefthanders just need to find either the proper nib width or brand of pen rather than a hard-to-find "left-hand" specific nib.

Another option to consider is the slightly upturned Waverly nibs. Those were specifically developed for left-handers and can often provide a smooth writing experience without the weird stigma attached of being a "left-handers" nib. As someone who had to sit at the back of the class at the left-hander desk and forced to use the janky left-hander scissors, I'm sure you know what I mean.

But I still recommend starting with good standard nibs. I can pretty much write with any fountain pen nib except super wide calligraphy nibs. And I think most left-handed writers can too.

Re: Review: Jane Davenport Travel Watercolor Tin- Brights

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 20:00:45 -0000

PS: Not a chance that Schminke would do these. If anything, maybe Daniel Smith helped out? American Crafts is out of Utah and DS is also out West? But that's just a guess. I know American Crafts did another set of these watercolors last year that Teoh from Parka Blogs reviewed on YouTube -- something about Decadent Desserts or Tropical Colors and I thought they tracked those colors back to a manufacturer in Asia. But I can't recall. It sounds like the colors in the Davenport set are better overall.

Re: Review: Jane Davenport Travel Watercolor Tin- Brights

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 19:57:16 -0000

Thanks for the ACTUAL review. I've been trying to find out if these are decent "play around" paints. I did finally find someone who listed out the pigments (I wish I had saved the link) and most of the pans were pure pigments. Joy! A couple were blends, like the Payne's grey you mentioned. Any watercolor that comes in a good metal tin for around $20 is almost worth it for the tin (those things are pricey!) I had a 30% off everything coupon so I bought both the bright set and the neutrals set thanks to your review. Great paintings, BTW.

Re: Ink Different With These 7 Sensibly Priced Fountain Pens

WellAppointedDesk — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 00:02:48 -0000

There are so many weird things about this article, I hardly know where to begin. The hidden costs of "new nibs"? And "rare inks"? And wait for it, "writing notebooks"! Yes, because technology has no hidden costs like monthly internet fees, batteries, upgrades and built-in obsolescence?

Anyway... for starters, the Pilot Metropolitan feels solid because its metal. The Lamy and the Parker both take proprietary ink cartridges and converters (hidden costs!) and the converter that ships with the Metropolitan is the CON-20 which is pretty crappy and its generally recommended that users upgrade to the CON-50 (another hidden cost!).

As for new nibs, many pens can swab out nibs but if you treat your pens respectfully, you can swap out nibs and reuse them, sell them or trade them if you decide you don't like a particular size. Filling pens with bottled ink is cost-effective and generally more environmentally friendly.

And yes, paper can be expensive but so is an iPad.

Re: Back-to-School Sale Composition Book Round Up Part 2

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 08:02:59 -0000

Have you seen any blank composition notebooks anywhere? I found a few a couple years ago and they were my absolute favorite. I look for them every year. The only ones I've found recently are basically newsprint and cannot withstand anything but pencil which is a bit of a letdown as I like to draw, color and doodle in them, sometimes adding color with marker, pen or paint. If you see one, please let me know!

Re: Review: The Classroom Friendly Sharpener

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 07:53:27 -0000

I killed my CFS within a couple months. It is completely locked up. I think the gear misaligned and no amount of effort and manhandling will fix it. I haven't thrown it away but its been moved to cold storage. I am back to using either hand sharpeners or a trusty vintage Boston crank sharpener that table mounts with screws. It still works after decades of use and it doesn't leave teeth marks.

Re: 43: Hey Hello from Chicago 👋 | Art Supply Posse

WellAppointedDesk — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 10:11:50 -0000

Deborah, having lived in New Mexico myself, I must protest about their general perception about the Southwest in general. I lived in Albuquerque and traveled across the state, through Arizona and much of the area. While its unlike any other part of the US, its not like its portrayed on television either. Do I need to set them straight?

Re: Gourmet Pens: Review: @Lamy AL-Star 2017 Pacific Blue Fountain Pen @fontoplum0

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 07:48:06 -0000

I just noticed that you got different packaging in Europe than we got in the US. Not a big deal, just curious.

Re: Gourmet Pens: Review: Fjällräven Kånken Backpack @BureauDirect @Fjallraven_Swe

WellAppointedDesk — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 16:18:29 -0000

I had one of these backpacks and had a hard time getting the zipper on mine to move. Or even get to it. The material was ridiculously stiff. I ended up selling it. I am considering one of the totes though because I keep thinking I might have just gotten a dud. Everyone else I know raves about Fjallraven bags. I feel like I didn't give it a fair shake.

Re: 27: Explicitly Mike Hawthorne | Art Supply Posse

WellAppointedDesk — Sat, 17 Dec 2016 10:00:10 -0000

Many apologies for the noise. We are not radio professionals, nor are the people we interview. They graciously agree to take time out of their busy work schedules to appear on our show and we do our best to prep them for recording audio but sometimes we can't prepare for everything. Mike was thumbing through his comic book pages while we were recording -- a nervous habit -- and didn't realize the mic would pic up the sounds. He apologized on Twitter for the racket it made and it really only happened in those first few minutes.

I hope you'll try to listen to the rest of the episode because Mike had some wonderful advice and stories. If not, I hope you'll listen to future episodes.

Re: 21: Did Someone Say Letterpress? | Art Supply Posse

WellAppointedDesk — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 16:24:27 -0000

Indeed, he did. Before deciding to become a printer, Bob wanted to be an astronaut. He discovered it was more fun to draw outer space than it was to do all the math, hence Skylab Letterpress.

Re: 19: Leap Without A Net | Art Supply Posse

WellAppointedDesk — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 09:05:26 -0000

Thanks so much for the book recommendation and I'm glad you enjoyed the episode. Heather and I are planning on new ideas for sharing after Inktober so stay tuned!

Re: 19: Leap Without A Net | Art Supply Posse

WellAppointedDesk — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 09:04:08 -0000

Missy, I think that's the same episode that Heather stopped listening as well. I recommend powering through it because there's some good information AFTER the weirdness. I promise!

Re: 19: Leap Without A Net | Art Supply Posse

WellAppointedDesk — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 23:03:24 -0000

I have always wanted to try Rosemary brushes. I have a few Kolinsky brushes from Escoda that I love so I just keep using them. I have some good synthetics too like the Princeton Neptunes but they definitely have a different feel to them. But they are so much better than the synthetic brushes from my college days! But to Heather's point, everyone is looking for a different feeling in their painting experience so it is a lot of trial and error in the beginning when trying out brushes with inks an watercolors for sure! Thanks for all your great advice and comments. We should definitely get you on the show soon.